CSAG is a leading international climate research centre based in Africa with broad research skills and competency in both physical and social dimensions of climate, a strong experience in engaging with society, and an excellent track record in capacity development. We prioritize societally relevant research to support responses to climate variability and change.
Perception of Cassava-Based Farmers to Climate Variability in the Rain Forest and Derived Savannah Biomes of Nigeria. The pattern of agricultural production is influenced by climate variability, particularly in those regions of Africa where agriculture is primarily rain-fed. There is a discrepancy in how farmers perceive and respond to climate unpredictability, which affects their choice… Read more »
The concept of climate justice has been gaining traction for some time. Broadly speaking, climate justice is about taking a human- and equity-centred approach to thinking about climate risks, responsibilities and potential responses. Like many other big concepts, climate justice is often proposed as important for climate action without careful and critical thought about what… Read more »
Climate change in South Africa: Risks and opportunities for climate-resilient development in the IPCC Sixth Assessment WGII Report South Africa is wrestling with increasing climate change impacts and how to respond. The 2022 IPCC Working Group II Report synthesises the latest evidence on climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation, and what this means for climate-resilient… Read more »
Understanding the variability of heatwave characteristics in southern Africa Southern Africa is one of the regions affected by weather-related extremes (e.g., droughts, floods, and heat waves). Heatwaves were detected using three different methods, including the 90th percentile of minimum daily temperature (CTN90pct) and the Excess Heat Factor (EHF), a relatively new method. To determine the… Read more »
The Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) Short Course on Navigating Climate Risk, previously known as Winter School, started in 2009 in partnership with the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI), with financial support from United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). The aim of the school was to provide an overview of the latest, relevant climate… Read more »
Supporting transformative climate adaptation: community-level capacity building and knowledge co-creation in South Africa. Calls for transformative adaptation to climate change require attention to the type of capacity building that can support it. Community-level capacity building can help to ensure ownership and legitimacy of longer-term interventions. Given that marginalized communities are highly vulnerable to climate risk,… Read more »
The Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG), based at the University of Cape Town, will be running its annual course on Navigating Climate Risk (formerly Winter School) This in-person, one-week (5 to 9 September 2022) intensive course has been developed specifically for participants from developing countries and aims to take participants through the full spectrum of climate… Read more »
Defining metrics for monitoring and evaluating the impact of co-production in climate services. Despite increased commitment to co-production as a route to developing decision-relevant climate services, there has been less focus on the metrics or criteria for determining their success and impact. Drawing from literature and recent experiences from both operational- and research-focused climate resilience-building… Read more »
“Elephants in the room” refers to those big issues that dwarf all the little nuts and bolts of research. They’re the issues that are so difficult that they tend to get avoided, or only weakly addressed. Everyone knows they’re there, but not much traction is being gained in dealing with them. In 2023 the World… Read more »