This section will explore the solutions that Hage Geingob proposed to face the aforementioned climate challenges. In the policies he addresses the adverse effects on the local community and economy in Namibia.
1st Policy – 2011 National Climate Change Policy
Namibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa. The climate is highly variable and unpredictable, and has random rainfall patterns. The high temperatures lead to high evaporation rates resulting in a net water deficit. There is a need to cope with the harsh climate conditions, which is the reason for emergence for this policy.
The 2011 National Climate Change Policy integrated climate change considerations across various sectors, including water management, agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and land use.
The three main aspects of this policy are sustainable access to water, resilient and efficient agriculture, and food security and sustainable resource base.
The first addresses sustainable access to water, tackling water insecurity caused by extreme evaporation rates — ranging from 3,800 mm per annum in the south to 2,600 mm in the north — which are at least five times greater than average rainfall, exacerbated by rising temperatures and changes in the water cycle due to floods, droughts, and altered rainfall patterns.
One of the key aims of this section is the Water Harvesting and Efficient Use of it. It focuses on the development of the methods to capture and store water during the rainy season and promoting efficient water use. Another section explores Integrated Water Resources Management, which entails encouraging comprehensive planning for extreme weather events such as floods and droughts.
Lastly, the 2011 policy emphasises the need for investment in infrastructure, namely the New Water Facilities and Alternative Sources. It entails construction of new infrastructure and exploring alternative water sources like desalination and fog harvesting. Desalination is the process of removing salts and impurities from seawater to produce freshwater. The two primary methods are reverse osmosis and thermal desalination. For reverse osmosis, the seawater is pretreated and then forced through semi-permeable membranes under high pressure, separating freshwater from the brine. In thermal desalination, seawater is heated, and the resulting steam is condensed into freshwater. However, methods of desalination require significant energy to operate.
On the other hand, fog harvesting technology involves capturing water using large mesh nets, primarily along the coastal areas where fog is frequent. The process works by installing mesh panels that trap water droplets as fog passes through them. These droplets coalesce and drip into gutters, then funnel into storage tanks. This method is a more sustainable, low cost source of water for local communities and wildlife.
The second aspect of this policy is resilient agriculture, aiming to mitigate the adverse effects of changes in the water cycle, which is disruptive to crop yields due to droughts, floods, and changes in the rainfall pattern, as well as land degradation, ultimately leading to desertification. Resilient agriculture includes the use of adaptive, high-yield livestock breeds in all farming areas, as well as the need for sustainable management of pastures and rangeland. . Another aspect is advocacy for highly-adaptive, high-yield crop varieties in rain-fed farming, which are adversely affected by the previously mentioned environmental challenges induced by man-made global warming. The resilient agriculture plans entail water treatment plans and irrigation supplies schemes.
The last aspect of the policy is the food insecurity closely tied to the previous point. Food insecurity affects local communities. This problem also deepens social divides as it depends on their different individual resource bases. This is connected to the environmental challenge of fluctuations in the water cycle. It has a significant impact because 70% of the Namibian community relies on rain-fed agriculture. The policy mentions the need for diversification for the food base, issuing plans fighting poverty-climate change economic problems, and as mentioned making the agricultural sector more resilient.
The 2011 policy laid a great foundation for Hage Geingob to focus on anthropogenic global warming induced issues, which tie climate change policies with the development of the country. The policy acknowledges that in a business-as-usual scenario, Namibia’s GDP could shrink by 1-6% every year, affecting key development markers like employment. Hage Geingob wanted to face these challenges through this policy since he recognised potential saving of national capital by optimising the previously mentioned key aspects, as well as further investment into the country’s development.
2nd Policy – Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)
The NDC is the Namibian Commitment to the Paris Agreement, targeting to reduce emission of GHG through a variety of adaptation and mitigation measures. The NDC has been updated in 2021 and 2023 after its initial adaptation. The three key aspects of this policy include, (a) the need for development of renewable energy sources; (b) the development of green hydrogen technologies; and (c) water management. One should also note that Namibia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement through this document also obliges the state to reduce their greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by 91% by 2030.
