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Nduduzo Tshuma in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has said concerted efforts and not finger-pointing will go a long way in mitigating the impact of climate change.

Speaking during a high-level engagement on Africa’s resilience to climate change hosted by his Botswana counterpart President Mokgweetsi Masisi on the sidelines of the Cop27 conference, President Mnangagwa said the attitude of turning a blind eye when one region is facing challenges should stop as climate change affects everyone.

The engagement, held under the theme: Empowering a climate resilient Africa for the 21st century: Articulating vision and opportunity, was also attended by the President of Estonia Alar Karis and the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Andersen. 

Representatives of global corporates like Google, IBM, Volvo Trucks and Philips among others, the African Development Bank and civil society organisations also attended the event. 

President Mnangagwa said instead of trading accusations on who has contributed the most to the effects of climate change, “we must accept that this has happened let us look forward to the future and say what can we do together, the big and small.”

He said African leaders have become more aware of the need to address climate change.

“We are fully aware that we are at the receiving end, the contributions to the problems of climate change are more foreign than they are domestic. However, we feel we have equal duty like the rest of the world to mitigate the impact of climate change,” said the President. 

“As we come here to COP27 after last year’s conference, many commitments were made but less has been achieved and it is necessary that we all commit ourselves to the policies which we make. Us in our region, despite the fact that our contribution to this challenge is minimum, we need to do our best to what we have committed ourselves to.” 

President Mnangagwa said food security is critical in Africa which has been affected by climate change through floods, low rainfall and successive droughts. 

He said the continent was working towards boosting food security through smart and climate-proofing methods and the construction of dams to conserve water for irrigation among other initiatives. 

“But to do so we also need support from the West and developed countries to achieve those goals. We need to promote science and technology in our investment in order for the next generation to be fully aware of the impact of climate change,” said President Mnangagwa. 

“We in the third world need to leapfrog in our development but to do so, we need assistance. If we are left on our own, this development will take longer.” 

President Mnangagwa said Africa is open for business as it has the natural and human resources to work towards solutions to climate change. 

He said for developed nations to reach their current level, they adopted science and technology and the continent needs assistance in that regard to equip its largely youthful population with 65 percent below the age of 35. 

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who we are, the effect is across the planet and it is my view that politics aside, let us all put shoulder to the wheel to deal with this problem,” said President Mnangagwa. 

“Our politics and differences are so vast but the time is gone to say if one region has problems then the other region will not lose sleep because it’s not their region with problems. I think now wherever there is a problem, if we keep awake, we all have to keep awake. If we sleep, we must all sleep because climate change affects us all.” 

The President said the burden of mitigating climate change also lies in industry and commerce who should come forward and help in dealing with the impact of climate change.

“We have suffered a lot because of perception, I think the time has come where the gap must be narrowed between perception and reality and the reality is that for global capital to continue to grow, it must embrace developing countries,” he said adding that developing countries need to create a conducive environment for the global capital to feel safe.

President Masisi also called on industry and commerce to support innovations towards solving problems.

He said Africa presents the best opportunities in terms of resources to adapt to climate change. 

The Estonian President Mr Alar Karis said they stand ready in assisting developing countries in developing technologies to detect and prepare for weather disasters. 

After the high-level meeting, the President visited the Zimbabwean pavilion where he addressed ministers and staff.

He said he was happy with the preparation of the pavilion urging the organisers to add more features in the future.

The President said the geopolitical tensions in Europe have given Africa the to move at its own pace towards the transition from fossil fuels to green energy as some western countries were reverting to the use of coal.

The President said the government through innovation hubs and other initiatives will empower the youth and women to be part of the solution in the migration to smart energy.

The President challenged youths to research smart ways to utilise fossil fuels so that they do not damage the environment.