A recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)indicated that global temperatures will rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels in the next two decades(IPCC, 2018).The climate crisis is driven primarily by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels as well as deforestation, among others. As global warming accelerates, the impacts of climate change such as droughts, corral bleaching, wildfires, sea level rises, heat waves, and cyclones, have intensified over time(Hartely and Tando, 2022).The effects of the climate shocks are being felt harder in developing countries like Zimbabwe(Aluwani, 2022). This is largely attributed to the economic fragility, as well as the lack of technical and institutional capacity. Against this background, the unravelling climate change crisis is threatening to undo decades of progress with regards to socio-economic development, education, health, and also poverty reduction. The vulnerability of developing countries such as Zimbabwe is further exacerbated by their reliance on rain-fed agriculture, which is now unpredictable due to climate change. Freeman (2017) linked climate change to increased conflicts and migration particularly in the horn of Africa. Thus, the cocktail of climate crisis and weak governance systems has led to increased tensions among communities and states at large over natural resources such as grazing pastures for livestock, arable land and water sources. In light of the afore mentioned challenges, radical actions are required so as to avert the climate catastrophe. Chief among them is the significant reduction in emissions by the end of the current decade (IPCC, 2018). In the long term, many countries have committed to achieving net zero emissions.
There is also an urgent need to adapt to the unraveling climate change crisis, triggered by historical emissions which have caused the earth to warm up by 1.1 degrees Celsius already ,since the advent of the industrial revolution. In addition to large scale behavior changes as well as societal transformation, responding to the climate crisis requires huge financial resources and advances in technology. It is imperative to note that most developing countries like Zimbabwe lack the financial capacity, due to constrained fiscal space, owing to making competing priorities as well as limited resources.The situation has been further compounded by the global economic head winds due to the slow recovery post Corona Virus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, rising energy costs and also the war in Ukraine. A report released at the twenty seventh gathering for Conference of Parties (COP27)that was held in Egypt inNovember2022, indicated that as much as USD 1 trillion per year in external finance is needed by developing countries to combat climate change(Reuters, 2022). However, only a fraction of this is currently being made available annually through various channels, mostly from the public sector.This paper will investigate the investigate the role that can be played by the private sector in closing the funding gap for climate change adaptation. Zimbabwe will be used as a case study. The paper will review the literature on climate finance, asses the adaptation funding gap and explore ways for scaling up private sector financing in Zimbabwe.
International Journal of Humanity and Social SciencesISSN: 3005-5407(Online)Vol.2, Issue No.2, pp 9–21, 2024www.carijournals.org 112.BackgroundZimbabwe has a population of 15 million people. About 60 percent of the population resides in the rural areas where the main economic activity is agriculture(Mapfumo et al, 2012). The agriculture sector accounts for 70 percent of the employed workforce and contributes about 15 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (Maiyaki, 2010). The country is highly vulnerable to climate change as a result of its dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Hence ,it fundamentally important that Zimbabwe steps up efforts geared towards adaptation to the climate change impacts. There is a need to increase the resilience of Zimbabwe, by strengthening its capacity to predict and rapidly respond to impacts of climate shocks. Zimbabwe is already reeling from the increasing impacts of climate change as evidenced by the increased frequency of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts in recent. In 2019, the country experienced the worst floods in history, as cyclone Idai destroyed property and left about 900 people dead or missing (Munsaka et al, 2021). Moreso, half the country is food in secure largely due to frequent droughts linked to climate change. The climate change impacts in Zimbabwe are projected to be severe in the near term and the rest of the 21st century(Munsaka et al, 2021). The change in climate will further threaten already strained water supplies, food and nutrition security, health, hydro-electric power generation, human settlements and biodiversity amongst other key areas of human development thereby impeding the country’s social and economic development aspirations.According to Mazvimavi (2010), Zimbabwe’s rainfall has declined by 5 per cent in the last century. It is important to note that the seasonal rainfall has increasingly become erratic, with significant delays in on set and also more frequent incidents of extreme weather events such as floods as well as droughts.The climate induced shocks faced by the country have led to dwindling fresh water suppliers, poor harvests and increased desertification, among other challenges.In the last decade, the country has been hit by at least one cyclone per year.
The situation has been made worse by the El Nino weather phenomena which is causing droughts which sometimes last upto three consecutive years(Matunhu et al, 2022).Such a drought was recently experienced during the period between 2014 –2016. As a result of the impacts of climate change, Zimbabwe which was once the bread basket of the continent now relies on food imports which drain the limited foreign reserves as well as donor aid. The decline in maize production, which is a staple food for Zimbabwe, has led to sharp increases in prices. Climate change affects the most vulnerable rural inhabitants who depend on small scale farming for subsistence. According to recent studies, super El Nino events with double the impact are likely to become common in the next twenty years(Cai et al,2018). Furthermore, by the end of the twenty first century, temperatures are projected to increase by up to 3 degrees Celsius in Zimbabwe(Unganai, 1996). These climatic changes will lead to further decline in agricultural yields over time, thereby threatening livelihoods. It is estimated that Zimbabwe will experience a decline in maize production by 50 percent between 2020-2080(Lunduka et al, 2019).
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