Africa Talks Climate

According to the BBC WST, the major objective of Africa Talks Climate is to identify entry points to engage, inform, and empower Africans in local, national, and international conversations about climate change. To achieve this, the initiative will collate opinions and then amplify the voices of people at all levels of society through publications and media.

Ten countries have been identified in which BBC WST researchers will be conducting research: Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. In June 2009, fieldwork was already underway, with the Nigerian study completed, and a second wave of fieldwork took place in September 2009. Research is considered an entry point to let people know more about the impact of climate change. It is expected that the project's work across the ten countries on attitudes will combine with the work of others on the economic implications to provide advice and strategies on how to deal with the changing climate.

Across the year, prominent African thinkers were expected to publish a series of opinion pieces to highlight the issues and concerns, and in September, a BBC WST Policy Briefing series was published. The combined findings will also feed into discussions taking place at COP15 to help influence a post-Kyoto agreement. According to the BBC WST, developing nations are a critical part of this.

In addition to informing British Council projects, the results will be published and communicated to the media in Africa. It is anticipated that the findings will be the first step in delivering mass media campaigns to share information about the changing of the environment more effectively and offer practical advice on how to adapt to or mitigate climate change.

For access to the latest country information, reports from researchers, audio and image slideshows, and video clips by country, visit the interactive map on the Africa Talks Climate website. [Editors note: this site is no longer active, but please see Related Summaries below to access some of the reports]

Environment

According to the Nigeria Director for the British Council, Peter Upton, "Climate change is the defining issue of our age. Climate in Africa is one of the most important issues that all people and governments will face. Africa will be one of the most affected regions but has done the least to contribute to the problem."