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Stakeholders today gathered for a Preparatory Workshop for the Twenty-Seventh Conference of Parties (COP27) which is organised almost every year by the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) that will take place in Sharm El Sheikh in the Republic of Egypt from the 6th to the 18th of November 2022.
Hon Mangaliso Ndhovu, the Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry said the purpose of the national workshop is to deliberate on climate change issues that are part of the negotiations on the global climate deal, that Zimbabwe has been and continues to be part of.
He said the COP27 will serve as the 17th Conference of Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP17); the 4th Conference of Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA4); the Fifty-Seventh session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA57); and the Fifty-Seventh session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI57).
The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Mr. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, has invited Heads of State and Government to participate in the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit (SCIS) scheduled for Monday, 7 and Tuesday, 8 November 2022. The summit aims to increase political will in the implementation of the Paris Agreement given: 1) the emission reductions gap; 2) limited provision of means of implementation by developing countries; and, 3) inadequate action on adaptation and addressing loss and damage.
The Paris Agreement calls on countries to work towards limiting the global temperature increase to below 1.5 degrees Celsius as compared to pre-industrial levels.
Minister Ndhovu bemoaned the fact that the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) which are meant to be the main vehicle through which this is achieved has not been ambitious enough and action is very limited.
The UNEP 2020 Emissions Gap Report notes that “despite a brief dip in carbon-dioxide emissions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is still heading for a temperature rise in excess of 3°C this century – far beyond the Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C”.
“Zimbabwe and the Africa Group will take COP27 as an opportunity to reiterate the need for greater ambition by developed countries in their mitigation efforts and for more resources and technology to be availed to developing country parties to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
“The loss and damage associated with the impacts of climate change will continue for the foreseeable future and it’s the developing countries that are impacted beyond their ability to cope. The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released in 2021 notes that extreme weather events such as droughts and tropical cyclones will intensify in the medium term,” Hon Ndhlovu said.
He reiterated that whilst Zimbabwe is joining the rest of the world in cutting its emissions, it is well aware of the impacts of global actions such as the phase-out of coal-fired power stations on its economy. He said the country calls for a gradual phase-out that takes into consideration our levels of economic development, the need to reduce energy poverty, and time for communities and economic systems to adjust.
This meeting discussed progress made in complying with the provisions of the Paris Agreement, outcomes from COP26 with a special focus on the New Market Mechanisms, the Declaration on Forests, the Global Methane Pledge, and, the coal use phase down. A draft Zimbabwe position paper on various items on the COP27 agenda is being shaped by national consultations and includes issues of adaptation (agriculture, food, and water security); loss and damage; mitigation including primarily energy security; climate finance; response measures and the new market mechanism for carbon trading. The government position paper is being prepared and will be presented for stakeholders’ final input.
Tafadzwa Dhlakama, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Partnership Coordinator in the Climate Change Management Department in the same ministry emphasised the need for enhanced action on climate change adaptation and alluded to the centrality of scaled-up adaptation financial package to support countries to deliver inclusive climate action.
He said there is a need to increase available finance for reconstruction and for insurance coverage for highly vulnerable countries through bilateral and multilateral finance institutions.
As part of narrowing the emissions gap, Dhlakama called for a clear roadmap for accelerating emissions reductions by revisiting the 2030 NDCs by the 2023 Global Stocktake (GST) and having an ambitious long-term strategy and sector mainstreaming to close the gap to 1.5°C by halving global emissions by 2030.
Kudzai Ndidzano, the Deputy Director in the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry said the Glasgow Pact (COP26) speaks to the important role of non-party stakeholders, including CSOs, indigenous peoples, local communities, youth, children, local and regional governments and other stakeholders in the climate change adaptation and mitigation realm.
He said developed country parties have an obligation to provide enhanced support, including through financial resources, technology transfer, and capacity-building, for both mitigation and adaptation.
Ndidzano said COP 26 adopted the rules, modalities, procedures, and guidelines for the new carbon trading mechanism established by Article 6, paragraph 4. It also established the Supervisory Body, mandated to develop provisions for the development and approval of methodologies, validation, registration, monitoring, verification and certification, issuance, and renewal.
Hon Tapera Saizi, the legislator for Muzarabani South who is a member of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Tourism said Parliament’s expectation on loss and damage is that commitments in terms of funding must be provided through the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Fund.
“We expect that we increase the available funding aimed at reconstruction and insurance for vulnerable countries through bilateral finance institutions. On climate finance, our expectation as a nation is to finalize the delivery plan for the US$100 billion dollar pledge by developed countries and we also expect that there will be an enhanced transparency and accounting framework of climate financing by developed countries.
“The Committee is also expecting that there should be traction on the development and transfer of climate technology to developing countries to ensure a fair and just transition to renewable energy,” Hon Saizi said.
