It is expert opinion that Africa while
is currently responsible for a negligible amount of total global greenhouse gas
emission, the continent is under significate threat from climate change.
Environmental science experts predict
that changes in precipitation level is likely to increase in temperature
extremes and rising sea level will have a wide range of direct and indirect
impacts on the continent including Uganda
In order to adapt to these future
climate challenges, it is important for decision makers in the continent to
come up with measures to reduce the negative consequences in society in
particular to protect vulnerable groups.
In a 2012 United Nation Environmental
Programme (UNEP) publication about adaptation to climate change in Africa it is
stated that Africa requires financial resources and technical capacity to adapt
to the impacts of climate change, and to develop appropriate low carbon
technologies.
Quoting reported by the World Bank it
is stated in the publication “a recent World Bank study estimated that it will
cost developing countries between US$75 and 100 billion per year to adapt to a
temperature change of approximately 2°C by 2050. For Sub-Saharan Africa,
estimated annual adaptation costs are US$14-17 billion, corresponding to
roughly half the amount of official development assistance provided for all of
Africa in 2010,”
Prof Shem Wandiga professor of Chemistry at the department of Chemistry,
University of Nairobi and acting Director, Institute for Climate Change and
Adaptation while presenting to science journalists in East Africa about current
trends of climate change in Africa noted that currently there is drastic change
in climate leading to erratic rainfall causing flooding and destruction of
agricultural land and houses.
Climate Change challenges
There is an overwhelming scientific
consensus that global warming is mostly man-made with 97% of climate scientists
coming to this conclusion.
In 1992, 165 nations signed an
international treaty, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
They have held meetings annually ever
since they called “Conference of the Parties (COP) with the aim of developing
goals and methods to reduce climate change as well as adapt to its already
visible effects. Today almost countries in the world are bound by the UNFCCC.
Prof Wandiga
emphasized that there are several human activities which are leading to
destruction of nature and these include, destruction of forests, affluent waste
from Industries directed to water bodies leading to acidification.
Other causes include burning
the bush to clear land for agriculture, heavy fuel fumes from vehicles, the
process of refining crude oil among others. This has led to the contamination
of the ozone layer leading climate change effects such as erratic rainfalls and
prolonged drought.
He pointed out that
this is happening in East Africa including Uganda where recent rainfalls have
caused destruction of houses in some parts of Kampala City and in rural areas
as well.
It has also caused
destruction of crops particularly the East African Highland land banana
(Matoke) in farmer fields across the country.
Mitigation
measures
“In African continent adaption is the only
thing we can do. You can do it yourself. We can make everyone do something to
save the planet. I know we love to ask,
what is the government doing, what is my
company doing? What is the United Nations doing? What are donors doing? Those
are wrong questions ladies and gentlemen,” he noted.
He cited some of the things humans can
do as building houses in a secure location so that when it’s flooding it is not
washed away.
When building schools, hospitals,
putting up infrastructure like roads, railways and others ensure they are in
safe locations.
Humans can do landscape restoration
and reforestation. “When you planting a tree you’re not planting it for the
government. Stop cutting forest. You plant a tree for yourself and for your
survival. Take it as this is my survival and therefore I have to plant one
tree. Don’t say that the Chief has not instructed you to plant trees or the
District Commissioner no, it is me who’s planting this tree so that I can
survive in the changing climate conditions,”
He warned that there are a lot of
natural disasters which are going to occur and will continue to occur and cautioned
humans to avoid these disasters.
“When we destroy nature; nature has a
vicious way of hitting back. So please stop destroying nature rather do things
that support nature because when you dig up the riverbank and you have the
river washing away your land, don’t say that God is busy helping everybody
everywhere, help yourself don’t go digging the riverbed/bank,” he noted.
According to him when humans’ plant trees and
reforest, the trees will absorb the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and that
is a way of mitigating.
Equally when a farmer ploughs by not disturbing
the soil and grow fruits and other crops by using conservative agriculture
technology, this is mitigation means because the farmer is not allowing CO2 in
the soil or the rotten roots to explode into the atmosphere.
It is also apparent according to the climate
change convention that we still need assistance of about $20-30 billion per
annum over the next 10-20 years to assist us in mitigation of climate change
effects.
Other mitigation measures are use of
electric vehicles to reduce fuel emission, use of solar energy and geothermal
energy.
Solar plants set African countries
There are selected African countries
that are implementing huge solar power initiatives namely South Africa, Egypt and
Morocco.
