Building African capacity for climate change and development challenges
In Africa, where existing poverty and development challenges will be greatly compounded by climate and other global environmental change, it is fundamental to enable development that is equitable, low in carbon emissions, and resilient to existing and expected climate risks and impacts.
The ARUA Centre of Excellence in Climate and Development (ARUA-CD) is an African-led and pan-African response to the continent’s climate-related development challenges and the knowledge and capacity urgently needed to address these.
Vision, mission and goals
Our vision is of African-led solutions, achieved through research excellence, knowledge co-production, and capacity building. Our mission is to create an enabling platform that is inclusive and transformational and embraces all forms of knowledge.
To achieve this we:
Our Partnership
The ARUA-CD consists of three core regional partners: the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI, based at the University of Cape Town) in Southern Africa, the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS, based at the University of Ghana) in West Africa, and the Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation (ICCA, based at the University of Nairobi) in East Africa.
Our partnership has a flat governance structure with all three universities playing leadership roles. Each regional hub has extensive existing capacity, local and international networks, as well as research and student teaching experience in climate change and development. With support from African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), this provides us with an excellent foundation upon which to build.