Challenges and Opportunities for Climate Change Education (CCE) in East Africa: A Critical Review

Understanding the connections between climate change, air pollution, and human health in Africa: Insights from a literature review

Climate change and air pollution are two interconnected global challenges that have profound impacts on human health. In Africa, a continent known for its rich biodiversity and diverse ecosystems, the adverse effects of climate change and air pollution are particularly concerning. This review study examines the implications of air pollution and climate change for human health and well-being in Africa. It explores the intersection of these two factors and their impact on various health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory disorders, mental health, and vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly. The study highlights the disproportionate effects of air pollution on vulnerable groups and emphasizes the need for targeted interventions and policies to protect their health. Furthermore, it discusses the role of climate change in exacerbating air pollution and the potential long-term consequences for public health in Africa. The review also addresses the importance of considering temperature and precipitation changes as modifiers of the health effects of air pollution. By synthesizing existing research, this study aims to shed light on complex relationships and highlight the key findings, knowledge gaps, and potential solutions for mitigating the impacts of climate change and air pollution on human health in the region. The insights gained from this review can inform evidence-based policies and interventions to mitigate the adverse effects on human health and promote sustainable development in Africa.

How do carbon emissions, economic growth, population growth, trade openness and employment influence food security? Recent evidence from the East Africa

East Africa has a substantially greater rate of food insecurity than other regions of the world. Scenarios of climate change and other macroeconomic variables are important contributors to food insecurity in East Africa. Using data spanning from 1990 to 2020, this study looked into the influence of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, economic growth, population growth, trade openness, and agricultural employment on food security in the East Africa. The fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) models were used in this study. The heterogeneous panel cointegration test's findings indicated that the study variables have an equilibrium long-term connections. The estimation findings from the FMOLS and DOLS models showed that an increase in CO₂ emissions increases food security in the East Africa over the long term. According to other findings, long-term food security is positively impacted by economic expansion, population growth, trade openness, and employment in agriculture. However, trade openness has a detrimental long-lasting effect on food security. Future research directions, research limitations, and policy implications are discussed.

Developing a guide to climate & health justice education: Process and content

Climate justice and health education can address the disproportionate health impacts of climate change on minoritized communities by providing frameworks to build awareness and instigate action on climate-related health inequities. The Envisioning Environmental Equity Educator's Guide to Climate and Health Justice provides a framework for educators, activists and health professionals to lead lessons on health and climate justice that center the experiences of those Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA) by climate change. Collaborators in Brazil, the Philippines, and Uganda engaged in stakeholder meetings to assess priorities and needs about climate and health with policymakers, doctors, activists, and students. These meetings informed the product: An educator's guide to climate and health justice that explores their dynamics from an anti-racist, anti-colonial approach. The guide serves as a recommended lesson framework fit with concepts, examples, and activities for educators teaching in primary and secondary learning settings. It is an innovative climate and health justice educational resource that draws on principles of anti-colonialism, critical thinking and consciousness, and engaged pedagogy. It offers a strategy for climate justice communication that targets diverse audiences across climate, health and social contexts by promoting educational approaches that center MAPA experiences, fit for diverse audiences.

Knowledge of climate change and adaptation by smallholder farmers: evidence from southern Ethiopia

Climate change has the greatest negative impact on low-income countries, which burdens agricultural systems. Climate change and extreme weather events have caused Ethiopia's agricultural production to decline and exacerbated food insecurity over the last few decades. This study investigates whether farmers' awareness and perceptions of climate change play a role in climate change adaptation using climate-smart agricultural practices. To collect data, 385 households in Southern Ethiopia were sampled using a multistage sampling. A Heckman probit two-stage selection model was applied to investigate the factors influencing farmers' perceptions to climate change and adaptation measures through adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices, complemented with key informant interviews and focused group discussions. The results indicated that most farmers (81.80%) perceived that the local climate is changing, with 71.9% reporting increased temperature and 53.15% reporting decreasing rainfall distribution. Therefore, farmers attempted to apply some adaptation practices, including soil and water conservation with biological measures, improved crop varieties, agroforestry, improved breeds, cut and carry system, controlled grazing, and residue incorporation. The empirical results revealed that farmers adaptation to climate change through adoptions of CSA practices was significantly influenced by education, family size, gender, landholding size, farming experience, access to climate information, training received, social membership, livestock ownership, farm income and extension services. The study found that farmers' perceptions of climate change and variability were significantly influenced by their age, level of education, farming experience, and access to climate information, hence, the need to focus on enhancing the accuracy of weather information, strengthening extension services, and considering a gender-sensitive adaptation approach toward improving farmers' knowledge and aspirations. Agricultural policies should support the efforts of farmers to increase the reliance on climate risk and alleviate farmers' difficulties in adopting climate-smart agriculture practices.

