Africa

OSLO (Reuters) - Africa is the "forgotten continent" in the fight against climate change and needs help to cope with projected water shortages and declining crop yields, the U.N.'s top climate change official said on Sunday.

... "Africa is not getting a lot out of climate change policy at the moment," he [Yvo de Boer, head of the Bonn-based U.N. Climate Change Secretariat] said. "But climate change will affect Africa very severely."

The U.N. climate panel's final 26-page summary report, released in Spain on Saturday, says that Africa, the Arctic, the deltas of major rivers in Asia and small island states are likely to be especially affected by climate change. Click: Africa "forgotten continent" in climate fight


TUNIS (Reuters) - African nations must forge a united front at climate negotiations next month to win help to protect millions from the harm warmer weather is expected to bring, experts say.

Tens of millions of Africans face increasing water scarcity by 2020, posing potential food shortages and a rise in disease, scientists say, and Africa must push hard for the finance and expertise to enable it to devise regional solutions, they say. Click: Africa needs united action on climate


JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Africa's coastal infrastructure faces increasing danger of erosion from rising sea levels caused by climate change, the head of the U.N. Environment Program said on Thursday.

Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP, told a news conference that port facilities, refineries and expensive private properties were already degrading as a result of global warming. Click: Rising seas threaten Africa's coastline