Namibia needs a high-level climate delivery unit

By Imms Nashinge

Namibia is already living with the harsh realities of climate change. Prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall and advancing desertification are no longer distant threats but daily pressures on livelihoods, water security and economic growth.

Treating climate change as a peripheral environmental issue is no longer viable.

Yet the national response remains fragmented, under-resourced and largely reactive.

Namibia has a National Climate Change Policy, but implementation is weakened by poor coordination between the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, other line ministries, Parliament, civil society and the private sector.

Lawmakers are rarely integrated into climate policy design, green-economy innovators struggle to navigate a confusing regulatory environment, and young people are locked out of economic opportunities that a coherent climate agenda could unlock.

This is not a failure of intent but of institutional design. Climate change cuts across energy, agriculture, water, health, trade and finance, making it impossible for a single ministry to lead effectively.

What Namibia needs is a fully-fledged Climate Delivery Unit located at the centre of government, either in the Office of the Prime Minister or the Presidency.

Such a unit would drive coordination, ensure policy coherence, mobilise climate finance and anchor Namibia’s climate diplomacy at the highest political level.

Direct threat

External economic risks underscore the urgency. 

The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which begins implementation in 2026, will impose carbon-related charges on imports such as cement, aluminium and fertilisers from countries without credible carbon pricing systems.

This poses a direct threat to Namibia’s industrial ambitions.

Regional analysis shows that similar economies could suffer significant export losses and a contraction in GDP. As Namibia pursues industrialisation, mineral beneficiation and green hydrogen, failure to prepare strategically could see emerging sectors penalised before they mature.

A fragmented government response is inadequate for navigating this new trade environment.

Designing a national carbon framework, negotiating support measures and assisting exporters requires a coordinated, whole-of-government command structure. Other countries have recognised this reality.

Singapore houses its National Climate Change Secretariat in the Prime Minister’s Office. Kenya anchors climate leadership in the Presidency.

Ghana recently established a Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability within the Presidency to coordinate all government climate efforts.

Namibia should follow suit. A Climate Delivery Unit would link national planning instruments such as NDP6 and the Nationally Determined Contributions, support green job creation, streamline regulations for climate innovation, strengthen Namibia’s international negotiating position, and unlock carbon-market opportunities for young entrepreneurs.

Resourcing is critical. Allocating even 0.3% of the national budget to climate coordination would fund the technical expertise, data systems and stakeholder platforms needed to translate policy into results.

While the Office of the Prime Minister has a climate adviser, one individual cannot carry the weight of a whole-of-society response.

Namibia’s youth are already innovating in renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture and carbon projects, yet they face bureaucratic silos that stifle progress.

A central Climate Delivery Unit could become a single, powerful partner that aligns policy, unlocks financing and turns innovation into scale.

The climate crisis is already reshaping Namibia’s economy. Within it lie opportunities for growth, jobs and resilience.

Allowing those opportunities to slip away because of fragmented governance would be a costly mistake. Strategic, coordinated climate leadership is no longer optional. The time to act is now.

Imms Nashinge is a memebr of parliament