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1. Hope, Kempe. “Climate Change and Poverty in Africa.” __International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology__ Vol. 16, (2009): 451-461.

2. Kempe Ronald Hope is a professor of Development Studies at the University of Botswana. He has written many articles and books on poverty around the world. There is a strong focus on poverty issues in Africa. Much of his work looks at the different political, social, and climate related problems that cause poverty.

3. The article argues the potential for great devastation in Africa with impending climates change. Africa will be greatly affected because of its lack of adaptive capacity and governmental leadership. There is also a lack of economic and political power for Africa to make any meaningful changes to adapt to these future disasters.

4. The main issue being discussed is the fact that Africa will be affected greatly by climate changed. This can be seen in the social and economic challenges already faced by the region. The people of the region depend heavily on the available natural resources. These are general resources that can be damaged by drought and heat waves. Both are shown to be increasing in occurrence in Africa in the past century. People living below the poverty line also general live in poor quality buildings. Also they are force to occupy undesirable areas. These are places that are venerable to landslides, floods, and industrial toxic exposure. All these conditions will be exacerbated by further climate change.

Climate change will also change the continents ability to produce food. Hope states that climate change is expected to reduce the grain production of Africa by 10-20% by 2050. Currently farm production is a major portion of many countries’ GDP, up to 50% in some place. These decreases will be the result of desertification and extended droughts.

5. “ Africa is most vulnerable to climate change, although it makes the least contribution to factors that result in global and regional climatic changes.”

“…the potential devastating impact of climate change on socioeconomic development in Africa and the policy measures available to the continent for adaptation.”

“By 2005, sub-Saharan Africa still had only 51% and 73% of its total population living on US$1.25 and US$2.00 per day, respectively, compared to 53% and 74%, respectively, in 1981.”

6. The climate change that is the result of developed nation’s industrial activity is taking a disproportional toll on impoverished regions. This chain of effect is being passed on by the effects of climate change. Many of these developing countries are unable to properly adapt to these changes because of an insufficient economic and political support.

7. The increase in drought and heat waves leading to a decrease in the agricultural production ability.

The fact that the percentage of people living under the poverty level in Africa has nearly stagnated in the past 30 years, causing the actual number of people in poverty to increase.