Togo is a country in west Africa located along the Gulf Guinea. It has rolling hills in the north, a southern plateau, and a low coastal plain with lagoons and marshes. The north tends to be dry whilst the southern areas of the country are wet and humid. The World Risk Report (2023) reports that Togo has a very high lack of adaptive capacity, and high vulnerability, susceptibility and lack of coping capacity but low exposure to earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, drought, and sea level rise. 

Togo’s mean annual temperature has increased by 1.1˚C since 1960, particularly between April and June and heatwaves have become more common across the country (World Bank Group, 2021). Temperature is expected to increase progressively in Togo throughout the rest of the century, particularly in its inland regions (ibid.). This is expected to contribute to sea level rise and increased high winds (ibid.). Rainfall projections are uncertain, however the proportion of annual rainfall classified as ‘heavy’ is expected to increase (ibid.). Agriculture is particularly impacted by climate change and employs 70% of the population (ibid.). Only 2% of the arable land in Togo is irrigated and thus largely relies on rainfall (ibid.). 85% of Togo’s public national water supply comes from groundwater which is likely to be severely affected by climate change, with the ground water reserves in Maritime possibly depleted by the 2030s under extreme scenarios (ibid.). 

Togo’s adaptation efforts, as outlined in its first NDC (2016) to the UNFCC, are focused on agriculture, forestry, water resources, health, and coastal zones.