Overview
The Challenges
There are three key elements to Zimbabwe’s capacity to respond effectively to the effects of climate change:
- Climate threat
Zimbabwe faces a difficult climate future, particularly around water and energy. In 2019, the ND-Gain index, a tool used to understand a country’s vulnerability to climate change, ranked Zimbabwe 171 out of 182 countries, putting it lower than the island nations of Vanuatu and Micronesia, or the war-torn Syria. This is in part because Zimbabwe is highly dependent on rain-fed agriculture, and farmers have little capacity to access information about changing weather patterns, remaining very vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Communities’ poor capacity to respond to changing weather patterns has already had devastating effects, such as rising food insecurity, school attrition, damaged health infrastructure, and economic challenges. The drought and floods of the 2018/19 season are a case in point, leaving more than eight million people (about half the population) in need of food aid. - Fiscal difficulties
Zimbabwe’s deeply troubled economy has left a broken fiscal system and inadequate – or severely deteriorated – infrastructure. Added to that, many funders and aid agencies either cannot or will not work through the Zimbabwean government. For example, the World Bank’s lending programme in the country is inactive due to arrears, and the organisation’s role is currently limited to technical assistance and analytical work. - Infrastructure
Zimbabwe’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) requires the country to mobilise more climate resources for the implementation of its obligations. The 2019 NDC Implementation Framework estimates the cost of implementing those prioritised mitigation NDC actions to be nearly $7 billion, with adaptation actions requiring $35 billion to 2030. There is a particular need for Zimbabwe to develop green infrastructure in order to achieve those mitigation and adaptation targets.
The Solution
Zimbabwe’s climate landscape is complex, and requires a multi-faceted solutions approach. Pegasys is working on several projects in the country – each with the same underlying message.
Two such projects are:
- World Bank Climate Finance Facility (CFF)
Pegasys has been working with the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) in the conceptualisation, design and operationalisation of the IDBZ’s CFF. The CFF is mobilising climate finance in order to prepare and deliver green infrastructure projects that are aligned with Zimbabwe’s NDC commitments, Sustainable Development Goals, and its National Development Strategy (NDS).IDBZ’s CFF will coordinate climate finance into infrastructure development for mitigation and adaptation. One of the critical challenges, and perhaps what will ultimately make the CFF a great facility, has been to ensure funders are able deploy investment into Zimbabwe aligned to their standards, and at the same time ensure the fund is directly serving Zimbabwe’s stated interests and needs.As the CFF comes to fruition, it will develop a pipeline of projects in four key sectors: energy, with a focus on diversifying the energy mix from hydro and thermal to include renewables; agriculture and forestry, in particular focusing on irrigation systems and forest management; water/sanitation and waste, notably looking for projects that climate-proof infrastructure; and low-carbon-intensive transport. - FCDO Feasibility Study for Climate Adaptation Water & Energy Infrastructure Programme (CAWEP)
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in Zimbabwe has prioritised developing infrastructure for citizens’ economic development and improving access to health, water and sanitation and education as key components of its work in Zimbabwe. As such, with the Zimbabwean government, it has developed CAWEP – a programme dedicated to enhancing climate-change adaptation and building resilient livelihoods. With our stakeholders, Pegasys will deliver a robust and in-depth feasibility study unpacking potential investment in multiple-use water and renewable energy infrastructure.The nature of potential projects that could be invested in include:
- Small-scale local projects to build livelihoods though water and/or renewable energy supply to a village/community.
- Projects with focus on health (clinics, sanitation), education (schools, youth) and livelihoods (agriculture, local business) activities.
- Multipurpose projects that either rehabilitate/integrate existing infrastructures or design new ones.
Given that the project has a holistic and integrated approach to feasibility studies for climate-resilient infrastructure projects, the team is ultimately trying to set the standard of planning climate-resilient infrastructure for rural livelihoods. This is an opportunity to influence new national priorities for climate change, water and renewable energy in Zimbabwe, demonstrating ways of building low-carbon climate resilience for communities in the country.
The CFF and CAWEP each form part of the same climate value chain. While the CFF aims to identify key projects and secure financing, the CAWEP feasibility study aims to identify an individual project and take it through to development.
Pegasys is a close, trusted adviser to our clients and partners. We’ve demonstrated that we want to help them get what they need.
Dr Guy Pegram, Director
ZAMBEZI BASIN PROJECT
Often the work that Pegasys does at a regional level has the dual benefit of advancing national climate priorities. Pegasys has worked with the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM), a water management organisation established by the eight riparian states (Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe).
Funded by the World Bank, this project involved the development of a strategic plan, including:
• An investment framework.
• Identifying potential projects in all ZAMCOM countries.
• Hotspot mapping to identify climate-vulnerable development hotspots.
That hotspot mapping was later used in the CAWEP project to identify Zimbabwe’s most climate-vulnerable locations.
The Numbers
Pegasys has a history in infrastructure projects in Southern Africa, and we understand the region very well. The more we work in a country, the better suited we are to different projects. When you start seeing synergies between projects, you’re really able to start addressing the heart of the issue.
Adetola Okunlola-Browning, Engagement Manager
