As a nation that faces some of the most severe impacts of climate change, including prolonged droughts, unpredictable rainfall and escalating desertification, Namibia can no longer afford to treat the climate crisis as a sideline issue. 

Yet today, our response remains fragmented, under-resourced and largely reactive. 

I acknowledge we have a National Climate Change Policy, but its implementation is hampered by weak coordination between the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, other line ministries, non-governmental organisations and Parliament. 

Lawmakers are not systematically engaged in climate policy design. 

Few innovators in the green economy struggle to navigate a confusing regulatory landscape, and our youth are missing out on the enormous economic opportunities that a well-orchestrated climate agenda can unlock. This is not a will problem but an institutional design issue. 

Climate change affects all sectors – energy, agriculture, water, health and finance – requiring a dedicated, powerful Climate Delivery Unit (CDU) at the centre of government, either in the Prime Minister’s Office or the Presidency. 

This unit would coordinate climate actions, drive policy coherence, mobilise finance and unify Namibia’s voice regionally and globally. 

A storm from the north threatens our economic goals. 

The European Unions’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), starting in 2026, will impose a ‘carbon tax’ on imports such as cement, aluminium and fertilisers from countries without strong carbon pricing. This is a direct threat to our future. 

Consider Mozambique, a sister country in the Southern African Development Community with a similar development trajectory. 

Analysis suggests that CBAM could slash Mozambique’s aluminium export revenues and reduce its gross domestic product by a devastating 1.6%. 

As we seek to industrialise, will our emerging green hydrogen (if it ever materialises), manufacturing and mineral beneficiation sectors face the same punitive walls? 

The CBAM is designed to protect EU industries, and if we are not strategically prepared, it will penalise ours, treating our nascent development as a carbon sin. Our fragmented response is inadequate without a coordinated, whole-of-government strategy for a national carbon pricing framework, exemptions, support and helping exporters. Sending overworked technical staff into complex geopolitical and trade conflicts leaves us unprepared, unlike other African nations with skilled negotiation teams. 

We need a dedicated team to understand these mechanisms and leverage them. 

Others recognise this need. 

Singapore’s National Climate Change Secretariat, under the Prime Minister’s Office, handles climate strategy, carbon markets and international partnerships. 

In Kenya, the President’s Office serves as the national climate change focal point, linking climate action to the highest levels of political leadership. 

Just last year, Ghana established an Office of the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability at the Presidency explicitly to “serve as the political coordinating hub for all climate-related efforts across government ministries, departments and agencies”. These countries understand that climate change is not just an environmental issue. 

It is a core economic and developmental imperative. 

A central climate delivery unit in Namibia could drive green-job creation by streamlining policies for renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and ecosystem restoration, as well as by linking youth-skills programmes to actual market opportunities. 

They could further coordinate policy and legislation so that every ministry’s plans align with our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and NDP6. 

They can also unlock carbon-credit opportunities for our youth by designing transparent, accessible frameworks that allow young entrepreneurs to participate in the growing voluntary carbon market. 

In addition, they can provide a “one-stop shop” for innovators in the green economy, helping them navigate regulations, secure financing and scale their ideas. 

Finally, they can strengthen Namibia’s voice in international climate negotiations, ensuring that our specific vulnerabilities and opportunities are reflected in global agreements. To make this unit effective, it must be properly resourced. 

I call on the government to dedicate at least 0.3% of the national budget to this climate-coordination function. 

This modest investment, less than one-third of 1%, would fund technical experts, data systems and stakeholder-engagement platforms needed to turn climate promises into results. It would show Namibia’s commitment to a climate-resilient, low-carbon future. 

While we have an advisor on climate change in the Prime Minister’s Office, one cannot coordinate the whole-of-society effort needed for the climate crisis. 

A full team with mandate, authority and budget is required. Our youth are innovating with solar-powered desalination, climate-smart agriculture podcasts and blue carbon projects. 

They propose a National Youth Climate Council and a Youth Climate Innovation Facility. However, fragmented government structures hinder them, making it hard to navigate silos across sectors. Imagine a Namibia where an entrepreneur with ideas for carbon capture or sustainable agriculture has a single government partner. 

A climate delivery unit could streamline policy, unlock seed funding and create jobs, harnessing our sun, wind and innovative spirit. The Long-Term Low-Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) aims for net-zero by 2050, but success depends on whole-of-government and societal alignment, which is currently lacking. 

The Ministry of Environment cannot coordinate all ministries on its own. 

The climate crisis affects our farmers, water, health and economy but also presents opportunities for green jobs and sustainable growth. 

We must avoid bureaucratic silos and ad hoc approaches by establishing a Namibian Climate Delivery Unit to harness government, private sector, civil society and youth efforts. 

Half-measures are no longer enough. 

Strategic, coordinated climate leadership is essential now. 

Let us learn from Singapore’s efficiency, Kenya’s youth mobilisation and Ghana’s presidential focus. Let us build a climate delivery unit with the mandate, resources and authority to act. 

*Imms Nashinge is a Member of Parliament.