Tanzania outlines COP27 agendas
TANZANIA has outlined eight agendas that it will focus on during the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27), the most important being global goals for climate change resilience for sustainable development.
The announcement ahead of COP 27 meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6–18 this year, will see President Samia Suluhu Hassan leading the Tanzanian delegation.
The United Nations hosts the conference every year. Countries agreed at last year’s summit in Scotland to do more immediately to prevent a dangerous rise in global temperatures.
Outlining the agenda in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, Minister of State (Union and Environment), Selemani Jafo said that the developing world has initiated a climate change resilience strategy due to the fact that 3.6 billion people may be affected by climate change. Thus, the common goal of the world is to get rid of the situation.
Dr Jafo stated that, Tanzania will focus on other agendas such as climate change adaptation, climate change finance, loss and damage caused by climate change, and global temperature reduction.
Other approaches include market mechanisms and non-market approaches, increasing transparency of climate change finance and the impact of climate change policies.
He said this year Tanzania is determined to participate differently from previous years, where in addition to participating in the discussion meetings on the various agendas presented, they have also organised the Tanzania Pavilion for exhibition.
“In recognition of the various steps/efforts we have taken in various sectors of the country, the pavilion will feature special works to promote Tanzania.” “Our booth will show the international community what we have done, starting with the formulation of policies and guidelines, as well as large strategic projects to combat or mitigate climate change,” he said.
The ultimate goal of this year’s conference is in dispute. Wealthy countries want to focus on ways to help developing nations phase out fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy. More than 35,000 delegates are expected to attend the event and more than 100 heads of state, according to the UN climate body.
That’s smaller than last year’s summit in Glasgow, which brought together 120 world leaders and over 40,000 registered participants.
This is the first climate summit in Africa since 2016. Many diplomats said they hope it will be an ‘African COP’ in focus as well as location, given that African nations face some of the worst impacts of climate change.
Tanzania has taken significant steps since the conclusion of COP 26, according to Dr Jafo, including the preparation of a plan to reintroduce climate change resistance issues into the country’s policies, plans, strategies, and programmes. The project, which involves mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, began in January 2022 and will be completed in three years.
Others, he said, are working on a 2022 Environmental Conservation Plan that will identify priority issues for environmental management and climate change.
“Tanzania has also initiated discussions with the Green Climate Fund and other funds in order to obtain funds to assist in the preparation and implementation of national projects dealing with climate change, such as the National Environmental Policy, the National Strategy for Coping with Climate Change, and the Master Plan for Nature Conservation,” said DrJafo.
The Declaration on Forest Management and Climate Change was signed by heads of state at COP26, including President Samia. The resolution identified the heads of state’s joint commitment to conserving forests and recognising the importance of conserving biodiversity, as well as sustainable land use, to help achieve sustainable development goals and preserve the ecosystem.
“Recognising that forests cover approximately 55 per cent of Tanzania’s land area, we have continued to preserve those forests and plant more trees.” Approximately 197 million trees have been planted and thrived in the last year. Efforts to raise more funds to support forest conservation have continued, including through carbon trading projects being developed in a variety of areas,” he said.
