Zineb Benkirane, a Senior Economist at the International Finance Corporation
By Fatou Sillah
Zineb Benkirane, a Senior Economist at the International Finance Corporation, has warned that failure to address climate change could have severe economic consequences for The Gambia, including a significant decline in national output by mid-century.
Speaking in an interview with Kerr Fatou on the World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Report for The Gambia, Benkirane emphasized that inadequate investment in climate resilience could undermine the country’s long-term growth trajectory.
“If The Gambia does not invest in climate action, it could result in about a 9.3 percent GDP loss by 2050,” she stated.
Benkirane stressed that climate action should be viewed as an integral component of development policy rather than a competing priority. She noted that investments in climate resilience and adaptation directly contribute to economic stability, job creation, and the protection of livelihoods.
“Development and climate are not competing priorities. Once you invest in climate resilience and climate adaptation, you’re investing in the growth of the economy. So investing in climate resilience is investing in the economy, is investing in livelihoods, is investing in job creation, and is investing in the long-term growth path of the Gambia,” she said.
She further highlighted that climate considerations are increasingly being incorporated into national planning across key sectors such as infrastructure, tourism, and agriculture.
Referring to recent discussions at the report’s launch, Benkirane pointed to ongoing efforts within the tourism sector to adopt sustainable practices, including the development of green frameworks for hotels and the promotion of ecotourism.
“Now you know yesterday the Minister of Tourism was talking about the tourism sector and the hotels and how to develop a green framework for the hotel sector, talking about diversification of tourism into ecotourism and what that means,” she said.
According to her, the strong presence of senior government officials at the report’s launch underscores the importance being placed on climate action at the highest levels.
“So yeah, I really see it in the forefront of the government, and that speaks to also the high representation of the highest levels of government that came to the launch yesterday because it’s not a choice. It’s really investing in the future,” she concluded.
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