Siziba Thando
Health and environment reporter
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With the world “on fire” and Zimbabwe facing intensifying climate crises, a leading expert has presented a stark but hopeful blueprint, revealing that the nation’s built environment is both a major part of the problem and the essential foundation for a climate-ready future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Mike Eric Juru, Chairperson of the Green Building Council of Zimbabwe, delivered the compelling assessment in a presentation titled “The Green Blueprint: Engineering a Climate Ready Zimbabwe.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He laid bare the devastating cost of climate change on the country before pinpointing the construction industry as the single largest source of carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Juru contextualized the urgency with grim statistics: the loss of 341 lives and over $1 billion in damages from Cyclone Idai in 2019, six out of the last ten rainy seasons being below normal, and recurring droughts plaguing regions like Matabeleland, Masvingo, and Manicaland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further highlighted urban challenges, including Harare’s water losses of 40-60% due to leakage and a steady rise in average daily temperatures of 0.4\u20130.6\u00b0C per decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The world is on fire and Zimbabwe is not excluded,” Dr. Juru stated, underscoring the immediate need for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The presentation revealed a critical data point: the built environment is responsible for a staggering 39% of the nation’s total CO\u2082 emissions, dwarfing other sectors like forestry (23%) and transport (16%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Juru broke down these emissions into two categories: Operational Emissions (72%), which come from the energy used to heat, cool, and power buildings, and Embodied Emissions (28%), which are locked in from the manufacturing of construction materials and the building process itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This is not just about using solar panels on a finished building, It’s about rethinking the entire lifecycle, from the quarry to the demolition site.” He futher explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The expert framed this challenge as a generational opportunity, noting that “75% of the infrastructure required in 2050 is still to be built,” with the majority (75%) being new development and the remainder (25%) involving retrofitting existing structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To harness this opportunity, Dr. Juru proposed a comprehensive policy and regulatory framework built on four pillars: Energy, Water, Waste, and Materials, applied across the stages of Planning, Designing, Development, and Operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Juru concluded with a powerful assertion: “When policy is intentionally designed, sustainability becomes inevitable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The success of this blueprint, he emphasized, hinges on capacity building\u2014equipping the nation with the knowledge, skills, standards, and performance metrics to build sustainably. The message was clear: Zimbabwe’s path to climate resilience must be constructed, literally, from the ground up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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