The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union and the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate action projects. Since 2018, the EIB has conducted similar large-scale climate surveys across Europe, China and the United States.
Here are some of the key findings from the first African and Middle East edition of the European Investment Bank’s (EIB’s) 2022 Climate Survey, covering: Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco and Tunisia.
Key findings
- 88% believe that climate change is already affecting their everyday life.
- 61% of respondents believe that climate change and environmental damage have affected their income or source of livelihood.
- 76% of respondents say renewable energy should be prioritised.
Climate change and environmental degradation
The survey results confirm that climate change has negatively affected the livelihoods of African people, with 61% stating that their income has been affected. These losses are typically due to severe drought, rising sea levels or coastal erosion, or extreme weather events such as floods or hurricanes.
More than half of African respondents (57%) say they or people they know have already taken some form of action to adapt to the impact of climate change. Some of these initiatives include investments in water-saving technologies to reduce the impact of drought and drain clearing in advance of flooding.
Meanwhile, more than a third (34%) of all African respondents say that climate change is one of the biggest challenges people in their country are currently facing, alongside other major challenges such as inflation or access to health care.
Investment in energy sources
When asked about the sources of energy their country should invest in, 76% of African respondents say renewable energy should be prioritised, far ahead of fossil fuels (13%).
The EIB has operated in Africa since 1965. Since then, the EIB has invested €59 billion in 52 African countries, supporting infrastructure projects, innovative firms and renewable energy schemes, in the public sector and private companies, from microenterprises to the largest multinationals. Africa needs to increase its spending on combating climate change by several hundred billion euros a year.
“A great majority of respondents in the countries polled in Africa are alerting us that climate change is already impacting their families and sources of income. Just after COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh, the results of the EIB 2022 Climate Survey also show that developing renewable energy is seen as an important priority by most of the respondents. At the EIB we have been supporting clean energy investments in Africa, such as wind power, hydropower and off-grid solutions, for many years. We stand ready to use our full range of advisory and financial instruments to support our partners on the ground to mitigate climate change, adapt to its already palpable, negative effects and ensure a just transition.”
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle
About the EIB Climate Survey
Conducted in partnership with the market research firm BVA, the first African edition of the EIB Climate Survey aims to inform the broader debate on attitudes and expectations in terms of climate action.
More than 6 000 respondents aged 15 and over from 10 African countries participated in the survey between 1 and 25 August 2022, with a representative panel for each of the countries polled.