Talking of Africa. A new aid-agency partnership has pledged US$60 million over five years to fund research into how Africa can best deal with the effects of climate change. The scheme called the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa Programme, is a joint project of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK Department for International Development.

IDRC president Maureen O’Neil emphasised that the programme would be led “by Africans for Africans”, and that “It is critical that Africans shape the research that can best respond to the continent’s real needs in the area of climate change adaptation”.

A project by Africans for Africans wouuld be a great achievement, but I bet behind the catchy slogan, the British and Canadian governments will still be pulling the strings.