As I write this article, the 30th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is underway in Belém, Brazil.
The meeting has brought together almost every country in the world, including Tanzania, to negotiate and agree on collective actions to address climate change.
As Tanzania participates in COP30, its negotiating position should be strategic, ambitious, and aligned with national priorities. Several key pillars should define this stance.
First, securing adequate, predictable, and accessible climate finance must be at the heart of Tanzania’s COP30 strategy. While international pledges often attract global attention, the reality on the ground is that countries like Tanzania struggle to access these funds due to inconsistent and insufficient disbursements.
Second, Tanzania should push for greater investment in adaptation and resilience, particularly at community and village levels. As the country increasingly faces droughts, coastal erosion, floods, and extreme weather events, it must ensure that its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) receives sufficient financial and technical support. Ensuring that local governments and villages can access climate finance should be central to Tanzania’s approach.
Third, Tanzania should emphasise a just and inclusive energy transition. Although the country has enormous renewable energy potential—solar, hydro, geothermal, and wind—its per-capita energy consumption remains low. Tanzania’s negotiating position should highlight the need for financing and technology transfer to accelerate renewable energy investment, expand energy access, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. This includes support for clean cooking solutions and off-grid systems to reach rural populations.
Fourth, nature-based solutions and the blue economy should feature prominently. Tanzania’s extensive forests, mangrove ecosystems and marine resources are critical carbon sinks and buffers against climate impacts. At COP30, Tanzania should call for stronger global mechanisms to finance mangrove restoration, forest conservation, and sustainable land use.
Fifth, Tanzania should champion climate justice, capacity building, and inclusive participation.
This includes advocating for stronger support for women, youth, and rural communities in climate decision-making, as well as improved access to technology and training to strengthen national institutions.
Climate change is an existential threat—one that must be taken seriously if humanity is to survive. This reality was highlighted by Stephen Hawking, the world-renowned British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author, who in a 2017 BBC documentary titled Stephen Hawking: Expedition New Earth suggested that humanity should, within the next 1,000 years or sooner, seek to escape Earth for another planet. His argument was that if current trends continue, Earth may no longer be able to sustain life, due in part to the accelerating impacts of climate change.
Finally, it should be said that safeguarding the planet is not merely a human endeavour; it is also a divine instruction. As written in Genesis 2:15: “The Lord God took the man (Adam) and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.” The key words—keep it—remind us that we are instructed to maintain creation as it was in the beginning.
