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Zvamaida Murwira
Senior Reporter
A Climate Change Bill is being crafted to legislate for mitigating adverse climate change through financing the needed technologies, regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and other matters, Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.
It was the role of parliaments in their oversight role the world over to ensure that the executive embraces the best practices in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, have better waste management methodologies and mainstreaming climate-related legislation.
Adv Mudenda was speaking last weekend in Bali, Indonesia, where he is attending the 144th Assembly of the International Parliamentary Union that brings together legislators across the globe.
This year’s conference is running under the theme: “Getting to Zero: Mobilising Parliaments to Act on Climate Change.”
“Zimbabwe’s response measures to climate change are guided by the principles of common, but differentiated responsibilities, respective capabilities and climate justice,” he said.
“Zimbabwe has already raised its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent per capita by 2030, up from the previous target of 33 percent, in its 2021 nationally determined contributions as guided by the implementation of the low emission development strategy.
“This has been bolstered by Zimbabwe’s mainstreaming of the climate change phenomenon in its National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025). Additionally, Zimbabwe is crafting a comprehensive Climate Change Bill whose focus is climate financing, measurement of greenhouse gas emissions, compliance, reporting and verification matrix.”
Adv Mudenda said some of the best practices that parliaments could adopt in greenhouse gas emissions reduction towards the net-zero agenda, included legislating towards incentivising green infrastructure project implementation and better waste management methodologies.
“In addition, mainstreaming of climate change related legislation in order to expedite the transition to clean and renewable energy development is necessary,” he said.
Adv Mudenda said the phenomenon of climate change has intensified globally, progressing at a faster rate than initially projected by scientists.
“Climate induced calamities are on the increase as witnessed by unprecedented weather patterns and catastrophic droughts as well as the devastating cyclones,” he said. “To that end, our responses as parliaments should be intensified by enacting appropriate legislation for mitigatory measurements.
“Heads of State and Government are urged to assiduously increase their nationally determined contributions, ambitions and climate actions towards securing net zero emissions. In so doing, they would keep the 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise threshold within reach. To this end, parliaments should use their constitutional mandates to ensure that governments meet their mitigatory targets unequivocally through robust oversight of the executive.”
Adv Mudenda called for member countries to ensure compliance with international treaties on climate change.
“To this end, oversight on all mitigation projects and budget allocations must be effectively implemented by parliaments,” he said.
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