Tanzania needs Sh345 billion a year to build adaptation capacity

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania needs about $150 million (some Sh345 billion) each year to build its adaptive capacity and enhance resilience against future climate change, a cabinet minister said yesterday, calling upon developed countries to help in financing the initiatives.

Energy minister January Makamba told participants to the Africa Adaptation Summit in Rotterdam, Netherlands yesterday that the money would specifically be spent on building Tanzania’s adaptive capacity in areas of agriculture, health, infrastructure, energy and water.

Mr Makamba, who represented President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the event, said Tanzania also needs $14 billion as costs of implementing Tanzania’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs), an amount that is estimated to rise to over $30 billion by 2030.

“I’m, therefore, glad that the GCA [Global Center on Adaptation] and the African Development Bank have teamed up to develop a continental programme – the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP) to address the nexus of climate change, Covid-19 and the economy,” he said, promising that Tanzania would join the program.

“Through the $25 billion facility established under this programme, it is my expectation that Tanzania will be able to address some of the adaptation challenges we are facing today and in the future,” he said.

He said the summit, which comes before the Conference of the Parties (CoP) 27 takes place in Egypt later this year, comes at a time when African countries were at crossroads as they battle the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on their economies amid the climate change menace.

He said agricultural production and productivity in Africa has been dropping thus increasing hunger and malnutrition.

Also read on: Tanzania needs Sh4.42 trillion to end electricity woes

According to FAO, the number of undernourished Africans has increased by 45.6 percent since over the past 10 years. “Think about the number and what it means. Hydropower has become unreliable, increasing energy poverty.

“Malaria is on the rise even in usually colder regions, impacting labour productivity and burdening healthcare systems. Displacements and migrations are on the rise….,” he said, adding that since Africans emit the least but suffer the most, it would make immense sense if more resources for adaptation would be availed to Africa.