Climate change policy long overdue

science of climate change capable of moving people and animals away from harm’s way. Indications last week that work on the policy had reached high gear are instructive and encouraging in a lot of ways.
Lead consultant Professor Sara Feresu of the University of Zimbabwe’s Institute of Environmental Studies was quoted in the local media as saying the climate change policy would be ready for implementation by the end of December this year.
Really, as an instrument for guiding co-ordinated national responsive action to climate disasters and disbanding fragmented individual actions, the policy is long overdue.
And this is so for various reasons. The first and most important reason is that the policy will provide Zimbabwe with what it has been missing for a long time, undertaking co-ordinated and enhanced climate action for sustainable socio-economic development while safeguarding environmental integrity.
Secondly, the policy will put the country firmly on the green growth path, that new paradigm in economic development, which guarantees social and environmental equity.
Crucially, the policy plays an important role in shaping approaches to local climate change adaptation and mitigation, and in designing new community-based mechanisms to national climate change responses.
It provides for and promotes sustainable development by offering regulated governance frameworks, which improve accountability and the efficient use of resources. Climate change is a serious destabilising force, socially, economically, politically and environmentally. Large financial resources are now being poured into the implications of climate change on water, energy, human settlements and livelihoods and many other things.
The climate change policy will help curb business and public losses from climate-related disasters.
Worldwide, similar disasters cost the world US$380 billion in losses last year, according to a new report from the Climate Development Knowledge Network, an international climate change-oriented research organisation.
In Zimbabwe, the costs for responding to unpredicted, unprepared for weather-linked natural catastrophes such as floods or droughts are not accurately measured, but have been enormous.
While the National Climate Change Policy will not stop or prevent disasters from occurring, it would help decision-makers integrate disaster risk management into national economic and development planning.
The policy would also elevate the country’s state of preparedness for handling disaster situations, particularly where it concerns agricultural productivity.
This year alone, Zimbabwe will be forced to import over one million tonnes of maize, its staple diet, to help thousands of households facing starvation following a poor 2011/2012 agriculture season marked by erratic rainfall.
Although local climate and weather systems have been changing over many decades, most of the farmers, and Government at large remain ill-prepared for extreme climate events, which usually result in severe food shortages.
Now it would be critical to explore how the climate change policy could be utilised in the overall implementation of national strategies in mobilising private finance for use in long-term climate projects.
With clearly defined strategies backed by a national climate change policy private funders may be attracted, with genuine interest to bankroll mitigatory and adaptation actions.
The presence of a National Environmental Policy alone has been inadequate although great environmental benefits have accrued from it.
Together with the climate change policy, however, the country would create serious critical mass for environmental legislation, one seen in very few countries the world over.
It is main challenge would be, as commonly known, and sometimes painfully anticipated, the effective implementation of the policies to achieve predetermined and desired outcomes.
As already been seen under the national environmental policy, some laws are openly disregarded allowing pollution and environmental degradation near free reign because of weak administrative functions from the responsible authorities, who are the principal legislative guardians of the environment.
Where fines are meted out, they are a pittance, doing very little or nothing at all to limit pollution in all its formats.
Many are reminded of last year’s classic example of environmental fraud after the municipalities of Harare and Chitungwiza were fined a paltry US$14 000 each by the Environmental Management Agency for discharging raw sewage into the river systems that feed into Lake Chivero, the two council’s main water source.
Yes, that little for all the typhoid and cholera not-so-innocent citizens have had to pay for dearly with their own lives.
Clearly, a lot needs to be done to avoid the climate change policy from being trapped into the same seamless pit.
God is faithful.