The climate is already collapsing in Africa – but its nations have a plan | Emmanuel Macron, Macky Sall and Mark Rutte

Africa is the continent most vulnerable to the climate crisis, but with the right support at Cop27 it can build a stronger, greener future

• Emmanuel Macron is the president of France; Macky Sall is the president of Senegal and chair of the African Union; Mark Rutte is the prime minister of the Netherlands

This year, we have witnessed devastating hurricanes, typhoons and floods. The US and Australia burned. Europe sweltered under a prolonged heatwave. Drought and flooding in east Africa has left many facing food shortages. One-third of Pakistan was underwater after torrential monsoon rains, and half a million people there are homeless.

Though no corner of the globe is safe, Africa is more vulnerable than any other continent to this planetary crisis. There, it's as if all the negative effects of global warming are amplified: Africa loses up to 15% of GDP growth a year to the destructive forces of climate change; extreme and erratic weather threatens human life, food, water security and the very foundations of economic development; and living off the land is increasingly untenable for a quarter of a billion people on the continent.

Emmanuel Macron is the president of France; Macky Sall is the president of Senegal and chair of the African Union; Mark Rutte is the prime minister of the Netherlands