As part of efforts to contribute meaningfully to both climate change mitigation and adaptation by providing the basis for efforts to reduce the negative effects of climate change, the Future Climate For Africa (FCFA) is organizing this year’s African Climate Risks Conference (ACRC2019) scheduled to take place in Addis Abba, Ethiopia from 7-9 October.

The conference which is expected to bring together an array of delegates from all walks of life including governments, policy makers, decision makers, researchers, stakeholders and non-governmental organizations will convene under the theme, ‘Dismantling Barriers to Urgent Climate Adaptation Action’.

The goal is to ensure the improved flow of knowledge and interactions among stakeholders toward greater impact and legacy of completed and on-going adaptation initiatives.

The 3-day high-level forum which has received endorsement form IPCC aims to disseminate results and share insights from new and ongoing climate science and adaptation research in Africa, provide a forum to identify common priorities in African climate research for development through African-led discussions and contribute towards efforts to ensure greater impact and legacy of ongoing research programmes by promoting the uptake of new data, tools and knowledge within planning and decision-making processes.

The event will also serve as an avenue to link researchers and other actors instrumental in moving research into policy and practice such as decision makers, national meteorological agencies, knowledge brokers, donors, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders.

One highlight of the ARC2019 is a training session to be organized Monday October 7 for over 15 selected journalists drawn from across Africa on how to report on the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land and the IPCC Special Report Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, as well as participate fully in the 3-day event.

According to the event organizers, the training workshop which will be conducted by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) was to afford the selected journalists the chance to learn about the IPCC processes and how to accurately report on climate science.

Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established that there is overwhelming evidence that humans are affecting climate and it highlighted the implications for human health.

The continued ascent of our species depends to a significant extent on our ability to limit further catastrophic changes to the climate and to adapt to both past and future changes.

In many parts of the world, changes in climatic variables – including incessant increases in temperature and declines in precipitation – are already having detrimental impacts on food security, human health, energy, biodiversity, etc.

Some of these impacts further alter the climate – e.g. plant biodiversity loss reduces CO2 sequestration and contributes to rising temperatures – creating positive feedback loops with increasingly perilous consequences for humanity.

The enormity of global warming can be daunting and dispiriting hence the need for a collaborated effort by all and sundry to slow and reverse the impact of climate change to make the world a better place for all.