Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
ZIMBABWE has taken a major step towards strengthening its climate action agenda after concluding the national validation of its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0), paving the way for the country’s revised climate commitment to be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The draft NDC 3.0, which will guide Zimbabwe’s climate mitigation and adaptation interventions from 2026 to 2035, was presented to Government ministries, development partners, academia, the private sector, civil society organisations and the media during the National Multi-Stakeholder Review and Validation Workshop held in Harare on Monday.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Director in the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife Mr Washington Zhakata, Permanent Secretary Mr Simon Masanga said the validation workshop marked the final substantive stage before the document was edited and submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat.
He said the draft had already undergone rigorous technical scrutiny by line ministries, departments and agencies, which examined sectoral data, greenhouse gas inventory methodologies, mitigation modelling, adaptation measures and implementation mechanisms.
“I am pleased to note that the document received successful technical sign-off at that stage, and it is that technically validated draft which is now before you today,” said Mr Masanga.
He said the workshop sought to ensure that Zimbabwe’s climate commitment enjoys broad national ownership in line with the requirements of the Paris Agreement.
“A document validated only among Government technical structures, however sound, cannot yet claim to be a nationally owned instrument. Today’s workshop is therefore both a technical checkpoint and a political and social legitimisation process through which Zimbabwe’s third-generation Nationally Determined Contribution will be formally endorsed as a document that belongs to us all.”
Mr Masanga said Zimbabwe has progressively increased its climate ambitions since submitting its first Nationally Determined Contribution in 2015.
He said the country initially committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent below projected business-as-usual levels by 2030 before revising the target to 40 percent in 2021 through additional mitigation measures covering the forestry, waste and industrial sectors.
“The logical and necessary next step is to operationalise those guiding instruments while simultaneously raising our ambition for the next generation of our Nationally Determined Contribution,” he said.
He said the development of NDC 3.0 followed extensive consultations across the country, including sectoral implementation assessments, regional stakeholder engagements, emissions modelling and national drafting workshops.
Mr Masanga said the final document will provide Zimbabwe’s climate action roadmap to 2035 while remaining aligned with Vision 2030, the National Development Strategy 2 and sectoral development plans.
“What is decided here today, the comments you raise, the ownership you demonstrate, will shape the document that formally represents Zimbabwe’s third-generation climate commitment to the international community and, more importantly, the document that will guide our green growth trajectory between 2026 and 2035,” he said.
Nationally Determined Contribution Partnership Regional Specialist for Anglophone Africa, Ms Margaret Barihaihi, commended Zimbabwe for strengthening both its mitigation and adaptation commitments.
“We are seeing more ambitious NDCs growing from 17 measures to 33 economy-wide mitigation measures. We are seeing broadened adaptation with seven priority areas and we are also seeing a lot of inclusion, empowering women, youth and vulnerable groups,” she said.
Ms Barihaihi said Zimbabwe has also aligned its climate targets with domestic financing mechanisms and transparency frameworks, creating a stronger foundation for implementation.
“This validation today shouldn’t be a finish line, it is just a starting point,” she said.
She said the NDC Partnership will continue mobilising technical and financial support for Zimbabwe, including assistance for the National Adaptation Plan Investment Framework and operationalisation of the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe’s Climate Finance Facility.
The revised NDC 3.0 is expected to be submitted to the UNFCCC after incorporation of stakeholders’ input, language editing and final Government approval, providing Zimbabwe with an enhanced framework to implement its climate commitments between 2026 and 2035.
