Tanzania at COP29: Vice President Mpango Calls for Urgent Climate Action and Financial Support

November 14, 2024

In an address at the COP29 climate summit, Tanzania’s Vice President Philip Isdor Mpango delivered a stern message about the severe impact of climate change on his country. He underscored that climate change drains Tanzania’s economy by an estimated 2-3% of its GDP annually, representing billions in lost potential. To meet its ambitious climate goals, Tanzania will need an additional $19.3 billion by 2030, a figure it has yet to receive from international commitments.

Vice President Mpango urged developed nations to bridge the significant financial gap required for countries like Tanzania to meet their climate targets. Referring to the summit as a “finance COP,” he called for global solidarity and systemic change in climate financing. Since the Copenhagen climate summit, promises of financial support have largely fallen short, and the urgency of the climate crisis demands action, not rhetoric. “We look forward to a new, fit-for-purpose quantified goal to replace the outdated $100 billion target set in 2009,” Mpango emphasized.

Highlighting the stark realities of climate impacts, Mpango pointed to recent floods, fires, and extreme weather events devastating various regions worldwide, including Tanzania. He stressed that developing countries, especially in Africa, face unfair burdens, noting that “climate finance is about responsibility and justice.”

Tanzania has made strides in environmental sustainability with its own resources, including promoting clean energy projects, enhancing early warning systems, and investing in waste management. Notably, Tanzania has preserved over 48 million hectares of forest, contributing an estimated 2% of the world’s carbon storage capacity. Additionally, the country’s expansive marine ecosystems offer significant potential for a blue economy, but Mpango highlighted that global carbon markets remain poorly defined, limiting Tanzania’s ability to capitalize on its conservation efforts.

Vice President Mpango also emphasized the critical need for clean cooking solutions in Africa, a major issue affecting over 900 million people who rely on biomass for cooking. This dependence on traditional fuels accelerates deforestation, reducing carbon sinks, and leading to smoke-related health problems. Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan is championing clean cooking initiatives, including the Pan-African Women Clean Cooking Support Program, which will require $4 billion in annual funding by 2030 to meet continental targets.

Mpango’s call to action was clear: COP29 must prioritize clean cooking, equitable financing, and practical pathways to a green transition that includes vulnerable nations.

Dr Mpango’s full speech:

Madame Chair, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,

We are here once again for another COP, aptly dubbed the “Finance COP,” where we must work together in solidarity for a green world. We meet at a time when greenhouse gas emissions and temperatures are reaching record-breaking levels, with dire consequences, particularly for developing countries. Climate change is not a distant concern but a current reality. In recent weeks, we have witnessed catastrophic flooding in Spain, devastating fires in the Amazon, and torrential rains displacing millions in South Asia. My country, Tanzania, has also not been spared by such catastrophic events, which are costing us 2-3% of our GDP each year. We estimate that $19.2 billion will be needed by 2030 to achieve our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). So far, only about $500 million has been received, forcing us to use our own internal resources at the expense of other development projects and increasing our debt burden. This situation is now common across Africa, and it is both inappropriate and unethical, given that our continent did not cause this crisis.

Since the Copenhagen Summit, the promise of real climate finance has been elusive. Therefore, this Finance COP must go beyond empty rhetoric and produce bold decisions that address the urgent financing needs of countries. We look forward to a fit-for-purpose, new collective quantified goal to replace the outdated $100 billion goal set in 2009. This is indeed an opportunity to drive systemic change in climate finance because what we agree upon here will guide climate action—or inaction—for years to come. Climate finance is fundamentally about responsibility and justice, and COP29 must also sustain the momentum on loss and damage to ensure that the fund established does not become an empty shell, negating the gains made last year at COP28 in Dubai.

