Climate Action: From Bold Pledges to Firm Plans

The increasing urgency of the climate change agenda has seen world and business leaders make strong commitments to act to reverse the harmful effects of a warming planet. The goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5°C, which is a key component of the Paris Agreement, is meant to strengthen the response to this environmental crisis and requires collaborative action from the entire world. As experts have succinctly put it, the worst impacts of climate change could be irreversible by the year 2030. Pledges have been made, but urgent climate action is required to turn promises into action to create the necessary environmental impact.

Speaking at the recently concluded 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan reminded us that as the drastic climate change effects hit, they will choose no location - mighty or weak, rich or poor and communities will be adversely affected. Despite our status as a developing nation with minimal contribution to global greenhouse emissions, Tanzania is already experiencing these detrimental effects - rising sea levels are eroding our arable land, glacial melting is balding the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, and we are experiencing unpredictable floods and droughts and significant temperature rises. As we commence the journey towards carbon neutrality, we have raised our reforestation rate by 2% by planting an average of 276 million trees each year and resolved to dedicate 48 million hectares to forest conservation. Furthermore, Tanzania has committed to decarbonizing by 30-35% by 2030 and implemented mitigating measures to increase power generation through hydro, geothermal, and solar sources.?

With governments re-affirming their commitment to the Climate Change agenda, Private sector leaders are being held more accountable to ensure the adoption of sustainable investments that accelerate decarbonization as per Sustainable Development Goal 13, which calls for urgent climate action. However, with challenges come opportunities and the climate crisis presents opportunities for business leaders to harness innovation and technology to take the lead in driving responsible climate action. The CEO Roundtable of Tanzania (CEOrt), an organization that represents CEOs from over 160 leading companies in Tanzania cutting across multiple sectors of the economy with a shared purpose to enhance impact in leadership and sustainable socio-economic prosperity, boldly champions the climate change agenda. Through its Business and Sustainability pillar, the CEOrt supports initiatives that align to environmental sustainability and seeks to ingrain a sustainability approach across business models and operations nationwide. This is a commitment its members share, demonstrated by attendance at the COP26 summit in alignment with the ongoing initiatives within their organizations to support the agenda.

Financial institutions, including banks, investors, and insurers, account for approximately 40% of the world's capital. The global financial sector can therefore play a major role in combating climate change. Furthermore, the banking sector has a critical role in supporting businesses looking for green investment opportunities, as climate finance is key in unlocking capital spending on low-carbon investments. At COP26, finance firms managing $130 trillion of global capital joined the net-zero pledge. Locally, CEOrt Chairman and Standard Chartered Bank (Tanzania) CEO, Mr. Sanjay Rughani, has spoken of the bank’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions from their operations by 2030, and from their financing by 2050. Another bank, CRDB, is the first commercial bank in East and Central Africa to become accredited with the Green Climate Fund (GCF). These organizations are taking a leading role and will be instrumental in supporting the Tanzanian government in achieving its carbon reduction targets.

As a platform, COP26 saw some historical pledges, including the launch of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). This alliance of philanthropies, multilateral and development finance institutions, and governments aims to accelerate investment in green energy transitions and renewable power solutions in developing and emerging economies worldwide. Another alliance is of countries led by Denmark and Costa Rica, who have pledged to help phase out oil and gas production in efforts to tackle climate change. There is also a coalition of 19 developed countries that launched a plan to create zero-emissions shipping lanes, recognizing that shipping accounts for nearly 3% of CO2 emissions. In yet another notable development, the world’s two biggest polluters - the United States and China - stepped up and unveiled the U.S.-China Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s, agreeing to cut their carbon emissions. While some climate action work has been done, there is room to do a lot more - leaders need to be more ambitious in their climate commitments because according to a report by Climate Action Tracker, the planet is still approaching 2.4°C of warming despite all the pledges and promises made.?

Beyond government and business leaders within the country, it is encouraging to see our youth taking a keen interest in matters of climate change and putting in efforts to bring more attention to the existing crisis. An example is a Tanzanian photographer, Imani Nsamila, who won the EU GCCA+ Youth Awards for Best Climate Storytelling for East/Central Africa. Globally, it is the youth who have been demanding urgent climate action from world leaders.? And as a very youthful continent, with the right policies in place, Africa has the potential to benefit from the innovative mindsets of the youth to help address the climate crisis.

The CEOrt continues to challenge its members to transform business-as-usual mindsets to build a cleaner, resilient, and environmentally sustainable future for all Tanzanians. Now is not the time to ask ourselves what we can do to tackle climate change, but rather what more we can do to accelerate climate action.