Managing a changing climate in Africa: Local level vulnerabilities and adaptation experiences

Abstract

The realisation that the Earth climate might be sensitive to the atmospheric concentrations of gases that create a greenhouse effect is more than a century olds (IISD 2008; IPCC1 2007d: 7-9). Scientist such as Fourier (French) and Arrhenius (Swedish) explained the Earth’s greenhouse effect and the role played by some atmospheric gases such as CO2 and methane (CH4) in warming our planet (Fleming, 1998). Around the same time, Arrhenius, together with Chamberlain, an American scientist, realised that the burning of fossils fuels could lead to global warming. Indeed there is increasing evidence from work that have been carried out over nearly two decades by the IPCC, which cements the conclusion that global warming and subsequent climate change are largely due to human activities. However, there continues to be considerable debate regarding the causes of climate change, that is, whether it is included by anthropogenic activities or simply within the range of natural variability in climate.