InterSol 2018 - Workshop on Beyond the Debate: Climate Change as an Economic Opportunity for Africa

Africa will be one of the continents most affected by the impacts of climate change. According to the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), these potential impacts include the following: (1) increases in temperature by 2100, particularly in southern Africa; (2) decreases in precipitation, by more than 20% compared to the levels observed 20 years ago; (3) intense tropical storms —parts of the continent will see a 20% increase in cyclone activity; and (4) millions of people exposed to water stress -- agriculture fed by rain could experience a 50% drop in productivity in some African countries by 2020. All the social and economic sectors will be influenced by the impacts of climate change. Consequently, finding innovative strategies for adaptation and mitigation actions are crucial for the future of the continent.
Beyond the risks and costs of climate change to the African continent, pursuing these adaptation and mitigation strategies also presents a unique opportunity for African nations to seize the many benefits of a transition to a green and resilient economy. This includes opportunities in fields such as biotechnology (e.g. developing new seed varieties), cybersecurity, transportation, energy (e.g. exploiting Africa’s rich renewable energy resources), and the construction industry (e.g. building new climate resilient cities). Thus, we need to adapt our thinking in the fight against climate change to identify opportunities to create more economic value for the continent.
The primary objective of this workshop is to provide a platform to discuss this critical yet under-explored dimension of the climate change debate in Africa. In particular, the workshop will bring together top African experts and experts around the world to highlight the actions that government, industry and civil society can take to seize the economic opportunities involved in managing and mitigating climate change. It will provide an excellent opportunity for the African scientific community and leaders from the public and private sectors to:
· foster an improved understanding of climate change and its impacts
· jointly develop novel approaches and business models that leverage climate change to create new economic possibilities for Africa.
· enrich the narrative around the subject of climate change in Africa dominated by traditional resilience and adaptation strategies, including a focus on how Africa can build leadership and expertise in sectors critical to mitigating and managing climate change
· educate the next generation of business and political leaders around the issue of climate change, broadening the discussion beyond the risks and costs to include the unique economic opportunities
· strengthen the evidence base required to mobilize financing from multiples sources, such as public and private, bilateral, and multilateral, as well as innovative sources of finance, that will help advance this agenda
This workshop will be co-located with the second edition of the EAI International Conference on Innovations and Interdisciplinary Solutions for Underserved Areas (InterSol2018) (http://interdisciplinarysolutions.org/) to be held as a pre-event of the Next Einstein Forum Global Gathering (NEF GC) on March 24-25, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda.
Submitted papers will be peer-reviewed by an international team of experts and accepted papers will be invited to be discussed during the second annual meeting in March, 2018. Finally, all accepted papers will be published by Springer and made available through SpringerLink Digital Library, one of the world's largest scientific libraries.