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Mashudu Netsianda, [email protected]

THE Government has partnered with the private sector to create a US$45 million fund to expedite investment in renewable energy in a bid to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

It will also launch a climate tagging system, known as the Development Projects Management Information System, to enhance accountability and transparency concerning carbon credits trading.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, said the country had pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent per capita by 2030 and is increasing its use of renewable energy sources.

In his presentation on climate change financing and its implications on industrialisation and trade at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) International Business Conference on Wednesday, Prof Ncube said other measures being deployed include climate-smart agriculture practices, construction of resilience infrastructure and research into climate change-related disease surveillance.

He said countries across the globe are mobilising resources for the implementation of climate response policies and programmes through the national determined contributions (NDCs) that seek to adapt and mitigate climate change on economies and households.

“As a country, we have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent per capita by the year 2030. It is the Government’s hope that these positive developments will result in more investment opportunities for the private sector to harness as we inclusively and sustainably build the country step by step towards the desired outcome,” said Prof Ncube.

He said as a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the country seeks to contribute to the ambitious global mitigation goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement.

Zimbabwe developed the Low Emission Development Strategy (Leds), which covers the period 2020-2050. This strategy sets the course for reducing emissions while at the same time ensuring sustainable resources and economic development for the country.

Prof Ncube said Government is spearheading efforts to mobilise climate financing and has since engaged the private sector in climate action.

Some of the climate action programmes and projects being implemented by the Government include the climate-smart agriculture practices Intwasa/Pfumvudza, the construction of climate resilience infrastructure such as dams, investments in renewable energy and climate change-related disease research and surveillance, among others.

“Furthermore, public investment management guidelines were amended to incorporate climate risk assessment into the infrastructure planning and delivery process. In addition, the disaster risk financing facility has been established with the support of the Africa Risk Capacity to enhance preparedness and responsiveness to climate-related impacts,” said Prof Ncube.

He said climate financing has also been mobilised through a four-year partnership between the joint Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) fund and local stakeholders.

“These partners are UNDP, Unesco, UN Women, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the Government of Zimbabwe having allocated US$45 million to catalyse investments in renewable energy for the acceleration of the attainment of SDGs. 

“The joint SDG fund is contributing US$10 million while the Infrastructure Development Bank and local public sector partners, which include Old Mutual Investment Group, Zimnat Asset Management and Cabs, are contributing US$35 million,” said Prof Ncube.

He said the Government introduced carbon credit trading regulations through Statutory Instrument 150 of 2023.

“The regulations provide for the control of carbon credit trade projects in the country as well as providing for the legal framework necessary for ensuring sustainable development and account for the country’s contribution towards global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“As Government, we had to act fast in introducing these carbon credit trading regulations because there was chaos in the market and one example is some clever individuals who had structured themselves a deal of trading in carbon credits to the value of 100 million euro and quietly earning 10 million euro a year from the leafy suburb of Borrowdale in Harare,” said Prof Ncube.

He said sustainable green financing is a critical component of green industrialisation and trade, which presents an opportunity for developing countries to leapfrog to higher levels of development through transitioning to low-carbon and resource-efficient economies.

“By evolving to low-carbon economies, there will be a growing demand for green technologies and services, thus developing countries stand to benefit from this transition by developing new industries and creating new jobs, ultimately reducing poverty and inequality by providing access to clean energy, clean water and other basic services, in a way enhancing prospects of shaping a world that is sustainable, inclusive and prosperous for all,” said Prof Ncube.

“The world over, countries are mobilising resources for the implementation of climate response policies and programmes through what we call the national determined contributions that seek to adapt and mitigate climate change on economies and households.”

He said the effects of climate change are more pronounced in low-carbon emission countries like Zimbabwe.

Africa’s carbon footprints are relatively small compared to other regions. In 2020, Africa’s total greenhouse gas emissions stood at 1,5 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, which translates to about three percent of global emissions.

“Globally, there is consensus that upscaling the climate action agenda requires that the means of the agenda, namely climate financing, technology transfer as well as capacity building be given utmost priority hence the amplified calls for parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change to accelerate ambition through their national determined contributions,” said Prof Ncube.

He said the COP28 meeting in Dubai last year proffered scientific evidence pointing to fossil fuels as the major drivers of climate change. There were increased calls for the global phase-out of the use of fossil fuels.

“Most Global South parties, however, advocate for a gradual phasing out approach through the deployment of renewable sources to replace traditional fossil fuels. This is a just transition as opposed to an outright phase-out advocated by the Global North,” said Prof Ncube.

He said the European Union is set to introduce the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) starting in 2026, which is aimed at putting a fair price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods that are entering the bloc, as a way of encouraging cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries

Prof Ncube urged local industries to come up with innovative ways of reducing carbon emissions in their production chains, to compete on a global scale.

He said Africa has enormous potential for the development of renewable energy sources, particularly solar and wind, as it is endowed with some of  the best solar resources in the world and wind sources, particularly along its coastline.