PM Abiy Ahmed reiterates commitment to realize sustainable, climate resilient Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, January 16, 2022 (FBC) – Addressing the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the rapidly increasing world’s population is placing greater demands on natural resources.

“We are also witnessing related increases in emissions of climate changing greenhouse gasses, the Premier said.”

The wellbeing of our future generations requires us to unite and generate innovative response to the effect of climate change.

Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa after Nigeria, and it’s also the fastest growing economy.

While it has been heavily reliant on agriculture for many decades, my government has recently launched a new ten year development plan.

This plan aims to sustain economic growth while facilitating the shift towards a more private sector driven, competitive, resource efficient and climate resilient industrial economy.

“Our homegrown economic reform program, which prioritizes agriculture, manufacturing, mining, tourism and ICT as key pillars of economic progression, is underpinned by a principle of sustainable growth.”

Ethiopia’s inclusive prosperity agenda is anchored in enabling decent livelihoods, building resilience and setting a green foundation for generations to come, according to the Prime Minister.

Ethiopia is one of many developing nations that are vulnerable to climate change.

Considering this vulnerability, we are cognizant of the pressing need for climate change adaptation across all sectors in Ethiopia.

Although we are at the mercy of high emitters, we are nevertheless committed to do our part in this regard.

Ethiopia has developed its long-term net Zero and Climate resilient 2050 strategy which will enhance our ability to plan for decarbonization of the economy.

The strategy outlines ambitious scenarios in priority sectors which will contribute to making the country’s economy more innovative and sustainable.

The development pathway, for example, includes an energy transition to low carbon and resilience transport sector and decarbonisation and modernizing the agriculture sector through climate resilient and low carbon practices.

Ethiopia is also blessed with abundant renewable energy resources and entirely generates electricity from hydroelectric, wind, solar and geothermat sources. While we have been making progress in effectively tapping into this energy potential, we still have more room and opportunities for growth.

“In 2019, Ethiopia launched a practical action through the Green Legacy Initiative that within four years mobilized 25million Ethiopians across the nation to plant 25 billion seedlings.”

This is equivalent to 250 seedlings per Ethiopian and the impact could be equated to removing 64 million gasoline-powered cars from the roads for a whole year.

We are committed to leaving a sustainable and climate resilient Ethiopia for the new generation. Doing so entails taking bold actions now and instilling a green culture as we go along.

“The Green Legacy Initiative therefore is our bold action which has created national awareness on climate change; enabled the creation of green jobs and is making a positive impact on our surrounding environment.”

Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa after Nigeria and is also the fastest growing economy. While it has been reliant heavily on agriculture for many decades, my government has recently launched a new Ten-Year Development Plan.

This plan aims to sustain economic growth, while facilitating the shift towards a more private-sector driven, competitive, resource efficient and climate resilient industrial economy.

Our home-grown economic reform program, which prioritizes agriculture, manufacturing, mining, tourism and ICT as key pillars of economic progression, is underpinned by principles of sustainable growth.

Ethiopia’s inclusive prosperity agenda is anchored in enabling decent livelihoods, building resilience and setting a green foundation for generations to come. At the moment, however, Ethiopia is one of many developing nations that are vulnerable to climate change.

We are committed to leaving a sustainable and climate resilient Ethiopia for the new generation. Doing so entails taking bold actions now and instilling a green culture as we go along.

“The Green Legacy Initiative therefore is our bold action which has created national awareness on climate change; enabled the creation of green jobs and is making a positive impact on our surrounding environment,” the Premier noted.

“A sustainable future is predicated on the commitment of a nation to collectively and inclusively realize such a future. Today, Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative is the most extensive afforestation and reforestation program next to the Amazon. Our initiative will certainly contribute towards removing the equivalent of hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce deforestation. This implies Ethiopia’s significant contribution to the global climate change mitigation efforts.” Prime Minister Abiy added.