THE negative impacts of climate change could spark inter-communal clashes in Africa hence the need for coordinated international efforts to mitigate the impact of global warming.
This is according to the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) following its meeting in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, under the theme, Climate Change: State Fragility, Peace and Security in Africa.
"In a communiqué issued after the council's 585th meeting, the PSC noted the continued to suffer from climate change and its adverse effects.
Effects include, El Nino-related droughts, floods, erratic rainfalls, desertification, and the attendant humanitarian disasters, including food insecurity, internal displacement of populations, loss of livelihoods of farming communities and putting stress on the limited resources available.
"Council and participants also acknowledged that the impacts of climate change are potential triggers of inter-communal violence, particularly in pastoral communities," PSC stated.
In that regard, PSC stressed the need for AU member states to share international expertise in mitigating the impacts of climate change,including in terms of contributing towards building the capacity of the states for sustainable harvesting, use and management of underground water.
PSC expressed solidarity with the countries most affected by climate change in the continent.
"In this regard, Council and participants appealed to those member states, which are in a position to do so, to provide humanitarian assistance to the countries most affected by climate-change related humanitarian crises."
Most countries in the continent have suffered severe droughts andinclement weather blamed on climate change.Climate change refers to the recent and ongoing rise in global average temperature near earth's surface, caused mostly by increasingconcentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.Despite being the least contributor to the problem, Africa is worst affected.
