Africa has an important role to play in mitigating the climate crisis, and the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) will be a critical opportunity for Africans to demonstrate to other world leaders where and how actions can meet the ambitions of African climate initiatives.

These are some of the findings in an article published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change Dr Soumya Ghosh, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Genetics at the University of the Free State (UFS), is one of eight authors who contributed to the article: ‘Funding African-led Climate Initiatives’, which appeared in the reputed journal, Nature Climate Change.

“With this paper, inspired by the African action at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties 27 (COP27) that took place in November 2022, we showed the world the role of the African continent in mitigating the climate crisis, which has been neglected for many years,” says Dr Ghosh.

Opportunity for Africa

The article he co-authored in Nature Climate Change mainly focuses on the way in which the African-led climate initiatives from COP27 could serve as an opportunity for the African continent. In the article, it states that “The African-led initiatives represent an opportunity for Africans to create solutions for Africans and to unlock much-needed finance. In contrast to initiatives led by international organisations, the African-led initiatives would allow Africans to determine where and how to use climate mitigation and adaptation funding, which is an important step forward.”

Moreover, the authors also investigated initiatives to unlock the much-needed finance to fund climate solutions. The article stated that funding must come from the combined efforts of African governments, regional institutions (such as the African Union and the African Development Bank), and bilateral development agencies. They pointed out debt-for-nature swaps as a possible funding mechanism. Here, a debtor country is given a substantial discount on the debt owed to its creditors in exchange for investments in conservation and enactment of environmental protection measures.

Another important focus of the article was the way in which the upcoming COP28 – scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates from 30 November to 12 December 2023 – can fill the gaps in climate solutions. In the article, it states that COP28 will be a critical opportunity for Africans to demonstrate to other world leaders where and how actions can meet the ambitions of African climate initiatives.

While working on this article, he came to the conclusion that climate initiatives would help to improve the living conditions in the rural villages of sub-Saharan Africa, secure access to affordable energy, establish a vibrant African carbon market, and support climate change research.

Food security

As a postdoctoral researcher at the UFS, the focus of Dr Ghosh’s studies is to mitigate the impact of global climate change on sustainable agriculture, which will eventually ensure food security.

He explains his work as exploring the intersection of biology, chemistry, and physics. “One of the key activities in my work involves collecting samples from different sources and isolating different types of microbes, such as fungi (mushrooms). These microbes are then subjected to techniques such as morphological, microscopical, and molecular analysis and screened for enzymatic and antimicrobial effects.”

“After identifying positive candidates,” he continues, “the next step involves extracting chemicals from these candidates. Once extracted, the active compounds are separated to obtain purified substances. These purified substances then undergo a detailed physical and chemical analysis to ensure their purity, making them suitable for use in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and biotechnology.”

First article in Nature

On a more personal note, Dr Ghosh, who aspires to be a full-time researcher at senior researcher/senior lecturer level, says, “Publishing in this type of journal has definitely added a lot of value to my continuing and future scientific career. Although this is my first article in Nature, I would like to continue publishing articles in this type of journal, which would not only enrich my scientific portfolio, but will also bring laurels to the UFS in a broader way.”

The article published in Nature Climate Change stemmed from the manuscript ‘Global Warming Status in the African Continent: Sources, Challenges, Policies, and Future Direction’. The manuscript that was recently accepted for publication, focused mainly on the fact that Africa contributes to two to three percent of global emissions, that more than 1 °C of warming has already occurred across parts of Africa, and that the Sahara Desert has expanded at a rate of more than 11 000 km²/ year between 1950 and 2022. Moreover, it also states that less precipitation is predicted to occur over North Africa and the southwestern regions of South Africa by 2040.

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