07 Feb 2023

Government remains committed to supporting the necessary mitigation and adaptation activities to reduce the country’s vulnerability to climate change and protecting the livelihoods of the population.

In her presentation of view of the 2023 budget speech Monday, Minister of Finance Ms Peggy Serame proposed P1.36 billion budget which will be used in addition to the donor funds to drive the climate commitment.

Ms Serame said the International Monetary Fund was providing support to Botswana through a Climate Public Investment Management Assessment.

“The recommendations from the exercise which are being reviewed by government will ensure that climate change considerations are embedded into sectoral and infrastructural development plans,” she said.

She said guidelines for incorporating climate change issues into Environmental Impact Assessment would be finalised this financial year and that the National Climate Change Policy was committed to the integration of climate change considerations into infrastructure planning, designing and development processes.

Ms Serame said government would continue to mobilise climate financing through the green bond, participating in carbon credit markets as well as accessing the Green Climate Fund. 

“To this end, Botswana’s portfolio of projects approved through the Green Climate Fund stands at seven amounting to US$81.0 million which cover both adaption and mitigation objectives, she said.

She further explained that the European Union was supporting Botswana’s Green Transformation initiatives aimed at improving the country’s energy mix and reducing Botswana’s vulnerability to climate change at Euro 3 million. ends