Climate Bill sails through Senate, heads to President

Source: Climate Bill sails through Senate, heads to President – herald

Zvamaida Murwira

Senior Reporter

ZIMBABWE is a step closer to establishing a National Climate Fund to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes after the Climate Change Management Bill sailed through the Senate and has been cleared to proceed to the President for assent.

The proposed fund will support a range of climate-related programmes, including initiatives to help communities adapt to this phenomenon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and respond to unforeseen climate emergencies.

It will also be used to promote public awareness and information sharing on climate change, support training and capacity building, facilitate access to climate data and encourage the transfer of climate-smart technologies and services from national, regional and international partners.

The fund will further provide incentives to public and private entities working towards clean-energy transition and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Bill, steered through Parliament by Environment, Climate and Wildlife Minister Evelyn Ndlovu, seeks to establish a coordinated legal framework for climate action by mainstreaming climate change across all sectors of the economy.

During Senate debate, Masvingo Senator Sam Chapfudza proposed an amendment to Clause Six to decentralise climate change issues, arguing that the subject cut across several ministries and Government departments.

However, Minister Ndlovu rejected the proposal, saying existing Government structures already provided mechanisms for consultation and coordination among ministries.

“In every Act there is a responsible minister, then the responsible minister within Government systems. We have what we call Cabinet committees where the minister consults other ministers who are affected by the Act,” she said.

“So, there is no centralisation because I have to call Cabinet committee meetings or inter-ministerial meetings to address the issues that might arise.”

Minister Ndlovu also said the proposed national climate fund would take into account the needs of vulnerable groups, including women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities and the youth.

She said these groups would be prioritised in the disbursement of funds once the proposed law comes into effect.

“The Bill already takes into account the needs of all vulnerable groups, being women, children and the elderly, the disabled and youth. All these are priority groups in the disbursement of funds from the national climate fund to be established upon enactment of the Climate Change Management Act,” Minister Ndlovu said.

She said detailed rules governing the disbursement of funds would be provided through regulations rather than the main Act.

“The finer details of disbursement cannot be broken down in the enabling Act; rather, the ministry will promulgate an enabling Statutory Instrument to operationalise the Act once it is passed into law,” she said.

On greenhouse gas emissions, Minister Ndlovu said the Bill already contained provisions requiring public and private entities to invest in the collection, verification and compilation of emissions data.

She pointed to Clauses 14, 15, 16 and 17 as providing the framework for emissions monitoring.

The minister said the provisions were also aligned with Zimbabwe’s obligations under the Paris Agreement, which requires countries to develop and communicate Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) setting out their climate action targets.

Zimbabwe has already submitted its third-generation NDCs, covering the period 2025 to 2035.

Minister Ndlovu said the country had committed to a 40 percent per capita emissions reduction below the business-as-usual baseline over the period.

She said Zimbabwe would continue to track implementation of its NDCs and update its greenhouse gas inventory through the transparency reporting process under the Paris Agreement.

However, Minister Ndlovu argued against putting specific greenhouse gas reduction targets directly into the proposed law, saying these were better addressed through the country’s NDCs.