THE revelation by Zambia’s Interim Climate Change Secretariat that the country is bidding to host the next Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board Meeting to be held in December this year is timely as the nation grapples to address the impact of climate change.
Hosting this high level meeting would bring huge benefits to Zambia which has put in place measures to tackle the impact of climate change in different parts of the country.
For instance in 2013, the Government and the World Bank signed a finance agreement of US36 million for climate change resilience in the Barotse Sub-Basin project in Mongu District of Western Province.
According to experts, climate change is the long term change in the earth’s climate, especially a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperatures.
In the recent years the country has experienced its fair share of the effects of climate change such as low levels of rainfall giving rise to drought which has had a negative effect on the agricultural sector and other economic activities.
The load shedding by Zesco is also attributable to the effects of climate change as the country received little rainfall which resulted in low water levels at Lake Kariba the main source of Zambia’s electricity.
The GCF is an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the Convention and is accountable to and functions under the guidance of the Conference of Parties (countries that are part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
It is governed by a Board comprising 24 members with equal numbers from developed and developing country Parties (countries) and is intended to be the main fund for global climate change finance in the context of mobilising US$100 billion by 2020.
Hosting the meeting would create an opportunity for Zambia to be one of the first low income countries to access funding from GCF .
This is because Board Members would physically tour and have first hand information of the projects to be implemented, which are aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change.
There are several projects in Southern and Western provinces which are awaiting capitalisation from GCF before they could be implemented.
Preserving of water bodies, promoting food security and the use of renewable energy are some  of the projects that need to be implemented once funding is available.
It is our sincere hope that various stakeholders will back Zambia as she bids to host GCF Board meeting as this will boost the country’s profile. OPINION