Environment and climate change in Africa in an era of sustainable development goals

This chapter discusses the overlap between Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with regard to goals that explicitly or implicitly address environment and climate change concerns. It presents an overview of some issues of capacity development and institutional effectiveness. The chapter then reviews the progress so far starting from the era of MDGs to address environmental degradation and challenges of climate change. It also provides review of existing initiatives that explicitly have been adopted by African countries to pursue green growth principles and a prospective look at how the environmental and climate change challenges can be confronted under the SDGs. The chapter focuses on the recent drought sweeping across Southern and the Horn of Africa which leads to worsening of the existing food insecurity of the continent. It also provides a specific country case study that can give insights about potential beneficial pathways in protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development while adapting to climate change.