The Government is set to spend USD 19.2 billion (over 44trn/) to implement a national action plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate impacts.
Minister of state in the vice president’s Office (Union and Environment) Dr. Suleiman Jaffo told the environment stakeholders meeting in Arusha yesterday that the amount in addressing the nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
A statement released by the Vice President’s Office said the meeting held for four days discussed Tanzania’s strategies to increase the ability to get funds to deal with climate change.
Minister Jaffo said the Government is taking major steps such as preparing the National Environmental Policy for 2021, the National Strategic plan to cope with climate change 2021, the National Master Plan for Conservation and Environmental Management (2022-2023) and guidelines and regulations of carbon trading.
“Tanzania has also implemented various projects to withstand the effects of climate change including the construction of walls on seashores in Mtwara and Zanzibar islands, as well as other projects in the sectors of agriculture, livestock, fishery, energy, forestry, industry, information technology and building institutional capacity,” emphasized Dr Jaffo.
Principal Secretary in the First Vice President’s Office Dr. Omar Dadi Shajjak said that for Zanzibar, this working session will also set strategies to get funds that will be used on both sides of the union. He said that climate change is affecting Zanzibar by causing sea level to rise and soil erosion in coastal areas.
“As we know, most of Zanzibar’s tourism is in marine areas, so the beaches are being damaged due to the effects of climate change and that is why we are fighting to build walls and plant mangroves to prevent it,” he said.
The principal secretary also pointed out that the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar in its budget has allocated 3.4 billion/-for the construction of sea walls and 1.1 billion/- for mangrove planting.
Speaking, the director of the Environment in the Vice president’s office Dr Andrew Komba said that for four days, National organisations, civil society organisations and financial institutions, among other things, will review Tanzanian’s position towards the 27th conference on climate change that will be held in November 6-18, 2022 in Egypt.
“For really, we have serious problems in the country, it is very hot, it is not raining for a while, these are the effects of climate change, so we are continuing our efforts to fight these challenges,” said Komba.
However, according to the United Nations Convention, each country is required to show a strategy of how to fight climate change by reducing the production of greenhouse gases.
An effect occurring in the atmosphere because of the presence of certain gases (greenhouse gases) that absorb infrared radiation. Light and ultraviolet radiation from the sun are able to penetrate the atmosphere and warm the earth’s surface. This energy is re-radiated as infrared radiation, which, because of its longer wavelength, is absorbed by such substances as carbon dioxide. Emissions of carbon dioxide from human activity have increased markedly in the last 150 years or so. The overall effect is that the average temperature of the earth and its atmosphere is increasing (so called global warming).The effect is similar to that occurring in a greenhouse, where light and long-wave-length ultraviolet radiation can pass through the glass and apart of it is re-radiated into the greenhouse.
The greenhouse effect is seen as a major environmental hazard. Average increases in temperature are likely to change weather patterns and agricultural output. It is already causing the polar ice caps to melt, with a corresponding rise in sea level. Carbon dioxide, from fossil-fuel power stations and car exhausts, is the main greenhouse gas. Other contributory pollutants are nitrogen oxides, ozone, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons.
Tanzania is a member of the United Nations Framework Change (UNFCCC) and is one of the countries that submitted its to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change July 30,2021.
