REIMAGINING CLIMATE JUSTICE AND ACTION FOR MARGINALISED VOICES IN ZIMBABWE: A KAIROS MOMENT
Dublin Core
Title
REIMAGINING CLIMATE JUSTICE AND ACTION FOR MARGINALISED VOICES IN ZIMBABWE: A KAIROS MOMENT
Creator
GIFT MASENGWE
Description
Climate change is a major crisis that affects everyone, especially in developing countries like
Zimbabwe. It causes environmental problems and worsens economic inequalities, hitting
marginalised communities the hardest. If Zimbabwe seriously wants to take action on climate
change, it would allow ordinary people, those hardest hit by the phenomenon to contribute to
discussions, rather than spend millions to represent the views of politicians and members of the
elite. In this context, the 29th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP29) serves as a salient
case in point, wherein Zimbabwe’s ostentatious delegation, replete with government officials,
symbolised a gross misalignment of resources and representation amid the nation’s pervasive
socio-economic turmoil. A lavish expenditure exceeding $2m for this elite assembly, as reported
by Tendai Ruben Mbofana, starkly juxtaposes the lived realities of everyday Zimbabweans
grappling with climate-induced adversities, hence raises significant ethical questions. According
to Mbofana, Zimbabwe’s representation at the summit of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), popularly COP29, by sending a ‘bloated’ and ‘over-
flow’ of 238 elite delegates, exemplifies a ‘spectacle of excess rather than a meaningful opportunity
to contribute’ (UNFCCC 2024:n.p.) to the global discourse on climate change.
Zimbabwe. It causes environmental problems and worsens economic inequalities, hitting
marginalised communities the hardest. If Zimbabwe seriously wants to take action on climate
change, it would allow ordinary people, those hardest hit by the phenomenon to contribute to
discussions, rather than spend millions to represent the views of politicians and members of the
elite. In this context, the 29th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP29) serves as a salient
case in point, wherein Zimbabwe’s ostentatious delegation, replete with government officials,
symbolised a gross misalignment of resources and representation amid the nation’s pervasive
socio-economic turmoil. A lavish expenditure exceeding $2m for this elite assembly, as reported
by Tendai Ruben Mbofana, starkly juxtaposes the lived realities of everyday Zimbabweans
grappling with climate-induced adversities, hence raises significant ethical questions. According
to Mbofana, Zimbabwe’s representation at the summit of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), popularly COP29, by sending a ‘bloated’ and ‘over-
flow’ of 238 elite delegates, exemplifies a ‘spectacle of excess rather than a meaningful opportunity
to contribute’ (UNFCCC 2024:n.p.) to the global discourse on climate change.
Publisher
Journal of Interdisciplinary Ethical Research
Date
2025
Files
Collection
Citation
GIFT MASENGWE, “REIMAGINING CLIMATE JUSTICE AND ACTION FOR MARGINALISED VOICES IN ZIMBABWE: A KAIROS MOMENT,” ZOU Institutional Repository, accessed July 6, 2025, https://ir.zou.ac.zw/items/show/435.
Position: 408 (17 views)