By Mantoe Phakathi

As the consultations on strategies to reduce emissions and build resilience against climate change continue, business leaders in Eswatini recently met to discuss their challenges and proposed solutions to the global issue. At a Private Sector Roundtable held on June 11^th,  at the Happy Valley Hotel, Ezulwini, the captains of industry agreed to take action not only to support the Kingdom to meet its targets but to also protect their businesses from climate risks.

This was the first dialogue for the private sector under the NDC Partnership as Eswatini embarks on reviewing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) which the country submitted to the UNFCCC in 2015 as part of the requirements of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The private sector dialogue is a collaborative effort supported by UNDP climate promise, FAO, and the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub as partners under the umbrella of NDC Partnership and the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to catalyze private sector engagement and contribution to climate action.

UNDP is supporting Eswatini with two activities:

·       To undertake a business case study to scope investment opportunities for private sector climate action that can help identify more actions for enhanced NDC; and

·       Conduct analysis of policy and legal framework to identify financial and non-financial interventions needed to address barriers limiting private sector investment in the prioritized NDC actions to guide the preparation of a public-private strategy for realizing NDC targets.

In terms of the Paris Agreement, member states are expected to submit their plans of reducing emissions and strategies of adapting to climate change every five years. Eswatini submitted its first NDCs in 2015 which is now under review where all sectors; public, private, and civil society organizations are making contributions before the Government can submit its revised NDCs to the UNFCCC before the end of July 2021. This was the first of three engagements the process will have with the private sector.

The NDC review process is coordinated under the leadership of the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs (MTEA). Speaking at the official opening of the roundtable, the Principal Secretary at MTEA, Mr. John Hlophe, expressed the Government’s gratitude to the private sector to come on board as the country is responding to the global climate challenge.

“I hope that the private sector will take advantage of this opportunity to support the country to meet its targets,” said Mr. Hlophe.

The participants appeared to be aware of the climate-related impacts which they said were already affecting their bottom line. For example, Dr. Nkululeko Dlamini from Eswatini Sugar Association noted that the sugar industry relies a lot on two natural resources; water and energy, both of which are dramatically impacted by climate change. The industry is lobbying the government for additional storage dams which will provide water for irrigation and address climate hazards such as droughts and heatwaves. The industry is willing to explore possibilities of supporting feasibility studies for projects such as water storage infrastructure to help adapt and build resilience in the sector.

Financial institutions observed that their bottom line is affected by climate impacts because some of their clients, who are farmers, make a loss because of climate-related impacts and natural hazards such as droughts and the recent cyclone. They also pledged to support climate action should they be able to develop viable financing vehicles. Ms. Khosie Alabi from Standard Bank said that there are several applications for investing in solar energy that the bank receives and such projects contribute towards climate change mitigation.   

It turns out there are regional opportunities for the private sector, according to the NDC coordinator in Eswatini, Dr. Deepa Pullanikkatil, who said the Green Climate Fund allocated funds to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to support the private sector with infrastructure projects in Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. The DBSA recently issued a call for the private sector to make applications for part of the USD170 million for the next five years.

“The funding comes as grants, loans, concessional loans, and different vehicles for finance,” she said, adding that business should take advantage of this opportunity so that Eswatini is not left behind from the countries that are benefitting.

Dr. Pullanikkatil emphasized that, although the private sector was facing challenges as a result of climate change it can also provide the solutions such as the conversion to renewable energy, improve water use efficiency, and preventing deforestation.

 “All of these are adaptation and mitigation actions and you can help reduce losses that the private sector is experiencing,” she said.

The news demonstrated the opportunities that come with climate action and brought optimism to the business sector at the dialogue. 

       (Mantoe Phakathi is the Communication Specialist at UNDP Eswatini)