Although Africa “pollutes less” as a continent than others such as Europe or the Americas, it’s suffering disproportionately from the impact of climate change, with drought and flooding having a profound impact on food security and agriculture.

Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, a UN Assistant Secretary-General, and Director-General of the African Risk Capacity Group, a specialised agency of the African Union (AU) managed by the World Food Programme (WFP), was recently in Dubai taking part in the Entrepreneurship and Investment Forum there. UN News’s Anshu Sharma caught up with him on the sidelines of the event.

In this interview, he speaks about what the region needs to do in terms of disaster risk reduction and the five-year early warning plan to boost climate action in the African continent.