Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.
As this week’s United Nations Climate Action Summit focused more global attention on the effects of climate change, several African leaders used the event to signal a stronger, continent-wide commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Africa is easily the lowest emitter of greenhouse gases of any continent, and as a whole it produces fewer emissions than the United States. South Africa is the only African country to rank among the top 20 global emitters. Because it is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Africa is usually presented as a victim of extreme weather and other environmental conditions brought on by rising global temperatures, like when an unusual series of cyclones struck Mozambique earlier this year.