Excellencies, Tanzania remains committed to contributing to global efforts to combat climate change. We are using our own resources for projects that foster development and provide clean energy, environmentally friendly transportation systems, improved early warning systems, and waste management. Additionally, Tanzania has a total area of 48.1 million hectares of forest reserves with an estimated carbon storage capacity equivalent to 2% of the world’s total carbon. Our territorial sea area, covering 64,500 square kilometers, offers significant potential for a blue economy. We are committed to conserving these critical marine and forest ecosystems. We are already acting in solidarity for a green world, even with our limited resources. Yet, the challenge we face is that carbon markets are not yet fully defined, which denies our countries the payments they deserve. There is a lack of information and capacity to participate gainfully in these carbon markets.

In conclusion, let me emphasize that we cannot speak about a just transition without focusing on clean cooking, an issue that is critically important for most Africans. About 900 million people in Africa still rely on biomass fuels for cooking, leading to deforestation, loss of carbon sinks, and deaths due to smoke-related diseases. For this reason, my President, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, has championed clean cooking on the African continent, and we call on COP29 to make clean cooking a priority in discussions on a just transition and mitigation finance. Tanzania is implementing a clean cooking strategy to ensure access to clean, safe, and affordable cooking energy for about 80% of households by 2034. We have also launched a Pan-African Women Clean Cooking Support Program, which will require financial support of approximately $4 billion annually by 2030 to provide transformative clean cooking solutions across the continent.

Madame Chair, thank you.Madame Chair, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,

We are here once again for another COP, aptly dubbed the “Finance COP,” where we must work together in solidarity for a green world. We meet at a time when greenhouse gas emissions and temperatures are reaching record-breaking levels, with dire consequences, particularly for developing countries. Climate change is not a distant concern but a current reality. In recent weeks, we have witnessed catastrophic flooding in Spain, devastating fires in the Amazon, and torrential rains displacing millions in South Asia. My country, Tanzania, has also not been spared by such catastrophic events, which are costing us 2-3% of our GDP each year. We estimate that $19.2 billion will be needed by 2030 to achieve our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). So far, only about $500 million has been received, forcing us to use our own internal resources at the expense of other development projects and increasing our debt burden. This situation is now common across Africa, and it is both inappropriate and unethical, given that our continent did not cause this crisis.

Since the Copenhagen Summit, the promise of real climate finance has been elusive. Therefore, this Finance COP must go beyond empty rhetoric and produce bold decisions that address the urgent financing needs of countries. We look forward to a fit-for-purpose, new collective quantified goal to replace the outdated $100 billion goal set in 2009. This is indeed an opportunity to drive systemic change in climate finance because what we agree upon here will guide climate action—or inaction—for years to come. Climate finance is fundamentally about responsibility and justice, and COP29 must also sustain the momentum on loss and damage to ensure that the fund established does not become an empty shell, negating the gains made last year at COP28 in Dubai.

Excellencies, Tanzania remains committed to contributing to global efforts to combat climate change. We are using our own resources for projects that foster development and provide clean energy, environmentally friendly transportation systems, improved early warning systems, and waste management. Additionally, Tanzania has a total area of 48.1 million hectares of forest reserves with an estimated carbon storage capacity equivalent to 2% of the world’s total carbon. Our territorial sea area, covering 64,500 square kilometers, offers significant potential for a blue economy. We are committed to conserving these critical marine and forest ecosystems. We are already acting in solidarity for a green world, even with our limited resources. Yet, the challenge we face is that carbon markets are not yet fully defined, which denies our countries the payments they deserve. There is a lack of information and capacity to participate gainfully in these carbon markets.

In conclusion, let me emphasize that we cannot speak about a just transition without focusing on clean cooking, an issue that is critically important for most Africans. About 900 million people in Africa still rely on biomass fuels for cooking, leading to deforestation, loss of carbon sinks, and deaths due to smoke-related diseases. For this reason, my President, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, has championed clean cooking on the African continent, and we call on COP29 to make clean cooking a priority in discussions on a just transition and mitigation finance. Tanzania is implementing a clean cooking strategy to ensure access to clean, safe, and affordable cooking energy for about 80% of households by 2034. We have also launched a Pan-African Women Clean Cooking Support Program, which will require financial support of approximately $4 billion annually by 2030 to provide transformative clean cooking solutions across the continent.

Madame Chair, thank you.