Access to Climate Finance Conference To Be Hosted For Zimbabwe’s Business Sector

September 22, 2017

By Wallace Mawire The Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSDZ) with support of the French Embassy in Zimbabwe  will on 28 September, 2017  host an access to climate finance conference for the business sector under the theme: Unlocking green funds for mitigation and adaptation. According to Tawanda Muzamwese, Executive Director of the BCSDZ,   the conference will be held as a mechanism of upscaling and strengthening the ability of Zimbabwe to access climate finance from both international and local sources. The BCSDZ is a private sector led organisation that was formed 24 years ago whose mandate is to promote the implementation of sustainable development at company level. It is an affiliate of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

     According to the BCSDZ, climate change is one of the most significant developmental challenges affecting society today. Zimbabwe is one of the countries affected by the effects of climate change. The Paris Agreement has provided a platform for reducing further progression of anthropogenic causes of climate change. Zimbabwe has therefore developed a Climate Change Response Strategy and also its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as well as a Climate Policy.   “Financing is therefore needed to facilitate implementation of these frameworks and also to finance local projects at company, community and national level,” according to Muzamwese.   He  adds that in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change there is need for climate finance.   It is reported that climate finance can be drawn from many sources including international development partners, government, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), private sector amongst other sources.   According to the BCSDZ, the major question that many stakeholders have had to deal with, pertains to what  the sources of climate finance are , why  there are few projects funded, how to maximize on  existing sources and focusing on new existing opportunities. It is also added that although climate change is a challenge, it is also an opportunity for facilitating investments through many sources such as renewable energy technologies, clean technologies and the creation of lending facilities, grants, equity amongst others.   The forthcoming conference is expected to explore the existing sources of climate finance and strengthen the ability of Zimbabwean stakeholders to access innovative finance sources.   Companies in the process of developing green projects are also reported to be interested in identifying sources of financing and expected to attend the conference  with the prospect of meeting financial institutions, national authorities, consultants, project developers, private sector and civil society, just to mention a few.