by Staff reporter
Zimbabwe is gearing up for the implementation of the green economy, as it implements its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) to report on sectorial greenhouse gas emissions, said a government official.
Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Permanent Secretary, Munesuishe Munodawafa, standing in for Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said this, while addressing delegates at a Climate Change Technical workshop for urban local authorities in Bulawayo yesterday.
The Permanent Secretary revealed that in an effort to achieve the green economy, the Government of Zimbabwe had embarked on a programme aimed at spearheading three critical issues which are waste management, ozone layer depleting substances and mainstreaming climate change into urban planning cities and towns.
“The workshop comes at a moment when the country is implementing its obligations under the UNFCC to report on sectoral greenhouse gas emissions. This engagement will look upon Zimbabwe’s national commitment to address climate change nationally and in line with the global discourse,” he said.
While participating at a Virtual Climate Ambition Summit held recently which coincided with the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement that advocates intensifying efforts by individual countries to fight climate change, President Emmerson Mnangagwa noted that the country had set a target for the economy to go green by 2030, with the country’s economic blueprint, the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), putting in place the necessary pillars for environmentally-friendly targets.
Co-hosted by the United Nations (UN), France and the United Kingdom (UK), the global event saw dozens of Heads of State from around the world presenting their 2030 climate plans, post-2020 climate financing, as well as climate change adaptation programmes.
In his pre-recorded address to the summit, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe would play its part to contribute to the global target of limiting temperature increase to less than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
“With climate change clearly emerging as the greatest developmental challenge of our time, the best available climate science points to a need for long-term strategies that guide the transition towards green and climate-resilient economies. In this regard, Zimbabwe has given itself an ambitious target of greening its economy by 2030. Our National Development Strategy, which will run from 2021 to 2025, has mainstreamed climate change adaptation in all sectors,” said the President.
The President said Zimbabwe’s long term goal was to reduce greenhouse emissions by 40 percent in 2050 through promoting environmentally friendly projects such as solar and hydropower.
