Africans at risk of famine, drought and displacement, U.N. climate report warns

African countries are having to spend up to five percent of their annual economic output to shield themselves against the impacts of climate change, even though they emit the least greenhouse gases in the world, a report released Saturday said.

Tens of millions of people across Africa face the risk of famine, drought, disease and displacement within decades, according to a landmark United Nations climate report released Monday that forecasts a dire future for the continent least responsible for global warming. 

...Mohamed Adow, director of the Nairobi-based think tank Power Shift Africa, said Monday’s assessment showed how richer nations “continue to treat displacement as a security threat when it’s actually an adaptation measure by people forced from their homes due to climate consequences.”

“Climate impacts in Africa are getting more severe,” Adow said. “They are putting millions of lives at risk, and these people are not getting support from the international community, including the historic polluters.”

He said that rather than providing aid each time a natural disaster strikes, rich countries have a responsibility in “addressing the root cause and supporting these communities to adapt and help with the irreversible loss and damage of climate change.”