Stakeholders’ Perception of Climate Actions in Some Developing Economies

Oluwaseun Fadeyi,Petra Maresova

doi:10.3390/cli8060066

Abstract

Resilience, adaptation and mitigation are unique but complimentary actions in the fight against climate change (CC), particularly in developing countries. Although evidence suggest the inclusion of stakeholder opinions as part of the frameworks for combating CC, this evidence is not well substantiated, and is not extensively described in sub-Sahara African CC literature. While language remains a big issue in CC discussions, processes comprised within climate actions are equally as important as both the language and the results. It is on the basis of the confusion surrounding the language adopted as actions geared towards combating CC that this study seeks to examine the opinions/perception of CC actors in three West African nations. It looks at perceived and/or suitable solutions to selected CC-imposed challenges in the midst of socio-economic and environmental concerns. A total of 475 individuals, representing NGOs, public and private organizations involved with CC issues, as well as private persons concerned about CC, were recruited across Nigeria, Niger, and Benin, over a two-year period (April 2017–April 2019). A questionnaire containing 15 items was administered. The results of data analysis using chi-square and Fischer’s exact tests show that the mean number of CC actors differs within and across all three countries for all climate action types against CC-imposed challenges. While CC adaptive plans and projects are thought to yield immediate results, they are also observed to be cheaper in comparison to mitigation and resilience projects.

Highlights

Several documented studies have suggested participation in the fight against climate change (CC)by CC actors, advocates, experts, activists, individuals from civil right groups involved in climate change (CC) activities, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned withCC issues, and concerned individuals across the world [1,2,3]
We observed that stakeholders rated mitigation and resilience as we found no significant difference in the comparison of the results generated from the choice of both actions
Due to the income level of many African countries, CC projects are sometimes carried out in partnership with third parties, who sometimes provide the funds for such projects

Summary

Introduction

Several documented studies have suggested participation in the fight against climate change (CC)by CC actors, advocates, experts, activists, individuals from civil right groups involved in climate change (CC) activities, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned withCC issues, and concerned individuals across the world [1,2,3]. This is a common practice in many regions today, there is more to be done with respect to this issue in sub-Saharan Africa While these stakeholder groups may not present us with scientific proofs on the need to cut carbon emissions, they are sometimes closer to the places where the impacts of climate change are greatly felt [4]. The United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP) organized by Fiji, and held 6–17 November 2017 in Bonn, Germany, identified resilience, adaptation, and mitigation as the three pillars to humankind’s response to CC [5].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion