DAR ES SALAAM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The East African Community (EAC) is moving forward with a coordinated 10-year climate change strategy to address climate risks, strengthen resilience, and support sustainable economic transformation across the region, according to a statement released on Friday.
Opening a four-day regional meeting, EAC Acting Director of Productive Sectors Simon Kiarie said the strategy will operationalize the climate change policy by translating its provisions into actionable programs and investments, improving access to climate finance through credible regional projects.
The strategy prioritizes four areas, including strengthening early warning systems and adaptation, advancing a low-carbon and circular economy, restoring ecosystems through transboundary action, and enhancing governance and institutional capacity, said the statement.
According to the World Meteorological Organization's State of the Climate in Africa 2023 report, African countries lose between 2 and 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually due to climate extremes, with up to 9 percent of national budgets redirected to disaster response.
In East Africa, losses are projected to reach between 2 and 4 percent of GDP per year by 2040.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change estimates that 4.7 million people across EAC member states face persistent climate-related crises, a figure expected to rise with the inclusion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia as new members. ■