West Africa’s telecoms sector is looking to expand connectivity, but is facing major challenges: infrastructure investment is lagging and requires predictability, but climate threats are jeopardising its progress.
A recent World Bank study, conducted by AXA Climate and regional telecoms expert ieng Group assessed over 65,000 assets and 95,000 kilometers of cables for future climate scenarios. Climate threats such as extreme heat, forest fires, floods and landslides are projected to compromise infrastructure integrity, leading to service interruptions, with the risks set to increase significantly by 2030 and even more by 2050.
To protect vulnerable infrastructures, a proactive approach to adapting to future threats is required. Climate resilience is therefore becoming a priority in investment strategies and project planning, requiring public-private partnerships to strengthen this resilience. Risk-sharing strategies between partners can provide an incentive to take climate risks into account, thereby improving the resilience of infrastructures. Five aspects, presented in the video below, need to be taken into account as of today in order to transform risks into opportunities and shape more resilient infrastructures.
AXA Climate Public Sector Consulting Team, co-creating adaptation strategies for vulnerable countries.
