Climate risk country profile: Gabon

This climate risk profile is intended to serve as a public good to facilitate upstream country diagnostics, policy dialogue, and strategic planning by providing comprehensive overviews of trends and projected changes in key climate parameters, sector-specific implications, relevant policies and programs, adaptation priorities and opportunities for further actions. Gabon is located in West Africa across the equator. Gabon is a high-income country with one of the most developed economies in sub-Saharan Africa; the majority of its income derived from oil revenues. Gabon submitted its Second National Communication to the UNFCCC (NC2) in 2011 and its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in 2016. The country’s adaptation priorities include protecting its coastal zone, fishing agriculture and forestry sector. The country is committed to improving its agricultural sector in support of the country’s continued economic development efforts.

This profile provides some key messages regarding the climate risk future of Gabon, including:

• Mean annual temperatures in Gabon are projected to continue to increase through the 2050s by 0.9°C to 2.5°C and as high as a 4°C temperature increase by the end of the century.

• In Gabon, hot days are projected to increase 25–75% annually by the 2060s. Hot nights are also projected to significantly increase.

• Rainfall is highly variable across Gabon as are projections at the seasonal and geographical level. While inconsistent, models do project a trend of increases in rainfall across all emission scenarios through the 2090s.

Source: World Bank