Zim, Sweden engages in climate finance
The herald
Africa Moyo in SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt
The re-engagement drive spearheaded by the Second Republic was taken to the UN climate summit underway in Egypt, where senior officials from Zimbabwe and Sweden met to exchange notes on climate finance.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality, Ambassador Raphael Faranisi met with Sweden’s Section Chief, Climate, Foreign Affairs, Dag Sjögren.
The engagement took place at the Swedish Pavilion.
In an interview after the meeting, Sjogren said: “We discussed the challenges of COP27 including climate finance that has not been released, related to adaptation finance.”
On his part, Ambassador Faranisi said they exchanged views on how effective the Global Climate Funds and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund have been in helping Zimbabwe address climate issues.
The GEF aims to help developing countries and economies in transition to contribute to the overall goal of the Rio Conventions including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to mitigate climate change, while enabling sustainable economic development.
– So the Swedes wanted to hear from us how effective it has been, and where they can also come in and make some interventions by helping us with technical support, says Ambassador Faranisi.
“We also talked about how we can sustain these programs because while technology partners can give us so much in terms of financial resources, the pockets are not that deep so we also have to find ways to sustain these programs.
“We also informed them that for the first time in our history, all line ministries, governments and government departments have been asked to integrate climate issues into their budgets. So they have committed to helping us in ways they can through the global funds and through the Swedish Fund.”
Ambassador Faranisi said the meeting was essentially aimed at exchanging notes and enhancing cooperation between the two countries.
In addition to the engagement with Sweden, it was a busy first week at COP27 for Zimbabwe’s representatives.
On Saturday evening, Ambassador Faranisi was a panelist during a side event organized by Unicef.
The meeting also had youth speakers from Kenya, DRC and Zimbabwe, who were represented by Christabel Mhiribidi, a student at Midlands State University.
Other speakers were Zambia’s Minister of Green Economy and Environment and Malawi’s Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change Eisenhower Nduwa Mkaka.
Ambassador Faranisi said Zimbabwe has various programs to support young people in the fight against climate change.
Christabel commended President Mnangagwa for initiating the National Environment Cleanup Day, which takes place on the first Friday of every month.
She said a clean environment helps reduce the effects of climate change.
Christabel also praised the government’s initiative to expose primary school children to literature on climate change, with the recent Year 7 exams featuring questions on climate change.
Officials from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development also held a side event at the Zimbabwe Pavilion where they invited investors to tap into opportunities in the agriculture sector, including reviving irrigation schemes.
Zimbabwe aims to rehabilitate 5,700 hectares by December next year, to benefit over 27,500 households in four provinces that experience the most irregular rainfall.