Abstract

Global consensus on climate change governance has proved difficult due to dwindling commitments to a binding accord. A new thinking is beginning to emerge in the developing countries that regional, as against global actions, would meet the exigency of climate change mitigation and adaptation particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This article examines the challenge of climate change mitigation and adaptation in Africa particularly the impact of multiple stresses concept on adaptive capabilities of countries in the Southern African Economic Development Community (‘SADC’) and the Economic Community of West African States (‘ECOWAS’) zones. It advocates decentralised climate change governance through the intensification of concerted efforts and initiatives by countries in the region in curtailing the ‘multiple stress’ factors to climate change. The argument of this paper draws on the weaknesses and strengths of international climate change law in a bid to strengthening the argument for decentralised climate change governance through regional initiatives.