Review: Climate change resilience disconnect in rural communities in coastal Kenya. A rhetoric communication discord proliferated by COVID-19 pandemic

The world has been hit by consequential pandemics in the past two millennia. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken center stage, paralyzing vulnerable communities in the global south impacted by unprecedented climate vagaries. The focus of this study is COVID-19 and climate resilience communication rhetoric. In this context, we embed this study in response to the resilience of rural livelihoods to the COVID-19 crisis and climate resilience education communication rhetoric. We posit our review based on the following questions: Has COVID-19 worsened the climate resilience pathway for rural communities in coastal Kenya? Is the COVID-19 pandemic a proxy for climate resilience in rural livelihoods? How does COVID-19 communication rhetoric undermine climate resilience for vulnerable coastal communities in Kenya? Through a resilient theoretical paradigm, we enclose our view based on the existing literature along with climate resilience and COVID-19 proliferation. In light of the current state of COVID-19, the focus has shifted to the pandemic that will cover climate resilience. From the review, climate resilience pathway has been impacted by corona virus with noted funding response variations, in addition, even with the corona virus pandemic, climate resilience communication should be on-going rather than sporadic. Increasing the discursive process about climate change challenges is critical among Kenyan coastal communities. We recommend inclusion of climate resilience communication in existing policy frameworks as a salient solution to notable information discourse bottlenecks.

Sustainable Development Goal for Education: Teachers’ Perspectives on Climate Change Education in Senior High Schools (SHS)

Any program intended to equip the populace, particularly young people, to combat climate change and its repercussions must include education. As crucial stakeholders in education, teachers have the primary responsibility of preparing young people to deal with the effects of climate change. In two districts of Ghana’s Bono region, the study assessed SHS teachers’ viewpoints on climate change and their willingness to include climate change concerns in classes. The degree to which climate change was incorporated into the syllabi of selected disciplines was also assessed. For this study, data was collected from a hundred (n = 100) SHS teachers from 10 of the 15 schools in the study area using a simple random sampling method. The Pearson chi-square test was used to examine the association between the subject content and teachers’ desire to teach climate change. The data were analyzed using SPSS (v25). The findings demonstrated that teachers’ readiness to educate about climate change was influenced by the subjects they taught. Subjects that were not science-based provided little information on climate change to teachers. Climate change is addressed in many areas in Integrated Science and Social Studies, and it is a core topic for all students. Climate change should be taught using an interdisciplinary approach, and in-service training for teachers could be beneficial.

Where Does an Individual’s Willingness to Act on Alleviating the Climate Crisis in Korea Arise from?

Climate change is the result of anthropogenic activities and will lead to widespread and rapid changes on Earth in the following decades. The climate change crisis has led to economic, social, and cultural crises worldwide. This study analyzes the factors impacting the voluntary actions of individuals to mitigate the climate change crisis. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire survey from 650 Korean adults. Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical program IBM SPSS Statistics 25. The results show that the factors affecting an individual’s willingness to act on climate change mitigation were gender, social class, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived obstacles, environmental attitude, and social exclusion. In particular, the results show that social exclusion had a moderating effect on the severity of the willingness to act on climate change mitigation. Regarding the moderating effect of social exclusion, significance was determined for gender, social class, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived obstacles, environmental attitude, and social exclusion (R2 = 0.617). The government should thus make efforts to reduce social exclusion in order to strengthen individuals’ willingness to act on climate change mitigation.

Engaging local youths in humanitarian response is not a matter of if but how

Despite being critical responders in humanitarian crises, local youths are continually left out of the humanitarian action agenda. This paper used a qualitative methodology to investigate local youths' role in humanitarian response and their impacts and assessed how humanitarian actors influence the effectiveness of youth engagement. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with local youths who participated in the Ebola response in Sierra Leone. Findings showed that young people are significantly contributing to crises response. However, they lack an enabling environment and support system to convert their skills into valuable humanitarian resources efficiently. Therefore, despite the rhetoric that many reports and policies reflect, this study establishes that the realities of youth engagement in humanitarian activities are often misunderstood and controlled for the self-interest of different actors other than youths themselves. It advocates for a renewed focus and support for young people's skills as  paramount for effective humanitarian response and building back resilient communities after emergencies. Besides, engaging local youths in tackling crises empowers them with transferable skills and stimulates their passion for participating in development issues within their communities.

Policies and practices of climate change education in South Asia: towards a support framework for an impactful climate change adaptation

South Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to the impacts of climate change. While it has contributed the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, the people in the region face imminent threats to their health and well-being due to extreme weather events and a range of other climate-induced challenges, such as biodiversity loss and monsoon floods. Climate change education (CCE), if properly implemented, can prove to be vital in addressing such challenges and in helping people make informed decisions on adaptation strategies. To this end, this paper explores how CCE is addressed in the climate policies of South Asian countries. The paper also explores the implementation and operationalization of these policies within the respective countries. A content analysis of the climate policies of member states was conducted for the period 2007–2021. The findings revealed that climate change education has been highlighted within individual policies pertaining to formal and informal education, research and development, and public awareness initiatives. However, a gap analysis between policies and practices reveals that significant work is still needed for the effective implementation of policies supporting CCE at local levels. The current study seeks to contextualize these gaps by situating them within the relevant theoretical backdrops. In doing so, the research aims to make a meaningful contribution to the understanding of how CCE can be effectively deployed and delivered towards an impactful climate change adaptation, building on a support framework.