Lusaka, Wednesday, April 24, 2024: The Government of Zambia, in collaboration with COMESA and various development partners, has launched the National Green Growth Strategy (GGS). This strategy aims to drive the country towards sustainable development, prioritizing environmental sustainability, economic growth, and social inclusiveness.
The Zambia Green Growth Strategy is a comprehensive framework designed to integrate green growth principles into the national development agenda. It focuses on key sectors such as agriculture, energy, and water management, with the goal of enhancing resource efficiency, promoting sustainable infrastructure, and fostering resilience against climate change.
Officially launched in Lusaka on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, by the Minister for Green Economy and Environment Hon. Eng. Collins Nzovu, the GGS is anchored on four pillars, namely resilient and climate compatible growth, enhanced resource efficiency, enhanced natural capital and improved inclusivity.
Minister Nzovu said the Government has resolved to transition the country to a green economy, because the economic growth attained so far towards the vision of becoming a prosperous middle-income nation by the year 2030, has come at great cost to the environment, ecosystems and natural resources.
“Economic growth has also not been inclusive as total poverty remains persistently high and income inequality is very high compared to the vision 2030 target,” the minister said.
In this regard, the National Green Growth Strategy (GGS) has been formulated to promote development pathways that lead to Zambia’s transition to a low-carbon, resource efficient, resilient and socially inclusive economy by 2030.
The implementation of the GGS is also expected to accelerate the attainment the commitments made in Zambia’s Nationally Determined Contribution, (NDC), a climate action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts. Additionally, execution of the interventions in the GGS will present Zambia with additional opportunities for creation of green jobs.
On its part, COMESA is fully committed to supporting Member States in their transition to green growth, said the COMESA Assistant Secretary General, Dr Dev Haman in his address to the gathering.
“We are proud to be part of this transformative initiative in Zambia, which serves as a model for regional collaboration on environmental sustainability,” he said and congratulated Zambia for the successful launch.
The launch of the strategy has been made possible through the support of COMESA with funding from the NDC Partnership and a coalition of international donors and organizations committed to sustainable development and climate resilience in Africa.
Present at the event were the Global Green Growth Institute, the United Nations Office for Project Services, the Nationally Determined Contribution Partnership, the European Union Delegation to Zambia.
Others were the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Focus Climate Security and the CGIAR Climate Resilience Initiative and the International Labour Organisation. These provided technical, material, and financial support rendered during the development of the strategy.