CARBON credits specialists say the government must invest in research and partnerships towards phyto mining in a bid to promote good environmental social and governance practices in the mining sector.
Phyto mining, which is sometimes called agromining, is the concept of extracting heavy metals from the soil using plants.
The approach exploits the existence of hyperaccumulators, proteins, or compounds secreted by plants to bind certain metal ions.
Zimbabwe Industrial Hemp Trust CEO Zorodzai Maroveke told Standardbusiness that partnerships with big players in the sector could open financing streams to benefit big mining companies through carbon credits.
“So, it is going to start with research and development, and we are hoping now with this event we just had, maybe we will have some partnerships with the big players to unlock this particular sector in terms of phytoremediation and phyto mining,” Maroveke said on the sidelines of an ESG mining breakfast meeting in Harare on Friday.
“I think the big mining companies will get to benefit immensely from that,” she added.
Zorodzai said the sector was still in its infancy, hence the need to immensely invest in it. She said the industrial hemp sector could also benefit the country through carbon credits.
“Hemp is quite a phenomenon in terms of the plant kingdom, and the things that it can do, not just from an economic, social, but now even an environmental perspective,” Zorodzai said.
“And we are seeing a lot of promises in soil reclamation, cleaning the soils, regenerative agriculture, these carbon credits, now even phyto mining.
“So, this is quite exciting, and we are hoping that we can generate high-integrity carbon credits because greenwashing is still a problem, as are integrity issues, and transparency issues.”
She said access to climate financing has been a challenge in the country hence the need to promote good ESG practices.
“That has been a challenge because generally, Zimbabwe has been struggling to access climate financing,” Zorodzai said.
“And as you heard earlier, the ESG has to make sense for you to be able to attract the right funding.
“The government also has to come up with policies that incentivise and cushion innovative sectors like industrial hemp and phyto mining.
She said the government must incentivises innovation in line with carbon credits to commecialise the business.
“It is a new sector. There’s money that’s going to be channeled into tobacco because that is what investors are used to,” Zorodzai said.
“So, we have to come up with innovative financing models, and we are working on that.
“We have started engaging the government on some ideas that we want to propose, that can accelerate the commercialisation of business.
“So yes, we are looking at some international funds, but again, you have to package the story well.”
Zorodzai said there was need to push the Climate Change bill to put everything into perspective when it comes to carbon credits.
“So, I think the Climate Change Bill that is coming soon, is going to put things into perspective,” she added.
“But as an industry, we are looking at contributing, whilst our mainstay is not carbon credits, by default we find ourselves contributing very positively and immensely in the carbon space.”
TN Cattle Depository CEO Ronald Makaleni said there wasa need to create green bonds to support ESG compliance.
Makaleni said Zimbabwe needed a legal framework, particularly on certification of carbon credits to support good ESG practices.
“There is a need for our country to prioritise ESG compliance,” he said.
“Achieving ESG compliance can lower capital costs and improve access to energy and funding.
“There is a need to create green bonds. "Green bonds support projects focused on renewable energy and sustainable development.
“We are ready to financially support and partner with project promoters in the Zimbabwean investment landscape.
“Zimbabwe needs to improve its legal framework, particularly regarding certification infrastructure, to support ESG initiatives.
“We believe that all resources in should be packaged into financial assets, enabling investors to channel resources into ESG-compliant projects.”