Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, [email protected]
A newly formed local organisation that seeks to drive climate action through innovation and collaboration has launched an initiative aimed at empowering urban areas to unlock their green environmental potential and accelerate sustainable development.
The Africa Carbon Markets Forum (ACMF), led by Mr Anglistone Sibanda, formerly with the Africa Voluntary Carbon Credits Forum, is working in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works on the Sustainable Cities in Climate Action initiative, which aligns Zimbabwe’s cities and towns with the Paris Agreement to accelerate sustainable development and unlock green growth for the achievement of Vision 2030.
The initiative aims to accelerate the attainment of SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) through climate action, SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
It will also contribute to the achievement of SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation.
The programme seeks to enhance the capacity of urban local authorities through up-skilling and knowledge sharing, stimulating the development of robust climate action projects framed within the Paris Agreement Framework. This will position Zimbabwe’s towns and cities on a trajectory to attract green finance, stimulate green growth, and address the financing and capacity challenges urban areas face.
It will also make Zimbabwe a leader in sustainable development, enabling the realisation of the National Development Strategy (NDS1) objectives towards achieving an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
This comes as African countries bear the brunt of escalating climate change, amid calls for global action to halt the rise in global temperatures and keep them well below 2°C by 2050, to avert the impending increase in natural disasters that have a colossal impact on lives and livelihoods, affecting economies. Urban communities are now under the spotlight.
The Paris Agreement, signed by United Nations member states, including Zimbabwe, at the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 in 2015, highlighted the need for cities to take action to reduce emissions if the world is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and save the planet.
In a statement, Mr Sibanda said the World Economic Forum (WEF) suggests that, while cities occupy about 3 percent of the earth’s landmass, they are responsible for 70 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This is due to urbanisation and the use of fossil and thermal fuels.
Cities consume 80 percent of solid waste management systems, habitat, mobility, commercial, and telecommunications infrastructure, which tend to displace natural ecosystems.
Despite contributing less than 4 percent of global emissions, Africa is under pressure to transition away from fossil fuels that damage the ozone layer.
The ACMF said the demand for transitioning away from fossil fuels, as per the COP 28 resolution, will significantly impact Africa’s economic growth targets.
Cities thus play a crucial role in energy transition and driving the just energy transition.
“The active and effective participation of cities in SDG 13 will facilitate their transition into SDG 11 cities, attract green investments, unlock green development, create green jobs, and stimulate exponential growth.
“Zimbabwe, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement, which requires countries to commit to emissions reduction through the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) framework, has launched its NDC implementation plan to facilitate a 40 percent emissions reduction per capita by 2030. For Zimbabwe to achieve these ambitious targets, cities and urban areas need to play an active role in reducing these emissions, as they are responsible for 70 percent of them,” said Mr Sibanda.
Access to financing will help cities develop and enable the country to achieve the SDGs, Vision 2030, and Africa Agenda 2063 while making Zimbabwe a leader in climate action through SDG 17.
“The SDG 11 Cities Programme is a holistic climate action initiative by the Africa Carbon Markets Forum, a local climate action movement that seeks to drive pragmatic, inclusive climate action through innovation, unlocking climate finance through the Paris Agreement Framework to stimulate sustainable socio-economic growth.
“With the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works having approved local authorities’ master plans, it is essential to align the new development model with the Paris Agreement Framework, mainstream SDG 11, and promote SDG 13 to attain SDGs 1, 2, 3, 7, and 9, alongside NDC targets and NDS objectives,” said Mr Sibanda.
The SDG 11 Cities Programme aims to build the capacity of local authorities, enabling them to gain a detailed understanding of climate-responsive policy and decision-making, frame their growth strategies within the SDG and Paris Agreement matrices, formulate robust and effective carbon tracking and accounting systems, create environmental and social governance frameworks, and consolidate and value-add their strategic carbon assets.
The programme targets heads of local authorities.
Training will be rolled out to capacitate executives and heads.
Mr Sibanda said the general aim is to enable local authorities to drive climate action, reduce emissions, achieve their NDC targets, generate carbon credits under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, and unlock green climate finance, making Vision 2030 a reality.
“As a Forum, we are training cities on how to align with the Paris Agreement and helping them develop practical strategic frameworks with specific goals and activities towards that. The activities translate into SDG 13 (Climate Action) and potentially earn carbon credits,” he said.
-@ncubeleon
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