In South Africa there is Noor Solar
Complex a world bank projected started in 2019 offering 510 MW locates in municipality of Ouarzazate in the Agadir district of
Morocco. It is the biggest concentrated solar power plant project in the world.
It offers 2,635kWh/m² of sunlight a year.
Another
is Solar
Capital De Aar Project started in 2016, located in the Northern Cape, South Africa. The De
Aar solar project was developed by Solar Capital. The project encompasses two
phases (De Aar 1 and De Aar 3) with a combined installed capacity of 175MW.
It
supplies 100,000 homes in South Africa
The
165.5MW Benban photovoltaic (PV) solar park is located in the Aswan Province in
Benban, Egypt. The solar park is med up of three solar power plants with an
individual installed capacity of 67.5MW, 70MW and 28MW, respectively.
The
165.5MW project was constructed by CHINT Solar by August 2018. ACWA Power is
the developer, financier and operator of the solar park which involved an
investment of $190m.
The
fourth is KaXu Solar One a 100MW solar power plant near Pofadder in the
Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the first commercially operated
solar thermal electric power plant in South Africa.
Commissioned
in March 2015, the public-private partnership project supplies sustainable
energy to South Africa’s power utility Eskom, under a 20-year power purchase
agreement. Abengoa holds a 51% stake in the project while the IDC and KaXu
Community Trust respectively own 29% and 20%.
The
KaXu Solar One power plant is capable of delivering clean and green power to
approximately 80,000 South African households.
Majority of these solar power station are
located in South Africa but the one in Egypt is Benban Solar Park a
photovoltaic power station with a total capacity of 1650 MW which corresponds
to an annual production of approximately 3.8 TWh. It is located in Benban in
the western desert, approximately 650 km south of Cairo and 40 km northwest of
Aswan
Meanwhile
Uganda’s largest solar power located in central Uganda called Kabulasoke with
68,000 solar models and 20 MW capacity. It is part of 5 more solar parks to be
installed by Xsabo Energy Ltd in different parts of the country worth 150MW in
total with funding totaling $199m.
Planned African Energy Projects
Giving
the statistical figure, Prof Wandiga noted that already there is 236,211 MW of
solar panels operating in the entire continent and there 3,106 projects
underway by different development partners. There is 42,649 MW projects which
are under construction and there is 294,096 MW projects planned for immediate
construction
In
Kenya Hydro is leading energy source followed by geothermal with power and
biomass contributing 5.1 MW and 2.6 MW respectively
The case of Uganda
According
to the 2020 data provided by World bank it is indicated that Biomass is still
the most important source of energy for the majority of the Ugandan population
with about 90% of the total primary energy consumption generated through
biomass.
Firewood
contributes78.6%, charcoal 5.6% and crop residues 4.7%. Electricity is contributing
only 1.4% to the national energy balance while oil products, which are mainly
used for vehicles and thermal power plants, account for the remaining 9.7%.
Concerning
electricity generation, Uganda has an installed capacity of 822 MW, mostly consisting
of hydropower of 692 MW constituting 84%.
The
data indicates that Uganda currently has one of the lowest per capita
electricity consumption in the world with 215 kWh per capita per year yet the
average in Sub-Saharan is 552 kWh per capita and World average is 2,975 per
capita
It
is stated in the report that electricity demand mainly resulting from a
prominent GDP growth of around 6% during the past two decades. In 2010 it was
6.2%, 2011 5.0%, 2012: 4.7% and 2013 6.5%
Electricity
demand has been growing at an average of 10% per annum and this has led to
occasional load shedding since the supply does not increase proportionally.
Adaptation practices
It
is Professor Wandiga’s contention that humans can implement proper restorations
of landscapes and engaging in reforestation by individuals
Planning
for preventive actions against natural disasters and implementing ecological
based resilience practices to support nature. This can be evacuations measures
of affected communities, proper health systems and avoidance of certain
diseases
In
case of water supply during dry season, roof water catchment kept in
underground tanks is good and sand can be used for filtration, prevention of
salt intrusion in fresh water bodies and conservation of forests and water
bodies.
“The
African savannah looked different in past 170 years, wild animals and trees
were beautiful because the population was low. Now people are killing animals
in the game parks and strange grass species are growing in the environment and
people must control burning of the natural grass,” he noted.
He
advised cattle keepers to bunch their animals in a fence and provide them with
the required hay and fresh grass as well as gullying of the soil to be
controlled by growing the right grass species.
