Opinion / Columnist
What China's overseas coal exit could mean for Zimbabwe
11 Oct 2021 at 06:02hrs | Views
IN response to What China's overseas coal exit plans could mean for Zimbabwe' XYZ says: Is being fair to acknowledge that the environmental accusations made towards China are somehow unfair.
As was mentioned in the article, that in terms of per capita carbon emission, "the United States sits in 14th place, with just over 16 tonnes of CO2 per capita while China is in a distant 48th place and emits less than half of that per capita, tallying 7,1 tonnes CO2 per capita."
If you look at it from a bigger picture, an American would on average produce shockingly 695,97 more tonnes of carbon than a Chinese during a lifespan (the data of the life expectancy comes from the United Nations World Population Prospects: 2006 revision).
That having been said, the number did not take into consideration the carbon emitted during production exported goods.
Therefore, I believe it is fair to assume that an average Chinese lives a better environmentally-friendly life.
I believe that the future of Zimbabwe is bright. The United Kingdom experienced the Great Smog of London in 1952 as a result of heavily relying on coal.
Zimbabwe needs not and should not step into the trap of "develop with pollution and solve the problem later".
There is an average of 2 871 hours of sunlight per year (of a possible 4 383) with an average of 7 hours 51 minutes of sunlight per day, which makes Zimbabwe a perfect candidate for solar energy. Zimbabwe needs to make use of the God-given advantage and develop clean and sustainable energy systems that benefit all the citizens and the generations to come.
No reforms, no elections
FOR years now the MDC-T has maintained a position that for Zimbabwean elections to truly reflect the wishes of the people they must be preceded by serious electoral reforms.
These reforms include the total enfranchisement of all Zimbabweans including those in the diaspora. They should also include equitable access to the State media, elimination of all forms of violence and the use of hate speech.
All stakeholders must be involved or consulted in the delimitation of constituencies and the mapping of polling stations.
There must be a transparent system of voter registration and the voters roll besides being verifiable must be easily accessible to the stakeholders.
We believe that the key committees under the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must not be dominated by the executive. A mechanism must be found where the ballot printing, storage and distribution processes must be transparent.
It is unwise to insist on elections without key reforms. The MDC-T is pushing for these reforms through a process of inclusive, genuine and unconditional dialogue.
Of course, criticism against us will always be there but this will not distract us from pursuing what is in the best interest of our nation and it is people.
We find it highly irresponsible for anyone to advocate for elections without reforms.
As was mentioned in the article, that in terms of per capita carbon emission, "the United States sits in 14th place, with just over 16 tonnes of CO2 per capita while China is in a distant 48th place and emits less than half of that per capita, tallying 7,1 tonnes CO2 per capita."
If you look at it from a bigger picture, an American would on average produce shockingly 695,97 more tonnes of carbon than a Chinese during a lifespan (the data of the life expectancy comes from the United Nations World Population Prospects: 2006 revision).
That having been said, the number did not take into consideration the carbon emitted during production exported goods.
Therefore, I believe it is fair to assume that an average Chinese lives a better environmentally-friendly life.
I believe that the future of Zimbabwe is bright. The United Kingdom experienced the Great Smog of London in 1952 as a result of heavily relying on coal.
Zimbabwe needs not and should not step into the trap of "develop with pollution and solve the problem later".
There is an average of 2 871 hours of sunlight per year (of a possible 4 383) with an average of 7 hours 51 minutes of sunlight per day, which makes Zimbabwe a perfect candidate for solar energy. Zimbabwe needs to make use of the God-given advantage and develop clean and sustainable energy systems that benefit all the citizens and the generations to come.
No reforms, no elections
FOR years now the MDC-T has maintained a position that for Zimbabwean elections to truly reflect the wishes of the people they must be preceded by serious electoral reforms.
These reforms include the total enfranchisement of all Zimbabweans including those in the diaspora. They should also include equitable access to the State media, elimination of all forms of violence and the use of hate speech.
All stakeholders must be involved or consulted in the delimitation of constituencies and the mapping of polling stations.
There must be a transparent system of voter registration and the voters roll besides being verifiable must be easily accessible to the stakeholders.
We believe that the key committees under the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must not be dominated by the executive. A mechanism must be found where the ballot printing, storage and distribution processes must be transparent.
It is unwise to insist on elections without key reforms. The MDC-T is pushing for these reforms through a process of inclusive, genuine and unconditional dialogue.
Of course, criticism against us will always be there but this will not distract us from pursuing what is in the best interest of our nation and it is people.
We find it highly irresponsible for anyone to advocate for elections without reforms.
Source - NewsDay Zimbabwe
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