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Zimbabwe is ready to tackle climate change | Climate Crisis

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The COP26 meeting of nations came at an extraordinary moment in world history. Many countries are still facing the impact of the pandemic, public health and public finances. At the same time, the severity of the climate crisis is forcing transformative changes in economies. The discussions over the past two weeks have been instrumental in agreeing a collective way forward and I am proud to represent Zimbabwe at this important time.

In my country, we feel the impact of climate change more than most. Our temperatures have risen by about 2 degrees Celsius in the last century, and extreme weather has risen sharply. In the last two decades we have only had to deal with 10 droughts. If world leaders do not step up climate action, developing nations at the forefront of the fight against climate change will lose jobs, destroy livelihoods and destroy lives. That’s something we need to avoid and that’s why Zimbabwe comes to the table with ambitious plans to tackle climate change and save our planet.

My government is now committed to reducing emissions by 40 per cent by 2030. This is based on a previous commitment to reduce emissions by 33 percent in 2017. The new target will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 44.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt). CO2e) By 2030, a reduction of around 30 million tonnes. One of our ways to achieve this is a significant expansion of renewable energy, with the aim of extracting 26.5% of all energy from renewable sources by 2030. These include investments in hydraulic energy, solar energy and biomass.

We have also reaffirmed our commitment to the conservation of the diverse wildlife we ​​have been blessed with. We have 11 protected national parks, each providing a safe environment for our wildlife, including the African buffalo, the African wild elephant, the endangered black rhino, the southern giraffe, the African leopard, the lion, the zebra of the plains and various antelope species.

Last year, mining was banned in all of these national parks. In addition, my government partnered with non-profit conservation parks in Africa to sign a 20-year agreement to manage Matusadona National Park in November 2020.

However, with all this ambition, we still have to deal with the blows of drought and the impact of climate change through the necessary social safety nets. That is why I have called for multilateral support to complement our efforts. Developed nations need to expand access to climate finance as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the long-standing commitment to contribute $ 100 billion annually to help developing countries cope with the effects of climate change has been elusive. The richest countries need to set an example and accelerate that funding. It is political will that demands it.

Another step that major economies should take to help us and others is to end the political and illegal use of sanctions. In late October, UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan called for the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe after the EU and US completed a fact-finding mission.

He echoed the arguments I have made since I took office, including that sanctions and over-compliance with various penalties have included “access to health, food and safe drinking in the Zimbabwean economy and the enjoyment of basic human rights”. water and sanitation. ‘

If sanctions were lifted, we would have the opportunity to fight to fulfill our intentions of becoming a middle-income country by the end of this decade, helping thousands of people out of poverty, promoting innovation and enabling Zimbabwe to once again play a leading role. African continent.

I believe that we have shown our willingness and desire to act responsibly in the international community. We have made great strides in the last three years and have faced many of the reforms we have been asked to do, including compensating landowners who expropriated property in the 2000s and tackling corruption. We are applying for re-entry into the Commonwealth of Nations and I hope that my presence at COP26 will be another sign of my efforts to rebuild Zimbabwe.

The first week of the conference was fueled by heated bilateral conversations with US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Council President Charles Michel and others.

But the time for words is over, we have to play now. My hope is that the developing world will be free to be equipped to fulfill its role in the global fight against climate change and to deal with its devastating consequences.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.



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