Environment, Climate and Wildlife Minister Dr. Sithembiso Nyoni has highlighted the critical need for robust environmental conservation and climate action to combat the pressing global challenges of climate change in the country.
Speaking in Mutare, Minister Nyoni expressed the profound impacts of climate change on Zimbabwe, noting the shifting seasons, unreliable rainfall, and the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events.
“Conserving the environment and its ecosystems and mitigating climate change are global challenges affecting humanity. This calls for government to put in place measures to protect the environment and trigger real climate action with potential to help people to adapt and build climate resilience. As part of the global movement, Zimbabwe joined other countries to ratify the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement,” said Minister Nyoni.
The Government is working on strengthening policy and institutional frameworks on climate change as part of the domestication process. Some of the policies, strategies, guiding frameworks and pieces of legislation that have been put in place include the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the National Development Strategy (NDS1), the National Climate Policy, the National Climate Change Response Strategy, the Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy, the Nationally Determined Contribution and its Implementation Plan and Investment Framework to be launched soon, the Carbon Credit,” she said
Adopted in 2017, the National Climate Policy aims to foster a climate-resilient, low-carbon economy. Its primary goals include promoting technology transfer, capacity building, and information sharing; accelerating mitigation measures through low carbon development pathways; and reducing the country’s vulnerability to climate change by strengthening adaptive capacity.
These objectives, the Minister said align with the National Climate Change Response Strategy.
Under the Paris Agreement, Zimbabwe has committed to an ambitious 40% per capita emission reduction target by 2030, covering sectors such as Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), Waste, Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU), and Energy.
Key mitigation actions include energy efficiency improvements, HFCs phase-down, and the decomposition of nitrous oxide emissions in industrial processes.
Minister Nyoni also highlighted the country’s Low Emissions Development Strategy (LEDS) for 2020-2050, which aims to balance emission reductions with sustainable economic development across all sectors identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The government is also finalizing a National Climate Change Adaptation Plan to mainstream climate change action across all sectors, emphasizing agriculture, water, health, infrastructure, human settlements, forestry, biodiversity, and tourism.
“Our strategy not only focuses on mitigation but also on adaptation, ensuring that climate-smart agricultural practices and strengthened value chains are scaled up,” said Minister Nyoni.
