West African countries agree on climate strategy

The leaders of the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed Friday on a regional strategy to deal with global warming over the next 10 years.

Members of the regional organisation, in agreement with the European Union, plan to spend $294 billion (€278 billion) over the next 10 years to meet the challenges of climate change.

"Between 2020 and 2030, we estimate (the necessary expenditure) to be about $294 billion," Sekou Sangare, the ECOWAS Commissioner for agriculture, environment, and water resources said at a press briefing in Accra on Friday.

According to him, the strategy also aims to raise awareness about adopting new lifestyles to help combat global warming.

The strategy calls for the cooperation of regional institutions, the fifteen member states of ECOWAS, their partners and civil society actors.

It also aims for a regional policy that is compatible with the Paris climate agreement.

The workshop is part of the last stages of the ECOWAS Commission's 1st Regional Climate Strategy formulation process.

The ECOWAS Commission led this procedure in 2020 through the European Commission-funded Global Climate Change Alliance Plus initiative GCCA+.

Coastal degradation and erosion are major challenges, particularly in West Africa, according to the annual State of the Climate Report 2019.

About 56% of the coasts of Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Togo are affected by erosion, a phenomenon that is set to increase.