Tanzanians Say Govt Must Do 'A Lot More' to Limit Climate Change, but Ordinary Citizens Should Also Do Their Part

25 September 2024
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Jane Mpapalika

Most citizens who are aware of climate change say it is making life worse.

Key findings

  • More than half (55%) of Tanzanians say droughts have become "somewhat more severe" or "much more severe" in their region over the past decade.
  • Only about one-third (32%) of Tanzanians say they have heard of climate change. Women (25%), rural residents (24%), and less educated citizens (12%) are particularly unlikely to be aware of climate change.
  • Among citizens who have heard of climate change: o Eight in 10 (81%) say it is making life in Tanzania "somewhat worse" or "much worse." o Almost half (45%) say ordinary citizens have the primary responsibility for limiting climate change and reducing its impacts, while 40% assign this role to the government. o Overwhelming majorities say that the government should act now to limit climate change, even if it is expensive (86%), and that it must do "a lot more" to mitigate the threat (88%).

Climate change has become a growing concern for policy makers around the world. While Tanzania is one of the world's lowest emitters of greenhouse gases, it ranks as the 45th-most vulnerable country to climate change among 185 countries assessed by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index (2021), with low readiness to adapt to and mitigate its effects (International Monetary Fund, 2023).

The country has experienced recurring droughts (e.g. in the semi-arid central and north eastern regions of Dodoma and Singida) and floods leading to deadly landslides (Lasteck & Chibelushi, 2023). Severe droughts and floods have resulted in food shortages, increased poverty, and income inequalities among poor households and smallholder farmers who depend on subsistence farming (Ojija, Abihudi, Mwendwa, Leweri, & Chisanga, 2017).

The government has developed the National Climate Change Response Strategy (2021- 2026) and Climate Change Guidelines consistent with the Tanzania Development Vision (2025), the Third Five Year Development Plan (2021/22-2025/26), and United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 calling for climate action (Vice President's Office, 2021, 2022).

These ambitious plans notwithstanding, how do Tanzanians see the role of their government in mitigating climate change and adapting to its negative consequences?

Findings from the Afrobarometer Round 9 survey show that more than half of Tanzanians say that droughts have gotten worse in their region over the past 10 years. But only one-third of citizens have heard of climate change.

Among those who are aware of climate change, overwhelming majorities say it is making life worse and call on their government to do "a lot more" to limit climate change and its effects on their country.

Jane Mpapalika Jane Mpapalika is a senior researcher for REPOA, the Afrobarometer national partner in Tanzania.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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