Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

The Effects of Climate Change in Africa: Replicating the GCA Model for Economic Development

Received: 15 June 2026     Accepted: 24 June 2026     Published: 12 November 2026
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Climate change represents one of the most significant challenges confronting economic development in Africa during the twenty-first century. Although the continent contributes less than four percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, African countries remain among the most vulnerable to climate-induced shocks, including rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, flooding, desertification, biodiversity loss, and disruptions to agricultural productivity. This study replicates and extends the analytical framework developed by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) to evaluate the economic consequences of climate change and the effectiveness of adaptation investments across African economies. Using a panel dataset covering 48 African countries from 2000-2023, the study employs fixed-effects estimation, System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), and instrumental variable techniques to examine the relationship between climate exposure, adaptation finance, vulnerability, and economic growth. The findings indicate that climate-related shocks significantly reduce GDP per capita growth, particularly in agriculture-dependent economies. However, adaptation investments substantially mitigate economic losses and improve resilience outcomes. Counterfactual simulations suggest that scaling adaptation financing in line with the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) could reduce cumulative GDP losses by between 12 and 30 percent over a decade. The study concludes that adaptation investments constitute not only a climate policy response but also a critical development strategy for Africa.

Published in American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business (Volume 12, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11
Page(s) 97-109
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Climate Change, Adaptation Finance, Economic Development, Africa, GCA Model, Resilience, Climate Economics, Panel Econometrics

