By Zachary Gava
Harare, (New Ziana) — Zimbabwe is stepping up efforts to attract private-sector investment into climate-smart technologies as the Government moves to translate its climate commitments into practical projects capable of strengthening resilience and driving low-emission development.
The Government says identifying the technologies most urgently needed to respond to climate change, alongside developing a clear roadmap for mobilising climate finance, will be critical to turning national climate ambitions into investments that can deliver tangible results.
Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife Chief Director, Washington Zhakata said this on Wednesday during a Harare regional Joint Climate Change Technology Needs Assessment and Private Sector Engagement and Climate Finance Roadmap Development meeting held under the theme: “Advancing Zimbabwe’s Climate Resilience and Low Emission Development.”
The meeting forms part of Government’s efforts under its Green Climate Fund programme to assess the country’s technology needs, strengthen private-sector participation and improve Zimbabwe’s readiness to access climate finance for transformative investments.
Zhakata said Zimbabwe could no longer afford to have climate policies and commitments without equally strong mechanisms for implementing and financing them.
“The challenge before us is how to translate these commitments into practical action, breaking down the barriers to all the benefits that climate action can bring,” he said.
Zimbabwe is facing growing climate-related threats, including prolonged droughts, floods, heat stress, water scarcity and ecosystem degradation, with the impacts placing increasing pressure on agriculture, water resources, energy, infrastructure and public health.
Zhakata said these challenges were also threatening the country’s broader development aspirations, making climate resilience and low-carbon development central to national planning.
The Government has developed several climate policy instruments, including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Climate Change Response Strategy, National Adaptation Plan and Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy, which collectively provide a framework for adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development.
However, Zhakata said implementation remained the key challenge.
He identified appropriate technologies and investment mechanisms as two critical requirements for moving from policy commitments to large-scale climate action.
“First, we need the right technologies. Secondly, we need investment and financing mechanisms that are able to scale these technologies,” he said.
The Technology Needs Assessment is therefore expected to identify technologies that can help Zimbabwe build resilience while supporting a transition towards a low-carbon economy.
Zhakata noted that the country’s previous technology needs assessment was conducted more than two decades ago, making an updated assessment necessary in light of changing climate conditions, technological advances and emerging investment opportunities.
“We need an updated assessment that identifies technologies capable of supporting climate resilience, low-carbon development and our response to future climate scenarios,” he said.
He said another major obstacle was the inability of potentially transformative climate technologies to move beyond pilot projects because of inadequate financing ecosystems.
“Many potentially transformative climate technologies fail to move beyond the pilot stage because the financing ecosystem does not adequately support their deployment,” Zhakata said.
The regional consultations are consequently expected to generate evidence on technology needs, investment opportunities and financing barriers, with the findings feeding into national technology and investment plans and the broader climate finance roadmap.
Zhakata stressed that regional participation was important because climate vulnerabilities and economic opportunities differ across the country.
Each region, he said, has unique economic structures, natural resource bases, communities and investment opportunities, meaning national climate planning must be informed by realities on the ground.
The private sector will be particularly important in this process as Zimbabwe seeks to mobilise investment for climate technologies and projects.
Zhakata said Government, the private sector and communities each had a distinct role to play in delivering climate solutions.
“Government provides policy direction and network support. The private sector drives innovation, investment and the scaling of solutions, while communities bring local knowledge and experience,” he said.
He urged participants to use the consultations to identify practical opportunities rather than simply discuss the challenges posed by climate change.
“These consultations are not simply intended to discuss climate challenges in general. Rather, they are intended to generate evidence, identify opportunities, map barriers and establish regional priorities that will feed directly into the country’s national outputs,” Zhakata said.
He also challenged stakeholders to consider changing international trade requirements as they assess Zimbabwe’s future technology and investment needs.
He cited the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is increasingly placing greater emphasis on the carbon intensity of imported products, as an indication of the changing global trading environment.
Zimbabwe, he said, needed to ensure that its industries were prepared for a global economy increasingly shaped by low-carbon production standards.
The exercise will therefore not only support domestic climate resilience but could also help Zimbabwe maintain and expand access to international markets as global climate-related trade requirements evolve.
Zhakata urged participants to be “open, practical and ambitious” in identifying technologies, investment opportunities and financing solutions.
“We need your insights on technology needs and opportunities. We need your perspectives on investment and financing challenges. We need honest reflections on policy and implementation steps,” he said.
“Most importantly, we need recommendations that can be translated into actionable projects and investments capable of delivering measurable results.”
The Government hopes the consultations will ultimately produce a practical roadmap capable of connecting Zimbabwe’s climate policies with technologies, investors and financial resources needed to implement them on a large scale.
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