(Ecofin Agency) - The initiative Climate Research for development (CR4D) in Africa announces that a first group of 21 African scientists will each receive a grant of £100,000 for their researches on climate science and its impacts on politics, development and community decisions.  

The laureates are from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Namibia, Uganda, Senegal and Zimbabwe.

The CR4D is an initiative born from the partnership between African Climate Policy Center (ACPC), the UNECA, the AMCOMET, the WMO, the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).

According to Vera Songwe (photo), executive secretary of the UNECA, these grants are “the beginning of a programme that will grow and enable Africa to develop a large pool of young scientists who are able to conduct research that can provide evidence to support development policy and planning for climate smart economy to ensure sustainable development in Africa."

Gwladys Johnson Akinocho