TANZANIA is pursuing a strategic, three-pronged approach to tackling climate change focused on nature-based solutions, expanding access to clean cooking energy and building institutional capacity for carbon trading.

Hamad Yusuf Masauni, the Union and Environment state minister in the Vice President’s Office (VPO), made this affirmation here yesterday at a high-level bilateral meeting with senior officials of the European Union Commission in the Danish capital.

The meeting occurred on the sidelines of the global environment ministers’ meeting, leading the Tanzanian delegation in climate cooperation talks with EU officials.

“Our national strategy prioritizes nature-based solutions, reaching 80 percent clean cooking energy access by 2034 and strengthening institutions to manage carbon markets effectively,” he stated.

Dr Richard Muyungi, an environmental and climate change advisor with the State House, diplomats with our embassy in Sweden, along with a VPO technical team, also attended the talks.

Wopke Hoekstra, the EU commissioner for climate action was in the EU delegation led by Krzysztof Bolesta, the Polish climate and environment state secretary, while Christian Stenberg, the Danish deputy secretary general for the Climate, Energy and Utilities ministry hosted the talks.

The minister appealed to the EU to scale up support for Tanzania via concessional financing, grants, capacity-building programs and access to advanced technologies for carbon measurement, verification, and reporting.

“Tanzania is committed to fair and sustainable partnerships,” he said, asserting the need to ensure that developing countries are equipped to implement ambitious climate action plans.

The discussions also explored a unified climate position for Africa ahead of the Bonn climate change conference and the annual conference of the parties COP30 later this year.

As current chairman of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), Tanzania is at the forefront of shaping the continent’s climate diplomacy and policy direction, Tanzanian diplomats affirmed.

The Polish state secretary commended the move to establish the National Carbon Trading Center, describing it as a pioneering model for other African countries.

He pledged EU commitment to transparency in collaboration, support for the country’s climate resilience programmes, with the meeting being concluded with a shared resolve to strengthen bilateral cooperation, fulfilling climate finance and technology transfer commitments, top officials asserted.