TANZANIA expects to present proposals for major strategic projects at the 29th conference of the parties to the Climate Change Convention (COP29) to be held in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku starting next week.

Cyprian Luhemeja, permanent secretary in the Vice President’s Office (VPO) said the conference takes place from November 11 to 22 to raise money for climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

In a media appearance in Dar es Salaam yesterday, he said that Vice President Dr Philip Mpango will stand in for President Samia Suluhu Hassan, expecting to participate in a discussion involving national leaders and experts to establish a common position on various environmental protection issues.

Projects being listed include rapid bus transit expansion in Dar es Salaam, clean cooking energy awareness and its technologies, as well as a project to withstand the effects of floods in vulnerable areas.

It is also floating an integrated waste management project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while another project is related to strengthening resource management and economic benefits from carbon trading in oceans and other water resources, he stated.

Tanzania will have an exhibition pavilion where various activities taking place in the country in response to effects of climate change will be displayed, he specified, affirming that the fight against climate change needs joint efforts to ensure it is successful.

People should stop cutting down trees and instead plant and take care of them, he stated, highlighting the position that the government has invested in environment projects that need wide public support. That is why it has come up with the agenda of clean energy for cooking, he stated.

 "At the COP29 meeting, we want to show the world how our country encourages the use of clean energy for cooking and thus enable us to find stakeholders who will add strength to this agenda and thus we can get energy at a low cost for our citizens," he explained.

Clean energy is not only gas but various materials that do not involve cutting down trees, he said, asserting that clean energy for cooking is an important tool to deal with environmental damage.

It saves trees that would be cut down to get firewood and charcoal, actions that push gradual desertification, he said, hinting that the global conference will be marked by the proposed national theme, “harnessing carbon trading opportunities through clean cooking and other alternative sources of energy.”

“This theme aims to encourage the use of clean energy for cooking in order to protect the environment and build the ability to withstand the effects of climate change in promoting the national economy and stimulating sustainable development,” he added.