Funding flows for climate change research on Africa: where do they come from and where do they go?

Abstract

Africa has only contributed a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions yet faces disproportionate risks from climate change. This imbalance is one of many inequities associated with climate change and raises questions concerning the origin, distribution and thematic prioritization of funding for climate-change research on Africa. This article analyses a database comprising USD 1.51 trillion of research grants from 521 organizations around the world and covering all fields of research from 1990 to 2020. At most 3.8% of global funding for climate-change research is spent on African topicsa figure incommensurate with Africa's share of the world population and vulnerability to climate change. Moreover, institutions based in Europe and North America received 78% of funding for climate research on Africa, while African institutions received only 14.5%. Research on climate mitigation received only 17% of the funding while climate impacts and adaptation each received around 40%. Except for Egypt and Nigeria, funding supported research on former British colonies more than other African countries. The findings highlight the need to prioritise research on a broader set of climate-change issues in Africa and to increase funding for Africa-based researchers in order to strengthen African ownership of research informing African responses to climate change.

Decolonizing climate change–heritage research

“…Climate change is an increasing focus of heritage research across Europe and North America, including identification of site-specific adaptation options for heritage perservation 1, 2 . In contrast, climate change research in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited due to systemic gaps in access to funding and its associated knowledge generation and thought leadership 3,4 , and rarely concentrates on heritage 5,6 (see Fig. 1).…”

“…The prevailing conceptions and research foci in LMICs are dominated by the perspective of higher income countries (HICs) 18,19 , perpetuating a narrow, Eurocentric view, and mirroring colonial legacies that continue to shape priorities for climate research questions, funding, and outputs globally 3,20,21 (Fig. 2).…”

“…[INSERT BOX 1 HERE] Research, data and knowledge barriers that undermine the potential for more informed responses to climate change also pose a risk to heritage 3,15 . Development of robust climate change adaptation strategies for heritage is impaired by lack of up-to-date, adequately downscaled climate data and heritage-focussed climate information services, particularly for LMICs, some of which are too small for current resolutions of global climate models, such as small island developing states 16 .…”

Climate Resilient Development Pathways in Global Drylands

“…Increasing levels of warming narrow the options and choices that are available and feasible (Schipper et al 2022). Climate research finance on Africa has not targeted countries, where drylands make up a significant proportion of their territory leading to severe knowledge gaps, in part determined by colonial and Anglophone patterns of knowledge creation (Overland et al 2021;Simpson et al 2022).…”

A Conceptual Framework of Climate Action Needs of the Least Developed Party Countries of the Paris Agreement

“…Climate change, with its continuous increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is now disrupting lives everywhere [ 1 ]. Despite their nominal contribution to GHG emissions, the least developed countries are the most vulnerable to its consequences [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. It raises concerns related to climate justice and climate governance [ 5 ].…”