{"id":1528,"date":"2025-12-19T02:43:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T02:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/?p=1528"},"modified":"2025-12-19T02:43:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T02:43:42","slug":"climate-action-council-warns-zimbabwe-climate-law-risks-excluding-communities-despite-paris-alignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/2025\/12\/19\/climate-action-council-warns-zimbabwe-climate-law-risks-excluding-communities-despite-paris-alignment\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Action Council Warns Zimbabwe Climate Law Risks Excluding Communities Despite Paris Alignment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Harare<\/strong> \u2013 The Climate Action Council of Zimbabwe (CACZ) has welcomed the passage of the Climate Change Management Bill (H.B. 5 of 2025) and Statutory Instrument 48 of 2025, describing the new framework as a \u201ctechnically strong and internationally aligned\u201d step towards implementing the Paris Agreement, but has cautioned that high fees, centralised powers and weakly enforceable participation rights could undermine inclusivity and local benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a detailed policy analysis authored by CACZ chief executive officer Anglistone T Sibanda and reviewed by climate governance expert Dr Keith Phiri, the Council says the Bill positions Zimbabwe as a continental leader in carbon markets, while at the same time raising \u201cserious governance and equity concerns\u201d that require urgent reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZimbabwe has put in place one of the most comprehensive climate governance and carbon market frameworks in Africa, with full Article 6 readiness and a technologically advanced national registry,\u201d Sibanda said. \u201cHowever, strong systems on paper do not automatically translate into fairness, inclusion and trust on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report, the Bill effectively domesticates Zimbabwe\u2019s obligations under the Paris Agreement, including implementation of the country\u2019s Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0), which targets a 40 percent reduction in per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 compared to a business-as-usual scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation establishes a Climate Change Management Department, specialised technical units and the Zimbabwe Carbon Markets Authority (ZiCMA), which will regulate carbon trading and manage the Zimbabwe Carbon Credit Registry (ZCR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bill explicitly seeks to domesticate and implement international conventions on climate change, including the Paris Agreement, and it creates the legal backbone needed for credible participation in international carbon markets,\u201d the report notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council also highlighted Zimbabwe\u2019s recent milestone of completing the world\u2019s first official corresponding adjustment and inter-registry transfer of carbon credits under Article 6, calling it \u201ca significant achievement for environmental integrity and transparency\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the law guarantees public participation, access to climate information and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for affected communities, CACZ warns that these rights risk remaining aspirational rather than enforceable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe law speaks strongly about participation and consultation, but in legal terms these are framed as guiding principles rather than hard rights,\u201d Sibanda said. \u201cThat creates a real risk that communities, women and youth can still be sidelined in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report points to past carbon projects, including forest-based initiatives, where communities were allegedly consulted late, excluded from decision-making, or unclear about how revenues were shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cField evidence shows that top-down decision-making and elite capture are not theoretical risks \u2013 they have already happened in some projects,\u201d the analysis states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the strongest criticisms in the CACZ report relates to the fee structure under SI 48 of 2025, which it describes as \u201camong the most onerous globally\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project developers face high upfront and annual costs, including registration fees of up to US$20 000, registry maintenance fees, and an auditor licensing fee of US$50 000. In addition, 30 percent of carbon credits are retained by the State as a share of proceeds, alongside other mandatory deductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese costs create high entry barriers that effectively shut out community groups, small farmers, local NGOs and start-up developers,\u201d Sibanda said. \u201cCarbon markets will be dominated by large, well-capitalised players, mostly foreign, while local actors are reduced to spectators.\u201d
CACZ argues that the 30 percent retention far exceeds international norms and contradicts the principle of a just transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder the Paris Agreement, the share of proceeds is around five percent for adaptation and two percent for administration. Zimbabwe\u2019s 30 percent is simply too high,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council also raised concerns about the concentration of authority in the hands of the Minister and ZiCMA, including powers to approve projects, manage the National Climate Fund, amend regulations and revoke project authorisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the Ministry becomes both referee and player, the risk of conflicts of interest is unavoidable,\u201d Sibanda warned. \u201cCentralisation can lead to political interference, slow decision-making and loss of investor confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report cautions that such discretion could discourage investment and weaken accountability, particularly in the absence of independent oversight bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite its criticisms, CACZ stressed that the Bill can still deliver inclusive climate action if reforms are implemented quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among its key recommendations are: reducing and tiering fees to accommodate community and small-scale projects; cutting or removing the 30 percent share of proceeds, especially for technology-based projects; establishing independent, multi-stakeholder oversight of the National Climate Fund; making FPIC and participation legally enforceable rights; and
restoring stronger roles for Rural District Councils and local monitoring committees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis law has the potential to support climate action, rural development and investment at the same time,\u201d Sibanda said. \u201cBut without adjustments, it risks excluding the very people it is meant to protect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CACZ concluded that failure to address governance and cost barriers could erode public trust and undermine national development priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf communities lose access to land, if benefits do not reach local people, and if decision-making remains opaque, carbon markets will deepen inequality instead of reducing it,\u201d the report warns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council urged policymakers to act decisively, arguing that \u201cfixing these weaknesses will help Zimbabwe meet its climate commitments while ensuring fairness, transparency and shared prosperity\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fanuel Chinowaita Harare \u2013 The Climate Action Council of Zimbabwe (CACZ) has welcomed the passage of the Climate Change Management Bill (H.B. 5 of 2025) and Statutory Instrument 48 of 2025, describing the new framework as a \u201ctechnically strong and internationally aligned\u201d step towards implementing the Paris Agreement, but has cautioned that high fees,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1529,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528\/revisions\/1529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}