GOVERNMENT is seeking ways to finance the carbon credit markets, which is a critical area to sustainability development, amid losing out on millions of dollars.
It has previously bungled several agreements with carbon credit project owners, resulting in it losing out on 21 865 219 credits, valued at US$142,77 million.
By the end of March, there were 8 908 880 active carbon credits. Financing a carbon credit market would allow the government to make some returns from credits generated from local projects.
“In addition to available multilateral and bilateral climate finance for the energy sector, my ministry is also in the process of improving the legal institutional and policy environment related to Zimbabwe’s participation in the carbon markets,” Environment, Climate and Wildlife minister Sithembiso Nyoni said at last week’s two-day annual Sustainability Summit, which was held by the Zimbabwe Independent.
“The article 6 strategy and implementation framework we are developing will assist private sector players who wish to undertake projects, including sustainable energy projects under lucrative high returns compliance carbon market.”
The summit was held under the theme, Sustainability Beyond the Global Trilemma, with the Zimbabwe Independent partnering Pivot Africa, Claxon Actuaries, and the Africa Institute for Carbon Trading and Sustainability to host the event.
Nyoni said her ministry was working in collaboration with the Energy and Power Development ministry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to deliver transformative off-grid solar systems under the Climate Adaptation Water and Energy Project. This, she said, was part of her ministry’s climate smart strategies.
She emphasised on the need for collaboration by all players in fighting climate change and enhancing smart ways of climate risk reduction.
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“As we brainstorm on the second National Development Strategy and [Third Generation of Nationally Determined Contributions] NDC 3.0 expected to emerge with a more ambitious target for emission reduction, let us know that what we seek to achieve will not be possible without solutions that will provide us with sustainable energy,” Nyoni said.
“Solving the climate and energy crises should not be the burden of government alone. Let us put our heads together to ensure that there is a policy environment to unlock local and international private sector resources.”
Zimbabwe continues to fall victim to the drier weather conditions, with the 2023/24 agricultural season being the worst in recent memory owing to an El Niño-induced drought.
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