The module is made up of three lessons:
Lesson 1 focuses on defining climate change, understanding what it is, what causes it and what the impacts of it are from a global perspective, but particularly from the standpoint of a city based in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Lesson 2 focuses on climate change mitigation. It includes the main drivers of emissions in cities in sub-Saharan Africa, trends and actions for mitigating them.
Lesson 3 tackles adaptation. It highlights the impacts of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa, such as floods, drought and extreme heat, and explains what adaptation measures are necessary depending on vulnerability and how a city can build adaptive capacity.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as:
A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.
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- CoM SSA was established in 2015 and is the African regional chapter of the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM), an alliance of over 13,000 cities promoting urban climate action.
- It is one of 14 regional branches/chapters of the Global Covenant of Mayors
- It comprises a network of 360+ sub-Saharan African cities who are making ambitious climate change commitments, and sharing good practice.
- It is a partnership between city networks, development agencies and funding institutions. The aim of the partnership is to support cities in meeting the dual challenge of climate change and access to sustainable energy to achieve a low-emission, climate resilient and sustainable energy future.
- The CoM SSA initiative is a European Union (EU) action that supports the external dimension of the European Green Deal, as the global challenges of climate change and environmental degradation require a global response. At the same time CoM SSA moves to strengthen the Africa-EU partnership and supports Agenda 2063 of the African Union Commission.
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What makes the difference with CoM SSA is the vision that we carry as mayors and local governments, but also the support and collaboration that cities and municipalities can contribute to discussions like this. CoM SSA is at the heart of climate action on the African continent.
Hon. Mohammed Adjei Sowah
Mayor of Accra, Ghana
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How we cool our homes, the way we make products, how we grow and transport our food and the way we travel all contribute to global emissions.
How we cool our homes, the way we make products, how we grow and transport our food and the way we travel all contribute to global emissions.