Africa is responsible for approximately 4% of global cumulative carbon emissions. It is bearing a disproportionate share of climate consequences. This is the central injustice of the climate crisis, and understanding it is not a matter of politics — it is a matter of arithmetic.

What the science shows

The continent is warming faster than the global average. Rainfall patterns are becoming unreliable. The frequency and intensity of droughts, floods, and cyclones is increasing. Without significant mitigation, up to 118 million extremely poor people will be exposed to climate extremes by 2030.

We are paying the price for a debt we did not incur.

The adaptation gap

African governments are not passive. Kenya has invested in geothermal energy. Morocco has built one of the world’s largest solar plants. Ethiopia’s Great Green Wall is restoring degraded land. The problem is finance — the gap between what wealthy nations pledged at climate summits and what they’ve delivered runs into hundreds of billions of dollars.