Before I introduce today’s topic of discussion, I think we need a quick recap on what has been presented this week in order to put today’s topic into perspective. We have so far talked about the effects climate change has on agriculture, energy, gender and health.

Underlying each of those discussions was the topic of water. It is necessary and sometimes harmful to human health. It is used to create hydroelectricity. In most of rural Africa, it is left to women to gather water. And rain is the mechanism used to sustain agriculture on the continent. It used to be that rain seasons were predictable to the week. For centuries, Africa’s farmers used this predictability to their advantage. They knew when it was time to harvest or when it was time prepare the land for planting because predictable changes in wind patterns, cloud formations and temperatures signaled the coming rain season.

Today, long extremes of rain and drought are the norm, not the exception. Many communities that are dependent on natural systems for survival are now more vulnerable than ever. This is not just in Africa, it is a world-wide problem:

“What we are seeing is there are more floods, more extreme weather events, higher temperature, more variable rainfalls and we believe that is caused by the climate change.

And we should expect this to increase, sadly,” Andrew Steer, the World Bank’s special envoy for the climate change, told reporters in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

Thailand’s worst floods in half a century have killed 533 people and damaged the homes and livelihoods of millions around the country.

In the neighboring Cambodia, the deadliest floods since 2000 have killed at least 247 people while more than 100 have died in Vietnam, mostly in the southern Mekong Delta.

Water is the glue the to the planet’s ecosystem balance. But everywhere we read, it seem like the planet is at war with itself. According to the World Bank’s page on climate change and water:

Extreme variability of precipitation is expected to place 2.8 billion people at risk of water shortages.
...
The effects on natural systems will be widespread: from accelerated glacier melt, altered precipitation, runoff, and groundwater recharge patterns, to extreme droughts and floods, water quality changes, saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers and changes in water use.

As important as water is to humanity’s survival, it is telling that we don’t put more emphasis on ensuring that all sources of water are free from human interference. There is no room for man’s interference with the planet’s water supply. Examples of disregard for the purity of this life source, as depicted in this photo taken by Ida Horner on a recent trip to Madagascar, point to a complete lack of sensitization on how critical water sources are to developing countries.

But this is not just about our disrespect for the environment. It also illustrates exactly how critical to survival access to clean water is. The photo above illustrates that it is easier to bring the clothes and wash them in the lake than to find water near the home.

Pay close attention to the heavily deforested hills in the background. I can’t say that there’s a better picture illustrating how naked and vulnerable the environment has become. With water being an ingredient necessary to the survival of every living being on this planet, why are so irresponsible in taking care of it?

“Water is practically an issue tied with the existence of life because of its importance in nearly every area of development including sustaining life on the planet earth” (Akiyode, 2010).

In what ways can we be more responsible in taking care of our limited fresh water resources? How can we better provide clean water for those that need it? If we can’t build infrastructure to the last mile to make sure everyone has access to piped water, how far can distributed solutions like rain water harvesting schemes go to making sure vulnerable communities have access to water?

Once again, let’s hear your thoughts to this critical discussion. Next week, we’ll begin looking at some of the solutions you have contributed and discuss them at length.

Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita)

Energy use refers to use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, which is equal to indigenous production plus imports and stock changes, minus exports and fuels supplied to ships and aircraft engaged in international transport.

This past week, we discussed with you the different categories of our campaign. We had also previously asked our audience of African writers to pen their thought on climate change based on these very same categories.

Not so surprisingly many of you chimed in on the topic of energy. Energy drives a lot of human activity these days and is a necessary fuel for some of the fastest growing economies in Africa and the world; both as a domestic resource and as a revenue stream.

We also discussed how Africa could better balance the attack on solving energy poverty and environmental degradation. Just today there was a brief discussion on Uganda’s deepening energy void. Jared Ombui, had this to say on Twitter following never-ending black outs and loading-shedding in the country:
“Nuclear will end blackouts. Ask France…”

This got us thinking. Access to nuclear energy might work in Africa and could possibly be a great solution, but it is a solution whose time is not yet ready on the continent. If the near-meltdowns that plagued Japan’s nuclear facilities after this year’s earthquake are any indication, nuclear power may be too far down the road to be an effective remedy for the continent’s energy poverty.

If we follow the continent’s pattern of innovation leap-frogging that redefined computing and telecommunications industries, can we posit that solar and wind are solutions waiting for an appropriate distribution strategy for the continent?

Katherine Lucey, founder of C4C partner, Solar Sister, is hopeful about solar technology on the continent:

Solar is the most democratic source of energy that we have. We all live under the same sun. It is available freely and abundantly. Especially for those living on or near the equator, solar is a renewable, distributed energy source. And especially where the lack of infrastructure investment means that there are no wires for a grid system, solar is an energy solution that people can access themselves, today, without waiting for government or NGO interventions that may never come.

The reduction in infrastructure expenditures for mobile network operators made it easy for mobiles to surpass land lines in the last decade on the continent. The marriage of 3G internet wireless modems and laptops has ushered in a quick death to location-based internet access.

Like communications technologies, could solar be the next technology to help the continent leap-frog traditional energy? Like land-lines, hydro, and nuclear energy sources are centralized and require large investments in delivery mechanisms, making them less favorable energy solutions.

