‘Leverage on natural resources to achieve economic prosperity’

SPEAKER of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said Vision 2030 asserts Zimbabwe’s commitment to achieving an Upper-Middle-Income Society status through innovative inclusive growth, industrialisation and the prudent utilisation of the natural resource base.

He said within this strategic framework, carbon markets must be perceived as an integral component of the country’s broader economic transformation agenda rather than as a standalone climate policy or as a peripheral revenue stream.

Adv Mudenda made the remarks while addressing a Capacity-Building Workshop on Carbon Trading for the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Wildlife and the Thematic Committee on Climate Change in Bulawayo yesterday.

He underscored that carbon trading represents a bold global response to climate change anchored on innovation and co-operation.

“Carbon trading epitomises humanity’s resolute ambition to surmount environmental constraints through innovation, co-operation and social justice. To fully appreciate the gravitas of that ambition, one must possess a nuanced understanding of the intricacies of carbon trading itself. It is a mechanism that allows countries, companies or individuals to buy and sell carbon credits. Each carbon credit represents a specific quantity of greenhouse gas emissions under internationally recognised carbon standards.

“The primary objective of carbon trading is to mitigate climate change by creating a financial incentive for organisations and countries to reduce their carbon emissions,” said Adv Mudenda.

The global carbon market enables trading of emissions allowances and offsets to meet climate goals, covering 80 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) via net-zero pledges.

With over 80 schemes covering 28 percent of emissions, this includes both compliance (mandatory) and voluntary markets, with high-quality, verifiable credits increasingly prioritised.

The market is rapidly growing, with projections suggesting it could exceed US$50 billion or even US$2,7 trillion by 2028.

He noted that until recently, Zimbabwe’s engagement with carbon markets was conducted within the voluntary carbon market framework, where initiatives such as forest conservation, reforestation, renewable energy and climate-smart agriculture yielded tradeable credits.

“A prominent illustration is the Kariba Redd+ Project, which prevents deforestation and converts the avoided emissions into credits sold internationally,” he said.

Adv Mudenda urged legislators to appreciate the magnitude of the climate crisis, describing it as an existential threat with far-reaching socio-economic implications.

“Accordingly, Members of Parliament should be aware that climate change poses an existential threat that is fundamentally reshaping economies, displacing communities, threatening biodiversity and undermining the very foundations of sustainable development across the continent and beyond.

“Yet the crisis before us is the most egregious manifestation of global inequality of our time. Despite contributing only four percent of cumulative global greenhouse gas emissions, the African continent bears the most severe and catastrophic effects of climate change,” he said.

Adv Mudenda added that the situation amounts to a moral outrage.

“The climate crisis is the defining challenge of our time and it is fundamentally a question of climate justice. Those who have contributed least to the crisis are paying the highest price.

“This observation points to a continuation of historical injustice perpetrated by developed nations through the exploitation of the shared atmospheric ecosystem. The same industrial processes that extracted Africa’s resources and appropriated our land now export their environmental burden to a continent least equipped to absorb the consequences.”

He noted that Zimbabwe ranks among the top 50 most climate-vulnerable nations globally, yet its contribution to global emissions is minuscule at 0.07 percent.

“With approximately 70 percent of the country’s population dependent on rain-fed agriculture for food sovereignty, the country confronts unprecedented and escalating climate challenges.

“Yet even within this formidable crisis, opportunity beckons. The global response to climate change is creating new economic instruments, innovative financing mechanisms and transformative development opportunities,” he said.

He stressed that carbon trading has emerged as a pivotal avenue for mobilising climate finance, incentivising mitigation actions, promoting technology transfer and linking developing economies such as Zimbabwe to expanding global green markets valued in the billions of dollars.

Globally, he said, the transition to low-carbon development pathways is accelerating at an unprecedented pace in jurisdictions that have the means of implementing the pathways.

Adv Mudenda noted that Zimbabwe’s engagement with international carbon markets began with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, which enabled developed countries to invest in emission-reduction projects in developing nations and earn Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).

He said Zimbabwe possesses exceptional natural capital endowments that position the country to participate profitably in the expanding global carbon market.

“Notably, approximately 26 percent of the country’s land area is designated for wildlife estates, protected areas and conservancies. These landscapes underpin a tourism sector that remains one of the leading foreign-currency earners and is increasingly recognised as a valuable nature-based climate asset with quantifiable economic value in the global carbon markets.

“This convergence of conservation and commerce presents the country with a distinctive competitive advantage,” said Adv Mudenda.

He said Vision 2030 asserts the nation’s commitment to achieving an Upper-Middle-Income Society status through inclusive growth, industrialisation and the prudent utilisation of the natural resource base.

“Within this strategic framework, carbon markets must be perceived as an integral component of the country’s broader economic transformation agenda rather than as a standalone climate policy or as a peripheral revenue stream,” he added.