References
[1] IPCC. Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Geneva: IPCC; 2023.
[2] Diffenbaugh NS, Burke M. Global warming has increased global economic inequality. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2019; 116(20): 9808-9813.
[3] African Development Bank. African Economic Outlook 2024. Abidjan: AfDB; 2024.
[4] Hallegatte S, Rentschler J, Rozenberg J. Lifelines: The Resilient Infrastructure Opportunity. Washington DC: World Bank; 2019.
[5] World Meteorological Organization. State of the Climate in Africa 2023. Geneva: WMO; 2024.
[6] World Bank. Climate and Development Report for Africa. Washington DC; 2024.
[7] United Nations Environment Programme. Adaptation Gap Report 2024. Nairobi: UNEP; 2024.
[8] Fankhauser S, Smith JB, Tol RSJ. Weathering climate change. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change. 2016; 21(5): 655-669.
[9] Global Center on Adaptation. State and Trends in Adaptation Report 2024. Rotterdam: GCA; 2024.
[10] African Development Bank. Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program Report. 2024.
[11] Carleton TA, Hsiang SM. Social and economic impacts of climate. Science. 2016; 353(6304).
[12] Acemoglu D, Restrepo P. Artificial intelligence and economic growth. J Econ Perspect. 2019; 33(2): 3-30.
[13] Burke M, Davis WM, Diffenbaugh NS. Large potential reduction in economic damages under climate stabilization. Nature. 2018; 557: 549-553.
[14] Kotz M, Levermann A, Wenz L. Economic impacts of climate change. Nature. 2024; 628: 551-557.
[15] Dell M, Jones BF, Olken BA. Temperature shocks and economic growth. Am Econ J. 2017; 9(3): 1-34.
[16] Baltagi BH. Econometric Analysis of Panel Data. 6th ed. Springer; 2021.
[17] Hallegatte S. Adaptation economics and climate resilience. World Dev. 2020; 134: 105044.
[18] Wooldridge JM. Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data. MIT Press; 2021.
[19] Arellano M, Bover O. Another look at instrumental variables estimation. J Econom. 1995; 68(1): 29-51.
[20] Blundell R, Bond S. Initial conditions and moment restrictions. J Econom. 1998; 87(1): 115-143.
[21] Bond SR. Dynamic panel data models. Econometric Reviews. 2019; 38(5): 489-504.
[22] Kahn ME et al. Long-term macroeconomic effects of climate change. Energy Econ. 2021; 104: 105624.
[23] Auffhammer M. Climate economics. J Econ Lit. 2018; 56(3): 838-868.
[24] Dasgupta P. The Economics of Biodiversity. Nature. 2021; 593: 191-193.
[25] UNDP. Human Development Report 2023/2024. New York; 2024.
[26] OECD. Climate Finance Provided and Mobilised 2013-2022. Paris; 2024.
[27] Beegle K, Christiaensen L. Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa. World Bank. 2019.
[28] Stern N. Economics of Climate Change after Paris. Clim Policy. 2018; 18(8): 1013-1027.
[29] Tol RSJ. Economic impacts of climate change review. Rev Environ Econ Policy. 2018; 12(1): 4-25.
[30] World Bank. World Development Indicators 2025. Washington DC; 2025.
[31] Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. ND-GAIN Country Index Technical Report. 2024.
[32] Ritchie H, Roser M. Climate Change Data Explorer. Our World in Data. 2024.
[33] United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals Report. 2024.
[34] IMF. Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa. 2025.
[35] Wenz L, Levermann A. Climate impacts and adaptation. Nat Clim Change. 2024; 14(2): 120-128.
[36] Rozenberg J, Fay M. Beyond the Gap: Infrastructure and Development. World Bank. 2019.
[37] Fomby T, Ikeda Y, Loayza N. Growth after natural disasters. J Appl Econom. 2018; 33(3): 412-434.
[38] Noy I, Vu TB. Economic impacts of disasters. Econ Disasters Clim Change. 2020; 4(1): 1-22.
[39] African Union. Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy 2022-2032. Addis Ababa; 2022.
[40] United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Adaptation Communications Synthesis Report. Bonn; 2024.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Oduola, I., Esther, M. (2026). The Effects of Climate Change in Africa: Replicating the GCA Model for Economic Development. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business, 12(4), 97-109. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Oduola, I.; Esther, M. The Effects of Climate Change in Africa: Replicating the GCA Model for Economic Development. Am. J. Theor. Appl. Bus. 2026, 12(4), 97-109. doi: 10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Oduola I, Esther M. The Effects of Climate Change in Africa: Replicating the GCA Model for Economic Development. Am J Theor Appl Bus. 2026;12(4):97-109. doi: 10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11,
      author = {Idowu Oduola and Monioluwa Esther},
      title = {The Effects of Climate Change in Africa: Replicating the GCA Model for Economic Development},
      journal = {American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business},
      volume = {12},
      number = {4},
      pages = {97-109},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajtab.20261204.11},
      abstract = {Climate change represents one of the most significant challenges confronting economic development in Africa during the twenty-first century. Although the continent contributes less than four percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, African countries remain among the most vulnerable to climate-induced shocks, including rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, flooding, desertification, biodiversity loss, and disruptions to agricultural productivity. This study replicates and extends the analytical framework developed by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) to evaluate the economic consequences of climate change and the effectiveness of adaptation investments across African economies. Using a panel dataset covering 48 African countries from 2000-2023, the study employs fixed-effects estimation, System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), and instrumental variable techniques to examine the relationship between climate exposure, adaptation finance, vulnerability, and economic growth. The findings indicate that climate-related shocks significantly reduce GDP per capita growth, particularly in agriculture-dependent economies. However, adaptation investments substantially mitigate economic losses and improve resilience outcomes. Counterfactual simulations suggest that scaling adaptation financing in line with the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) could reduce cumulative GDP losses by between 12 and 30 percent over a decade. The study concludes that adaptation investments constitute not only a climate policy response but also a critical development strategy for Africa.},
     year = {2026}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Effects of Climate Change in Africa: Replicating the GCA Model for Economic Development
    AU  - Idowu Oduola
    AU  - Monioluwa Esther
    Y1  - 2026/11/12
    PY  - 2026
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11
    T2  - American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business
    JF  - American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business
    JO  - American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business
    SP  - 97
    EP  - 109
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2469-7842
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtab.20261204.11
    AB  - Climate change represents one of the most significant challenges confronting economic development in Africa during the twenty-first century. Although the continent contributes less than four percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, African countries remain among the most vulnerable to climate-induced shocks, including rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, flooding, desertification, biodiversity loss, and disruptions to agricultural productivity. This study replicates and extends the analytical framework developed by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) to evaluate the economic consequences of climate change and the effectiveness of adaptation investments across African economies. Using a panel dataset covering 48 African countries from 2000-2023, the study employs fixed-effects estimation, System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), and instrumental variable techniques to examine the relationship between climate exposure, adaptation finance, vulnerability, and economic growth. The findings indicate that climate-related shocks significantly reduce GDP per capita growth, particularly in agriculture-dependent economies. However, adaptation investments substantially mitigate economic losses and improve resilience outcomes. Counterfactual simulations suggest that scaling adaptation financing in line with the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) could reduce cumulative GDP losses by between 12 and 30 percent over a decade. The study concludes that adaptation investments constitute not only a climate policy response but also a critical development strategy for Africa.
    VL  - 12
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Economics, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

  • Centre for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Studies, African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Nigeria

  • Sections