adminSifelani Tsiko Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor
Zimbabwe has taken steps to chart a path towards achieving low carbon emissions from all sectors of the economy, as it moves to fulfil its national and global commitments to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Stakeholders who met at an Inter-Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Change which was held in the capital recently endorsed the draft economy-wide Low Emissions Development Strategy (LEDS) which contains mitigation options for all economic sectors which can be implemented up to 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement provisions.
Acting director in the department of Climate Change Management within the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Kudzai Ndidzano told The Herald that the three declarations were presented on Forestry, Electric Mobility and Just transition of the Labour force from coal based jobs to renewable energy related jobs.
“Relevant ministries were tasked to further consult stakeholders and provide recommendations to the ministry on the action to be taken, to sign up or not,” he said.
The dialogue was held under the theme: “Climate Change: Everyone’s Responsibility.”
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement organised this event to discuss the growing importance of climate change on the global environment, political and economic arena.
“The aim of the dialogue was to provide a platform for high-level inter-ministerial discussions on the emerging climate change discourse, related international agreements that Zimbabwe is party to and implications on the country’s development agenda in order to inform the President on the country’s status of preparedness to meet our obligations under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change,” Ndidzano said.
Zimbabwe is expected to participate at the high level UN Climate Action Summit scheduled for September 23 this year.
The country’s delegation is expected to present concrete climate actions on LEDS, the Nationally Determined Contributions Implementation Framework and the on-going National Adaptation Plan.
“Emphasis will be on the required support for means of implementation such as finance, technology development and transfer as well as trainings,” the climate expert said.
Broadly, LEDS targets to sensitise policymakers and all sectors of the economy about the importance of cleaner fuels and to educate motorists about the fact that more efficient vehicles can improve air quality and urban health, as well as improve climate and environmental protection.
It also sought to provide a better understanding of the potential gains from improving the efficiency of the Zimbabwe’s future car fleet.
The dialogue attracted participants from all the sectors of the economy, as Government led engagement efforts on the country’s national commitments to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Zimbabwe is targeting to reduce its emissions by 33 percent per capita by the year 2030 in the energy sector.
Its Low Emission Development Strategy document is being finalised and is expected to be presented at the UN Climate Change Summit.
Input into the strategic document was sought from various experts in the agriculture, industrial processing, forestry, energy, transport land-use and land-use change and forestry.
If adopted, LEDS will aim to cut pollution from all sectors of the economy – from residential, Government, business and private vehicles.
Zimbabwe wants to integrate low emission strategies into all mainstream policy development for all key sectors in order to tackle carbon emissions.
Last year, Zimbabwe launched three climate change policies – namely Child-Friendly Climate Policy, the Climate Smart Agriculture Policy and the main National Climate Policy to strengthen the resilience of local communities, society, economy and environment to the effects of climate change.
In all these policies, it is hoped that a well-adapted society, economy and environment will bring important benefits to the well-being and prosperity of the people, helping deliver a greener, fairer and more prosperous Zimbabwe.
In addition, the three policies also aim to make the country more resistant to climate pressures and help it meet its international carbon-cutting pledges.
LEDS adds up to these policies and aims to facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive programme of efficiency improvement and energy diversification to provide high quality, affordable, environmentally friendly energy and to reduce the country’s dependence on high cost imported oil.
The policy specifically speaks to a transport sector strategy with measures such as energy conservation, including – efficient traffic management; car pooling, use of clean fuels to minimise pollution, an efficient public/urban mass transit transport system, encouraging non-motorised transport and promoting vehicle and road maintenance programmes.
In addition, it also wants to promote the use efficient tobacco curing methods, limiting use of zone depleting substances and others.
The number of early deaths caused by air pollution has more than doubled in Zimbabwe and most African countries in recent decades.
Health experts also say this has also led to an upsurge in respiratory and heart diseases among people on the continent, adding to the around seven million people that die prematurely due to air pollution each year globally.
Zimbabwe has taken steps to chart a path towards promoting its sustainable developmental goals through cutting climate-changing emissions that come from burning fossil fuels for energy, from agricultural production and from waste handling and industrial processes.
The country has developed a number of high level policy initiatives, including Vision 2030 which is the overarching policy document setting out is development objectives.
Vision 2030 is a long-term development policy that aims to transform Zimbabwe into a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment.
With this in mind, Zimbabwe in its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) has put forth adaptation and mitigation actions to tackle its growing emissions and to play a role in global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
The major thrust for all this is to strengthen the country’s response to climate hazards such as floods, storms, water scarcity and droughts among others that it is increasingly facing.
Zimbabwe ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, committed to deal with climate change based on the principles of the convention, including protecting the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations on the basis of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in light of national circumstances.
Online Reporter