By Peter Asare-Nuamah
From 18 to 26 September 2023, world leaders meet for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
This gathering offers the right time and platform for a resounding call to global leaders to wake up to the realities of climate extremes and take urgent steps necessary to tackle climate change and environmental disasters, as well as the adverse impacts on the global economy in general and developing economies in particular.
Heads of state of vulnerable countries in Africa and other parts of the world at the UNGA must prioritise negotiations and discussions that offer realistic solutions to their existential threats.
The global economy is steadily recovering from the adverse impact of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, developing economies continue to battle the medium to long-term impacts.
Coupled with this, many developing economies have been extensively exposed to extreme climate events, worsening their capacity to tackle critical challenges that affect their economy and people.
Undoubtedly, 2023 has recorded some of the most devastating climate extremes in the world.
The all-high summer temperatures in Europe and the Americas and the associated rampant droughts and wildfires in Spain, parts of Canada and North Africa attest to the dreadfulness of the 2023 climate.
Nevertheless, developing economies face the greatest threats and most severe climate extremes. A clear example is the recent devastating floods in eastern Libya, which killed thousands of people.
Similarly, in early January, Uganda, Rwanda and Congo experienced some of the worst floods. Cyclone Freddy hit the shores of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar in February.
In March, Southern American economies such as Peru and Ecuador were severely hit by Cyclone Yaku, while India, Bangladesh and Myanmar equally experienced Cyclone Mocha in May.
Libya also witnessed devastating floods in September.
Indeed, as climate extremes increase, so do the impacts. The global loss from natural disasters, including climate extremes, was estimated at $110 billion for the first half of 2023.
In a historic turn of events, the United States recorded 23 climate-related disasters from January to September 2023, surpassing the 2020 records of 22 disaster events, resulting in about US$ 57.6 billion in economic loss.
The socioeconomic losses from climate-related disasters are grave in developing economies partly due to their vulnerability.
For instance, Cyclone Freddy resulted in $1.5 billion in losses to the affected Southern African economies, while Cyclone Mocha led to about $ 1.1 billion in losses to the affected Asian economies.
In addition to the economic losses, fatalities remain high for climate extreme events.
The United Nations indicates the death number due to the Libyan floods could reach 11,300.
Extreme climate events further exacerbate severe food insecurity and poverty in vulnerable communities, propelling mass migration, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected economies such as Sudan and Libya.
Explicitly, climate extremes hinder the achievement of sustainable development goals, erode gains made, and derail future sustainable development efforts, particularly in vulnerable developing economies.
There is, therefore, an urgent need for global leaders to act like never before towards tackling climate change and climate-induced extreme events.
The UNGA should be conscious of the rising impacts of climate extremes and take realistic and feasible measures to mitigate climate extremes’ occurrence and effects in developing economies.
There is a need for a paradigm shift in business-as-usual, excessively hegemonic and top-down approaches to global climate change governance. This shift requires local stakeholders' effective engagement and involvement in setting feasible priorities.
There is also the quest for funding institutions and mechanisms, including the Green Climate Fund, to prioritise high-impact-driven research and programmes capable of changing vulnerable communities' policies, capacities and behaviour.
Also, global leaders must recognise and prioritise human development as an essential public good and human right, which cannot be denied irrespective of one’s geographic location.
Most importantly, developed economies must be responsible for cleaning the climate and environmental mess caused largely by their development activities. This includes fulfilling the $100m annual commitment to advancing climate change adaptation in developing economies.
Technology-aided climate extreme monitoring, awareness and response systems should be facilitated and transferred to developing regions with high and recurrent climate extremes and impacts.
The author, Dr. Peter Asare-Nuamah, is a Lecturer at the School of Sustainable Development, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Ghana, and a Senior Researcher at the Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, Germany.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT Afrika.
