Policy-making Prospects and Challenges of the Climate Change and the urban Energy Sector in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This article explores and analyses the development and interplay of the energy sector and climate change with the sole focus on opportunities and problems for policy-making to control climate change in urban Zimbabwe. There is a gap between energy secor and climate change policies in urban areas of Zimbabwe, as energy policies are being addressed separately from climate change policies and governance. Metropolitan areas, such as Harare and Bulawayo, are affected by climate footprints of the energy sector related to climate change. Currently, there is a dearth of literature on energy-climate nexus and frameworks to augment policy direction towards combating climate change in the country. The study adopted qualitative methods to collect data from residents, municipality officials and selected companies. Findings from the study show that urban communities in Zimbabwe are confronted with energy deficit and climate change induced problems like high temperatures and heat islands. The article also concludes that the synergy between climate change policy and energy necessitates the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) numbers 7 and 13 in urban Zimbabwe. Hence, there is need for robust policy frameworks to  form resilient and sustainable energy systems.