Although almost all African countries contribute the least to global warming in both absolute and per capita terms as compared to other countries such as China, the United States of America (USA), and the European Union (EU), Botswana is listed among countries in southern Africa which are badly affected by climate change.
According to the Brookings Institute: “Africa accounts for the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions—3.8 percent. This is meagre as compared to the largest emitters like China, the United States, and the European Union, which account respectively for 23 percent, 19 percent, and 13 percent of global emissions”.
Recently the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) noted that Botswana is greatly exposed to repeated and extreme hazards such as floods, droughts, with floods accounting for more than 60 percent of all extreme weather events while droughts account for nearly 25 percent thus far.
But while Botswana is among the worst affected countries globally, she also has insufficient resources to adapt. The ISS notes that weather related disasters in Botswana between 1980–2020 cost the country almost P2 billion. But without adaptation financing, the costs of these adaptation measures will keep rising.
Adaptation measures include resilient water sources, early warning systems, dryland farming and dry farming which encompass specific agricultural techniques for the non-irrigated cultivation of crops; and climate-resilient infrastructure which are smart practices and technologies for climate resilient agriculture such as fodder cultivars to tackle fodder scarcity, integrated farming system modules, recharge of wells to improve shallow aquifers.
According to the Botswana Climate Policy, there is evidence “that indeed Botswana is highly vulnerable to climate change, and that the vulnerability of … economic drivers will continue to increase if effective adaptation and mitigation actions are not implemented”.
But without sufficient adaptation resources, experts say some communities in Botswana which are poor and with little ability to adapt makes them extremely vulnerable. According to the Climate Funds Update, Botswana received no adaptation financing and no climate funds. The African continent also received just 26% of available financing between 2016 and 2019 of which almost 75 percent of that was in the form of loans and other non-grant instruments that must be repaid. Reports also indicate that most of those finances have been directed towards mitigation.
According to ISS: “South Africa received the most multilateral climate financing on the continent and is placed sixth highest internationally. But only 2% is directed to adaptation, with the rest going to mitigation. Zambia, Tanzania and Comoros received relatively high amounts of adaptation financing relative to their climate vulnerabilities, yet the sums are still inadequate to meet their needs. Botswana received no adaptation financing.”
For Botswana this is bad news because while priority must be given to the most vulnerable countries and communities, vulnerability is not the priority in determining where funds go. As an example the Germanwatch’s Global Climate Risk Index 2021 notes that while Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi are ranked first, second and fifth respectively as the most affected countries in the world in 2019, the same countries are ranked 32nd, 108th and 75th in terms of climate financing received.
ISS also notes that while the process might be fraught with challenges, climate adaptation is progressing. “As of 2021, 72% of all countries have at least one national adaptation planning instrument. All Southern African states except Angola and Botswana have adopted national plans and Botswana has launched an adaptation framework,” says ISS.
While African climate negotiators have encouraged developed countries to increase climate financing, it was recently revealed that the annual $100 billion in climate fiancé that had been promised in 2009 to help developing countries to decarbonise their economies will not be delivered until at least 2023.
A commentator who spoke to this publication indicated that Botswana must expedite efforts to mobilise adaptation funding at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) which is being held in Glasgow. “Botswana must mainstream climate adaptation into policies and projects across all sectors. This will come in handy as it will reduce the need for funds over time. It is important to note that if Botswana does not adapt, the environmental, economic and social costs will be too high,” says Lesego Tekanyo.
Although Botswana is still faced with finance and adaptation challenges, one aspect related to adaptation which affects Botswana directly and indirectly is the REDD+. REDD+ stands for countries’ efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and foster conservation. The U.N states that 20.0% of Botswana is forested. However, between 1990 and 2010, Botswana lost an average of 118,350 ha or 0.86% per year. In total, between 1990 and 2010, Botswana lost 17.3% of its forest cover.
And while countries must be paid for actions that prevent forest loss or degradation so that they can curb carbon dioxide emissions, the Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change, Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale, says the system is not favourable for many African countries because it leaves highly forested countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo with not enough money for them to develop sustainably, while the world’s richest countries have had to deforest to allow for development.
“When the Amazon burned two years ago, all the world said that we need to preserve this forest; the world wanted to send money to protect the Amazon. But when the Congo Basin is still alive and in good health, nobody wants to put money into that because they say just it’s a natural process, it’s a natural ecosystem and so on. And they want all the Congo Basin to apply to the REDD+ process, but REDD+ is about reduction of deforestation,” he is quoted saying.
Botswana is rich in natural resources and is estimated to have over 200 billion tonnes of untapped coal reserves. Only time will tell whether Botswana will manage to decarbonise by phasing out coal, shifting to low-carbon transport, and embark on the restoration of ecosystems which act as a buffer against floods and storms.
