Experts launch process to develop Zimbabwe’s new emission reduction and resilience building blueprint

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 11 December 2024- On the 9-10 December 2025, ECA and Zimbabwe's ministry of environment, climate and wildlife, hosted over 40 national experts and the UN country team in Bulawayo for a workshop to develop Zimbabwe's new generation of NDCs (NDC 3.0).

The event identified key aspects of the current Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that can be enhanced, based on the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake (GST), and drafted key elements of the NDC 3.0 in alignment with Zimbabwe's national development plan, and in support of the recently launched National Adaptation Plan (NAP).

At the opening session, the Acting Permanent Secretary for the ministry of environment, climate and wildlife, Mr. Washington Zhakata, cited the potential of limited international climate finance given the COP29 outcome that set 300 billion USD per year target from the developed state parties, which falls far below the 1.3 trillion USD per year estimate required to address adaptation and mitigation actions in developing countries.

He also noted that adoption of critical elements of the UN-led carbon market at COP29 will allow emission reductions to be traded between countries to meet the NDC obligations of different Parties. This may provide an opportunity for Zimbabwe to attract local and foreign direct investment into mitigation activities.

Lastly, Mr. Zhakata thanked ECA for facilitating the organization of the workshop.

On behalf of ECA, the Chief of the African climate Policy Centre, James Murombedzi noted that transitioning to low emissions energy, transportation and production systems and technologies should happen at a rate and pace which has never been attempted before in the history of humanity. As such, numerous uncertainties remain regarding how such transitions can be undertaken without compromising the development imperatives of the continent. Equally, he added, concerning are the potential impacts of other countries' climate policies and response measures such as the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and deforestation legislation, on Africa's goods and commodities.

Mr. Murombedzi further observed that Africa's NDCs have tended to be overly ambitious both in terms of mitigation ambition and domestic financing and thus failing to balance mitigation ambitions with the development needs of the continent. Such NDCs have the potential to stymy the continent's development prospects. At the same time, an ambitious mitigation effort on the part of the continent would have insignificant impacts on the climate system if the global community lacks ambition. Experience since the signing of the Paris Agreement, as demonstrated in the first Global Stocktake, shows that the developed world has generally had very low mitigation ambition, with emissions increasing since the signing of the Paris Agreement.

The transition to a low carbon emission economy is likely to be difficult and disruptive for Africa and should thereforebe differentiated between developed and developing countries with respect to the rate and intensity of fossil fuel phase down and phase out, and deployment of renewable energy technologies. This requires greater international cooperation that is based on needs of African countries and ensures that no one is left behind in the transition process. NDC 3.0 will be further important because it will define the country's development trajectory for the period 2025-2035. He noted national that stakeholders in attendance represent different sectoral constituencies whose role is crucial not only in designing the NDC, but also in its implementation, monitoringand reporting.

Lastly, Mr. Murombedzi stated that the workshop will go a long way towards exploring and integrating the possible pathways to low emissions development for Zimbabwe, and that UNECA, through ACPCand in collaboration with other UN entities, will continue to supportAfrican member states in the development and implementation of their climate policies and strategies.

The (GST) outcome agreed upon at COP28 underlined that despite overall progress on mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation and support, Parties are not yet collectively on track towards achieving the purpose of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals. The GST therefore encouraged Parties to come forward with ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction targets, covering all greenhouse gases, sectors and categories and aligned with the 1.5°C limit in their next round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The GST concluded that human-caused climate change impacts are being felt in every region across the globe, with those who have contributed the least to climate change being most vulnerable to the impacts, and, together with losses and damages, will increasingly be impacted with every increment of warming; and that most observed adaptation responses are fragmented, incremental, sector specific and unequally distributed across regions, and that, despite the progress made, significant adaptation gaps still exist across sectors and regions and will continue to grow under current levels of implementation. The GST also invited organizations in a position to do so to provide capacity-building support to countries in the preparation and communication of the next NDCs.

It is in this context that ECA accepted Zimbabwe's request for assistance in formulating its new NDC, with focus on countrywide stakeholder consultations, governance, private sector engagement, measurement, reporting and verification, capacity building, integration of Article 6 into NDC 3.0, and development of an NDC implementation plan.

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Economic Commission for Africa

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