Coal for Now, Green for Later: Zimbabwe’s Climate Plan Submitted to the UN

Being the good boys and girls that we are in Zimbabwe, we were the only African country to submit its 2035 climate plan (Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)) on time to meet a UN deadline of February 10.

You can’t help but fear the worst when there is talk of climate plans because there is significant pressure to go green, even when it hurts an economy, at least in the short term.

However, I think I like the plan that our country submitted. It rightly played the lip service game and talked up plans to go green but also highlighted immediate concerns that will mean relying on coal and gas even more in the next few years.

Zimbabwe’s climate plan, as submitted to the United Nations, tries to balance energy security with emissions reduction. Key points related to electricity generation include:

• Increased Coal Use in the Short Term: Due to severe droughts affecting hydropower output, Zimbabwe plans to refurbish the Hwange coal power station and construct a new 720 MW coal plant to address immediate power shortages.
• Transition to Gas Power: The plan includes shifting towards natural gas as an alternative to coal in the medium term, aiming to reduce carbon intensity while maintaining energy reliability.
• Renewable Energy Integration: Zimbabwe intends to expand solar and wind energy projects, though progress is limited by inadequate funding and infrastructure challenges. The Kariba hydro plant, which typically provides about 40% of Zimbabwe’s electricity, is currently operating at a reduced capacity of 185 MW due to insufficient water supply.
• Emissions Reduction Target: The country aims for a 40% per capita emissions reduction by 2035 compared to a business-as-usual scenario, with energy sector emissions expected to peak in 2026 before declining.

So, yeah, the plan reflects Zimbabwe’s challenge of securing reliable electricity while gradually transitioning to cleaner energy sources, constrained by economic and funding limitations.

If the global prefects want us to go green quicker, they will have to fund those efforts. We are too broke to do it ourselves for now, and so ‘in coal we trust.’

I’m willing to fight any climate activist in a boxing ring who advocates shunning coal in Zim when these blackouts are killing us.