As uncertainty deepens around global climate financing, Zimbabwe is increasingly looking inward to fund its response to the climate crisis, with officials pushing for a new National Climate Fund designed to mobilise domestic and international support for adaptation efforts.
The proposed fund, which sits at the centre of the country’s draft Climate Change Management Bill, was the focus of a recent multi-stakeholder dialogue convened by the Zimbabwe Youth Climate Justice Working Group.
The discussions brought together young activists, policymakers and climate stakeholders at a time when pressure is mounting on governments across Africa to secure sustainable financing for climate action.
Acting Deputy Director for Climate Change Management in the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife, Lovemore Dhoba, described the proposed fund as a critical mechanism for ensuring Zimbabwe’s climate response is properly resourced amid shrinking global support.
“The climate fund is important in terms of our climate action,” Dhoba said.
“This fund has been proposed under the bill with the intention to make sure that climate action is well resourced.”
Zimbabwe, like many African countries, continues to face the effects of climate change despite contributing minimally to global emissions. But officials say international pledges to finance adaptation efforts across the continent are becoming increasingly unreliable as geopolitical tensions and economic pressures reshape priorities in wealthier nations.
“Zimbabwe, as Africa, we are not responsible for this change in climate. But the countries in the developed world largely are. They committed themselves to financing climate action in Africa and in Zimbabwe.”
He said ongoing conflicts and economic instability abroad were now affecting the flow of climate finance promised to vulnerable nations.
“The current challenges that we are also facing, you know, the wars in Europe, mean they are no longer really able to provide the much-needed climate finance to see the full operationalisation of our national climate change adaptation plan,” he said.
In response, Zimbabwe is proposing a funding structure capable of drawing resources from government, the private sector, philanthropies and international partners still willing to support climate programmes.
“And that’s why we are proposing the establishment of this national climate fund,” he added.
“It is going to work as a vehicle, as a mechanism to mobilise climate finance from the government itself, from the private sector, from philanthropies, from development partners, and also from bilateral and multilateral support groups that still remain available to support climate action in Zimbabwe.”
He also welcomed growing youth involvement in shaping the fund, describing it as a positive sign for the future of climate governance in the country.
“We are very happy when we see the youth developing interest in making sure that this national climate fund comes out right and comes out ready to support climate action in Zimbabwe,” he said.
The Environmental Management Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to align Zimbabwe’s environmental laws with constitutional environmental rights and emerging environmental principles.
The proposed legislation will also strengthen the Environmental Management Agency’s powers to better protect and preserve the environment for present and future generations.