Hydro-power currently makes up the lion’s share of renewable energy produced globally, while solar accounts for only a sliver. Africa, on the other hand, has managed to only tap into 20% of it’s total available hydro capacity. Some of the biggest barriers to faster hydro-energy adoption include lack of adequate infrastructure to move this energy to the last mile, the high cost of building dams, and the accompanying disruption of sensitive ecological systems. A recent HYDROPOWER RESOURCE ASSESSMENT OF AFRICA noted as much:

The total installed capacity of Africa is about 20.3GW and a total generation of 76 000GW/year. A comparison with the Gross theoretical hydropower potential of about 4 000 000 GWh/year indicates that the current production from hydropower plants in Africa is about 20% of the total potential.

Of course, the solar revolution is not going to happen overnight, or without its own investment requirements. But if a financial bet similar to mobile platform investment can be targeted towards upscaling the solar industry, imagine the possibilities. And it requires less investment than you might think.

Katherine Lucey again,
Education, awareness, distribution - a presumption that it is expensive and a luxury, when in fact it is extremely economical and appropriate for all levels of income, from the $20 lamps that replace families expenditure of up to $100 of kerosene in one year, to larger scale systems appropriate for the rising African middle class.

It's 5 o'clock in the morning. I'm wide-awake struggling with jetlag, but glad about it because it gives me time to reflect.

Since January this year I have been an active part of the Connect4Climate team at the World Bank, and what exciting months these have already been. In 2011 I was honoured to receive the special prize of the Connect4Climate Photo and Video competitions with my photograph Climate Theatre and my video The World Has Malaria. At the time my partner Astrid Westerlind Wigström and I were running a number of rural climate change communication interventions in South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya under the ClimateConsious Programme.

Working with local partner NGOs we engaged communities to tell their climate change experiences through photostories. These were re-worked into an educational climate change theatre or film script and participatory community productions were initiated. The theatre/film teams performed their shows in communities in the region and educational discussions followed the performances/screenings. Thinking back I am excited to see how far the climate message has progressed.

Member country officials, private and public sector executives and academics assembled in Lima last week to discuss global concerns and achievements: poverty eradication, climate change, renewable energy, international development, and more. Over three days at the Annunal meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund concerns, achievements and commitments were announced by world leaders just two months before COP21.

Finance ministers of the "Vulnerable Twenty" (V20) countries most at risk from climate change, representing close to 700 million people, said this week that an average of more than 50,000 deaths a year were attributable to climate change, with the number expected to rise exponentially by 2030.

On Oct. 9, following the Climate Ministerial meeting hosted by Peru and France, the Bank Group pledged to boost climate-related financing by as much as a third, to as high as $29 billion annually, with the support of the Bank Group’s member countries.

"The World Bank Group stands ready to scale up its support to meet increasing demand from countries," Jim Yong Kim, World Bank President, said in a press conference.

"If world leaders do not find a path to low-carbon growth that will keep global warming below an increase of 2 degrees Celsius, there is little hope of ending extreme poverty — and even more broadly, there is little hope of preserving the Earth as we know it for our children and grandchildren," said Kim and he urged countries to "show real ambition" at the climate change conference in Paris in December.

Connect4Climate followed the Annual Meetings closely, as they were filled with impressive and inspirational statements - see some highlighted quotes below:

The cost of everything is higher in today’s world, mainly at the grocery store. Which is a trip that many of us want to skip once in a while. We could start skipping it and even drastically slash our bill, by growing our own food…

Many people think that to grow fruits and vegetables could be overwhelming, but it is actually easier than what you think…

What you firstly need is small square feet of land, or a container gardening, water and a little time. Our ancestors did it and so we can!!!

By growing your own vegetables and fruits you can:

• Improve your health:

To eat fresh fruits and vegetables is a way that your body could stay healthy. By having them in your backyard they have a higher level of vitamin content. Fresh food could actually be the best thing for your health. We don’t know how long has the food on the supermarket shelf been there? Or even how long has the fruit or vegetable been traveling for? If the fruit is fresh it is more likely to taste better as well.

• Save money:

As soon as you start consuming your own vegetable and fruits, your grocery bill will go down. You only need a packet of vegetable and seeds that can cost less than a dollar and water.

• Reduce negative impact on the environment:

Growing fruits and vegetables in your backyard helps the planet in many ways. By growing your food, you are avoiding [commercial] pesticides and herbicides. You will also reduce the use of fossil fuels, and the pollution that is created by supermarkets. You are also less likely to waste your food.

Also, think about all the exercise you get from gardening. Planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting could be the exercise of the day and a family activity as well. Gardening is also an activity that relaxes you because the physical activity is not very intense. It is a way to take your mind into something else and get pure air and sunshine.

Overall, by growing your food you are building a sense of pride. Watching a plant grow thanks to your care and making it a healthy meal for your family is gratifying. It is a direct process that helps your health and personal well-being. When you are watching the process of a seed blossoming, you don’t have to care about food safely. You can just forget about the farm manufacturing plant, contamination and the transportation process.

This is a hobby that can actually improve your health, your wallet, and the environment!