HARARE, Jun 2, 2026 (NewsDay Live) - Zimbabwe needs at least US$4.8 billion to implement its climate commitments, but has no clear plan to close that gap.
That reality framed the policy book launch Tuesday to help urgently overhaul how the country manages its energy transition, natural resources, and the communities most exposed to climate risk.
Green Governance Zimbabwe Trust (GGZT), in partnership with ActionAid Zimbabwe, officially launched the policy book – Pathways for Green Governance in Zimbabwe: Energy Transition, Climate Finance and Ecofeminism in Harare at a function attended by Cabinet ministers, development partners, civil society organisations, and youth leaders.
In his keynote address, Environment, Climate and Wildlife permanent secretary Simon Masanga noted that women and the girl child are often disproportionately affected by climate change, yet they remain among the most effective agents of resilience and environmental stewardship.
Zimbabwe has pledged a 40% per capita reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Estimates put the bill for delivering on that pledge at US$4.8 billion: US$2.8 billion for adaptation and US$2 billion for mitigation. Against that figure, the country has received Green Climate Fund approvals worth US$35.4 million, less than 1% of what is required.
In that context, the book's focus on climate finance as a governance failure, rather than merely a funding shortfall, is its most pointed argument.
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ActionAid Zimbabwe country director Selina Pasirayi told the gathering that the problem is not only the absence of money but the absence of accountability.
"Too often, climate finance discussions end in conference rooms while communities confronting droughts, floods, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation see little tangible benefit, Zimbabwe requires transparent, accountable, and locally responsive financing mechanisms that channel resources to districts and communities where resilience is built every day,"said Pasirayi.
Zimbabwe's energy crisis is the visible face of its climate vulnerability. Prolonged droughts have repeatedly cut hydropower output - the country's major source of electrical energy, triggering rolling blackouts that constrain industry, health services, and households.
In 2024, the government launched the Zimbabwe Renewable Energy Fund (ZimREF), targeting over US$100 million in blended finance for solar, hydropower, biomass, and battery storage. The fund has grown from US$17 million in seed capital to US$45 million, according to recent reports, but remains a small fraction of what a full transition would require.
The book, according to remarks delivered at the launch, argues that the energy transition cannot be assessed only in megawatts or dollars. Who gets access to new energy systems and who is excluded determines whether the transition is just or merely technical. Women and girls, the speakers argued, bear the heaviest burden of energy poverty, carrying disproportionate unpaid care work in households without reliable power, yet they are systematically absent from policy rooms where energy decisions are made.
"A sustainable energy transition must therefore address the unequal power relations that shape access to energy, land, finance, technology, and decision-making. Women's leadership must move from the margins to the centre of policy formulation, budgeting, implementation, and accountability," said Pasirayi.
The inclusion of ecofeminism in the book's subtitles is deliberate and, in Zimbabwe's policy context, unusual.
The concept, which draws structural links between the exploitation of nature and the subordination of women, challenges the dominant technocratic framing of climate solutions. Secretary Masanga, speaking on behalf of the ministry, acknowledged the dimension directly
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Whether that acknowledgement translates into legislative or budgetary action is the gap the book seeks to close. Zimbabwe's National Climate Policy, National Development Strategy 2, Renewable Energy Policy, and Nationally Determined Contributions all contain gender-related provisions but enforcement and funding of those provisions remain inconsistent.
Secretary Masanga's keynote was careful to position the government as a willing partner rather than a defensive institution. He confirmed that Zimbabwe is already developing its third generation of NDCs work that began with an expert workshop in Bulawayo in December 2024 and said the publication's recommendations would feed into that process.
He was also candid about the limits of what Harare can do alone.
In his address, Masanga said while government is expected to play a leading role in the transion period, it cannot deliver the green transition alone.
"The private sector must invest in green technologies and sustainable business models. Academic institutions must generate research and innovation," he said.
The book launch, coming ahead of World Environment Day on June 5 was according to the organisers, intended to maximise its visibility during the week when climate commitments will be under international scrutiny.
The publication centres on three broad policy demands: an energy transition that is explicitly gender-responsive and intergenerational; climate finance systems built on transparency, local ownership, and community-level accountability; and environmental governance that treats citizen participation as a right, not a courtesy.
The book draws on Zimbabwe's existing policy architecture including the National Climate Change Response Strategy, the Low Emission Development Strategy to 2050, and the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan. It, however, argues that these frameworks are being undermined by weak implementation, inadequate financing, and the exclusion of communities from decisions that directly endure climate change shocks.