The NDC is a result of the conclusions reached at the Paris Agreement where Geingob was vocal about African climate injustice,, the need for funding, and the catastrophic effects of climate change on Namibia. During the conference, Geingob advocated for increased funding for developing states, especially in Africa, through climate policies due to said climate injustice, which has been successfully achieved on his side as he argued for the previously mentioned 90% of costs of implementation of the NDC to be covered by foreign funding which became the official goal for financing.
The development of renewable energy sources is prioritised in Namibia’s NDCs. This point is linked to the environmental challenge of rising average temperatures, as it reduces the emission of harmful carbon into the atmosphere. The goal of this aspect is to create a self-sufficient source of energy for Namibia, so the funds are no longer spent on imports of energy, and can be directed towards national development. Namibia has significant potential for renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power. It has the potential to capture around 10 hours of strong sunlight per day for 300 days per year.
Another advantageous aspect is the fact that Namibia has the largest desalination plant in southern Africa, meaning that the conditions for producing abundant clean water in a desert country are present. Given the planned amount of green energy produced by Namibia would surpass its needs, the country’s plan is to export it, increasing the state’s revenue.
The second aspect of the policy is the development of green hydrogen technology. Namibian proximity to billions of cubic metres of seawater and vast marine resources in the Antarctic gives Namibia an advantage in potential future development of such technologies.
Namibia is in close cooperation with Germany on the project of development of the green hydrogen technologies. This is significant since Germany’s colonial past in Namibia raised concerns about the neo-colonial character of these relations. Nonetheless, German involvement in Namibian affairs in terms of development of the green hydrogen technologies aimed for Namibia’s self-sufficiency and economic growth, and mutual benefits from exports in the long-term.
These prospects include Namibia becoming a prominent green hydrogen exporter. Furthermore, the state joined the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance strengthening its alliances with other countries in Africa, such as Egypt, Kenya, or Ethiopia. Thus, Namibia would become self-sufficient energy-wise, and generate revenue from exports, fueling the economy; Germany would gain beneficial relations with Namibia who would ensure them with green hydrogen.
The Hyphen Hydrogen Energy Project is Namibia’s major hydrogen investment, a $10 billion initiative which aims to produce green ammonia and hydrogen. This will involve large-scale investments in renewable energy infrastructure. Oshivela Plant is a consortium of three German companies, CO2Grab GmbH, TS Elino GmbH and LSF GmbH & Co. KG is benefiting from a federal grant from Germany of around €13 million. This is crucial as this consortium works on the projects in Namibia.
The nation also has large iron ore deposits, thus, it is possible to use green hydrogen right next to the extraction sites to produce green iron at low cost. Green iron is an important intermediate product of decarbonisation of steel production. As climate standards tighten in Europe, Germany hopes to import green iron to “clean up” their supply chains. This could have a positive effect on the economy, and, indirectly, on the survival of the parties currently in power. The state has planned to be the first industrial climate-neutral production site for iron on the continent of Africa. The commencement of iron production is scheduled for the end of 2024.
Lastly, water management is tied to extreme weather events connected with the water cycle, including floods, droughts, and variations in rainfall pattern. The NDC outlines the country’s commitment to enhancing water security through improved water resource management and infrastructure development.
3rd Policy – Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA)
The Nationally Appropriate Mitigation (NAMA) action is a ‘voluntary, non-binding policy instrument providing a framework for pursuing a country’s socio-economic and development goals’. It was created by the Republic of Namibia Ministry of Environment and Tourism and UNDP in June 2015. NAMA serves as a guideline for climate action issued formally by the government. The main aspects of this policy are the focus on development of renewable energy sources, agricultural development, and reforms concerning land and forestry, namely reforestation projects.
