Ambassador's remarks at Repoa's 26th Annual Research Workshop

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Your Excellency, Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council
Honourable Omar Said Shaaban, Minister of Trade and Industrial Development, Zanzibar
Mr. Amour Hamil Bakari, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industrial development, Zanzibar
Your Excellency, Manfredo Fanti, Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Tanzania
Prof. Rwekaza Mukandala, Board Chairperson for REPOA
REPOA management and Staff, led by Dr. Donald Mmari, the Executive Director
CRDB management and Staff, led by Abdulmajid Nsekela, the Managing Director
Preparatory committee, Media, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Habari za Asubuhi!
 
I am pleased and honoured to give remarks at this event on behalf of Development Partners providing core support to REPOA – that is Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and my own country Denmark. A lot of skill and hard work has gone into making today’s event possible [Congratulations to the organizers]. The impressive number of participants - including his excellency the President, ministers and senior officials from the public and the private sector represented here today - is a clear reflection of the fact that the theme of this workshop plays an important part in enabling the potential of this magnificent country.

Different generations have different challenges to address. In my grandparent’s generation, the balance of payments deficit was something that worried everyone and was heavily discussed at the dinner table. In my parent’s generation, it was inflation and currency crises. In our generation, the challenges have become of an existential nature. Climate change, loss of bio-diversity, environmental degradation and the pressure on the world’s resources are among the greatest global threats of our time.

Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen,
We have two paths in front of us. One where extreme weather events, rising sea levels, droughts and change of rain patterns, wildfires and heatwaves become more normal. That is the path we are on now. But we have a choice. The other path is one of a more green and sustainable future. With clean energy, clean air, and green jobs. Better lives for all. To travel this path, we all need to play our part, and we all need to up our game.

All countries need a fair chance to provide sustainable development to their people. All countries need to take responsibility individually and to move forward together.

Different countries have different responsibilities. The developed countries have committed to deliver on climate financing and are trying to lead the way in transitioning to green solutions. This should happen in parallel with a concerted effort to help build climate change resilience in the least developed countries.

We as individuals, as corporations and as nations have different economical, geographical and historical opportunities and different circumstances for forging our part of this path. Our efforts will not be similar, nor will our challenges be of the same calibre, but our aim and our potential reward will be the same. And if done right, the gratitude of the coming generations will go to all those, who are ready to step up now.

We all know that dramatic climate change is already a fact in Tanzania; affecting livelihood and biodiversity. And a recent report from Oxford Economics has highlighted that higher food prices have become a key concern in East Africa, as the entire region is struggling with dry weather conditions and is headed towards a fifth-consecutive failed rainy season in the final quarter of 2022. Local developments have a large bearing on the price of food in Tanzania. About 2/3 of the population is directly or indirectly engaged in agriculture and food production, which is increasingly impacted by climate change.
I mention these few facts to underline that this workshop, “Adapting Trade to Climate Change for Competitive Green Growth” comes at an important point in time. It provides us with a platform to dialogue and explore possible paths to the future we want – a green, secure, fair and sustainable future.

Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen,
The challenges of fostering sustainable development and addressing climate change are interrelated and mutually reinforcing.

At the global level, our collective endeavours are guided by the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. Following the 15th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change convened in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries committed to a collective goal of mobilising 100 billion USD per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries.

As for Denmark, we aim to mobilise at least 1 percent of the promised 100 billion USD by 2023, somewhat above our weight in the international economy. And 60 percent of our climate aid will help the most vulnerable nations adapt to climate change. I know other countries are doing their part towards the same goal. Regrettably, we are collectively behind the target, but according to a new analysis by OECD, it is likely that we reach the 100 billion USD target in 2023.

As for Tanzania, I would like to commend the Government for its National Climate Change Response Strategy from June 2021, taking action to protect and restore nature and ecosystems such as forests, wetlands and ocean. The private sector should follow suit. It is time to think of climate smart solutions and climate smart ways of doing business. As Tanzania aspires to become a private sector-driven industrialised and more competitive economy by 2025, it is important to travel the path with opportunities that leads to a sustainable and green future.
For Tanzania and other countries to do this, the global community must work together in partnership.

Despite the international commitment to addressing the climate challenge, as evidenced by the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement, there is still much to do for all of us. Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and related frameworks such as the Paris Agreement will require a true spirit of partnership from all stakeholders, at all levels and in all countries, leveraging their diverse and unique advantages. And within these partnerships, we need ideas and innovation to flow freely, improving our chances of reaching our common goal.

To encourage private sector involvement, the European Union has enacted something called the Corporate Sustainability Reporting, requiring large companies to publish regular reports on the social and environmental impact of their activities. I would like to encourage companies to take this opportunity and develop a responsible approach to business guided by the triple bottom line of: Planet. People. Profit.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In Swahili there is a good saying “Umoja ni Nguvu” and in English “unity is power”. This should underpin our efforts of working together to address our common climate change challenges. We need strong partnerships between public and private actors as a defining characteristic of the road ahead. We also need closer cooperation between state actors, municipalities, universities and other knowledge institutions to create attractive value propositions, also for foreign investors.

At global level, we see collaboration between countries and through institutions like the European Union and the United Nations to forge the best alliances to increase the impact of efforts. The Green Climate Fund and the Global Environmental Facility enabling climate adaptation for countries most in need are important testaments to global partnership efforts. Including here in Tanzania, where it has been good to see the accreditation of CRDB Bank to administer funds from the Green Climate Fund.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of fellow Development Partners, I would like to commend the unique partnership between REPOA and CRDB Bank in organising this workshop. It creates a unique space to provoke and promote the critical dialogue needed. I further commend REPOA, our long-standing partner, for incorporating climate change in its strategy as a cross-cutting theme with the objective of contributing to the sustainable development agenda of the country, including the blue economy agenda. Let us continue to enable a conducive environment, necessary for independent research institutions to thrive and to contribute in the development efforts of this country through their research and policy recommendations.

I would also like to emphasize the role of core funding for research institutions like REPOA to continue to build and safeguard institutional capacity, sustainability, and independence. In absence of core support, research institutions will have to rely more on collaborative research projects and commissioned work, which are earmarked and may not guarantee institutional integrity and sustainability. I therefore humbly call on development partners, private sector, and the Government to support research institutions like REPOA for them to operate in a free, open and conducive environment and play their part in contributing to the transformation agenda. It is forces like these that can help all of us choose the right path and reach our goals.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Now is the time to choose our path to the future. A brighter, greener future for the generations to come. Let the 26th REPOA Annual Research Workshop be part of forming that path. A stepping stone to get there – together and in partnership.

Thank you. Asante sana!