Political economy of climate change adaptation in Africa

This chapter highlights some of the economic, social, and political struggles that shape vulnerability to climate change in Africa. Drawing on research that uses political economy as an analytical approach, we focus on processes of adaptation—altering infrastructure, institutions, or economic activities in order to respond to the effects of climate change. African experiences of climate change illustrate the socially-constructed nature of climate vulnerability. Past and present injustices brought on by colonialism and neocolonialism make people disproportionately vulnerable to climate impacts thereby exacerbating barriers to adaptation. The vulnerability-enhancing aspects of climate change operate via economic and social pathways, particularly through interactions with political processes. Research informed by political economy finds that many Africans are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change because they lack power and influence relative to other members of (global) society, including African elites and populations living in wealthier countries.