The first aspect of the document emphasises the urgent need for the development of renewable energy sources in Namibia, and is linked to the environmental challenge of rising average temperatures. The main aims for renewable energy would be solar and wind power sources, which would significantly decrease the reliance on environmentally destructive fossil fuels. The main means of establishment and maintenance of these new energy plants include: the solar revolving fund, environmental investment fund, and the register of products for Namibian Solar Energy Technologies.
As it has been previously explained, it is connected to decarbonization, as cutting the carbon, and other GHG emissions would slow down the process of increasing average temperatures – highlighting the urgency of development of alternative energy sources, namely renewables in this case. There is shown a great focus on electrification of the rural zones, as shown on the following graph:
Source: Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The document highlights the rural-urban divide, which is estimated to deepen due to the rural-urban migration being a globally recognised trend, yet it will get more severe with climate migrants, namely in Namibia. Breaching that gap is aimed to be achieved by renewable sources of energy, namely solar and wind energy because Namibia has great potential for development in these areas.
Due to high temperatures and extremely high insolation in Namibia solar panels would be extraordinarily efficient, which can be seen through observing normal solar irradiance (kWh/m2) in Namibia, on the following graph:
Source: Gesto Energia S.A.
On the socio-economic standpoint the development of renewables would be also highly beneficial creating up to 1.2 job opportunities per GWh, helping decrease unemployment and poverty, as it is presented in the graph:
Source: Practical Action.
It is important to add that economic welfare was one of the main initiatives of Hage Geingob. Moreover, since Namibia is strongly reliant on imports of energy from South Africa, as well as coal to produce such energy, the investment in renewable energy sources would decrease such reliance, thus, be beneficial for the local economy, as well as the environment.
Secondly, agricultural development connects all three environmental challenges of Namibia: desertification due to land degradation which is hardy- or non-arable, extreme weather events and rainfall pattern change which fluctuate the water availability affecting crops, and rise in average temperature which make cultivation of some plants impossible and adversely affects livestock. All of these stakes emphasise the need for the introduction of more resilient agriculture, which is explored in NAMA.
Thirdly, the reforms are connected to land use and forestry, namely, several reforestation projects are aimed to fight land degradation targeting desertification, as well as to some extent decrease the share of CO2 in the atmosphere through photosynthesis. The implementation of conservation agriculture practices mentioned in the policy was a strategy aimed to be employed to prevent land degradation, with a total area of 50,000 hectares.
The DSL-IP Child Project has had the objective of avoiding, reducing and reversing further degradation, desertification and deforestation of land and ecosystems in drylands, through the sustainable management of production landscapes, which include both farms and remaining forest patches.
Making climate action one of key points on Hage Geingob’s political agenda, he was pushing for NAMA’s creation as a part of his environmental stewardship which was aimed to gain international funding for Namibia, as it was a part of his state-building actions, proving him to be a development-driven climate leader. He built partnerships with several organisations to secure NAMA and his goals.
A notable example was the Green Climate Fund. He managed to secure $125m USD of funding to fund projects including adaptation measures, such as improving agriculture through the empowerment of smaller farmers, and mitigation efforts, such as the Universal Green Energy Access Programme, along with cross-cutting initiatives. Hage Geingob’s advocacy for NAMA was also driven by the policy’s alignment with international agreements like the Paris Agreement, which implied major foreign funding crucial for socio-economic development.
NAMA, as a policy, strategically aimed to enhance Namibia’s socio-economic and development goals and also to position the country to achieve significant environmental benefits. By focusing on renewable energy, rural electrification, and job creation, NAMA supported Namibia’s late leader in his efforts to gain international support and funding, ensuring the country’s sustainable development and resilience to climate change.
IExRAIA Summer Research Program:
This article is an excerpt from a report about Hage Geingob produced as part of an RAIA research program on climate leaders. For a full picture of Geingob’s climate leadership read the full report. This project was fully financed by IE University’s IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs.
Authors: Clara Chikuse and Maja Prokopiuk
Editor: Dario Hasenstab
Project Lead: Francia Morales
Table of Contents
