The environmental and economic implications of the climate change and extractive industry nexus in Africa

Climate change and extractive industry are two important global streams that are linked to each other in that risks associated with the former can adversely affect different areas of the extractive sector, while the activities of the latter can contribute to climate change. Yet, this nexus is hardly clearly articulated in the context of implications for the environment and economic considerations in Africa. Assessing key literature on the two themes, the paper argues that the link of extractive industry with climate change can have both negative and positive implications for environmental protection and the economy in Africa. The nexus of climate change and the extractive sector can be negative in that unsustainable extractive processes in terms of their outcome of deforestation and energy use are an important source of carbon emission contributing to global warming. The nexus can be positive in that it involves initiatives that can contribute to sustainable extractive sector and thereby reduce carbon emissions underlying climate change.

Keywords: Africa, climate change, extractive sector, environmental protection, economic implications.
JEL Classification: Q51, Q58, N5