Present decisions shape future impacts of climate change: President Sahle-Work

Addis Ababa, September 5, 2023 (FBC) – African countries need a strong common position on core issues, demands and interests of the continent, such as development, peace, security, climate action, among others, the FDRE President Sahle-Work Zewde said at the continent’s landmark summit – African Climate Summit, in Nairobi, Kenya, reminding Ethiopia’s forefront role in the efforts to make the continent’s demands heard on international venues.

In her speech at the Africa Climate Summit, the President underscored that common position is, in deed, always needed in African Union forums. “Today it is about climate, but the continent’s major issues such as peace, stability, and development require our common position. It has been increasingly difficult to explain to our people, to the youth, in particular, this contradiction – resource-rich continent, and yet poor people – an injustice that has been explained in this summit repeatedly,” she noted.

President Sahle-Work Zewde reminded that the continent’s summit cannot and should never be a talk show, but a place where concrete and practical actions are being taken.

Without sufficient research publications it would be difficult for the intergovernmental panel on climate to get accurate representations of Africa’s special needs and circumstances that would build evidence-based for advancing the key ask of the continent, she underlined, adding that it is imperative that the continent should prioritize investment in research capacity, to develop scientific publications, to inform and guide global efforts to combat climate change.

“We must emphasize on investing in African research institutions to produce regionally relevant science that can inform the different working group under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This endeavor requires a strong commitment from both African scientists and the international community, accompanied by the financial capacity necessary to deliver the research publications,” President Shale-Work emphasized.

She went on to highlight the challenges that Ethiopia encountered in the last few consecutive years as a result of climate change.

To avert the impacts of climate change, the country carried out different practical policy and action interventions as steps to contribute to emission removal and building adaptation capacity, the President said, mentioning the National Adaptation Plan that was put in place to build both resilience and adaptation capacity.

“Building climate-resilient green economy is one of the pillars of Ethiopia’s 10 year national development plan. As part of our strategic consideration, the country launched the long-term low emission and climate-resilient development strategy that has been submitted to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with the aspiration to achieve net-zero emission and building climate-resilient development by 2050,” the Ethiopian President indicated.

According to her, the Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) has succeeded in planting more than 25 billion seedlings on the degraded landscape by mobilizing the volunteers throughout the nation in the previous four years. The Initiative helped for the development of more than 120,000 nurseries and created more than 180,000 jobs throughout the country. More importantly, the GLI is intended to inculcate the green behavior in each Ethiopian. The initiative has been scaled-up into fruit-bearing perennial trees thereby directly linking it with the country’s food system transformation strategy.

The President also asserted that in the agriculture sector, Ethiopia has achieved notable progress in enhancing its wheat production, effectively transforming a deficit of 15 million metric tons in 2019/2020 into a surplus of 65 million quintals in 2022/23. This achievement has enabled Ethiopia not only to meet its domestic needs but also helped to begin wheat export.

She went on to thank the African Development Bank (AfDB) for its support provided to Ethiopia’s undertakings in the sector.

Ethiopia’s plan was to produce 2 million hectares of farmland during the dry season alone in 2023. The success of wheat production is critical for the country’s efforts to enhance food security and to achieve food sovereignty.

In terms of renewable energy production, Ethiopia is investing on green energy projects, such hydroelectric, wind, solar and geothermal energy sectors as well as promoting modern rural cooking options, President Shale-Work noted.

The government has invested over 82 million USD from 2011 to 2019, mobilized from domestic, bilateral, multilateral sources, as well as from international climate financing institutions on climate change mitigation and adaptation and programs in agriculture, transport, energy, industry, forestry, urban development and health sectors, she said.

Despite this investment, the President confirmed that Ethiopia still needs to attract and mobilize a significant finance to support its climate-compatible development agenda. “We still count on our partners to fulfill their commitments to developing countries and committing themselves for the new challenge of setting new quantified finance goals in the coming years,” she underscored.

She also strongly urged multilateral financial institutions to undergo a serious reform that fits for the purpose of the needs and circumstances of developing countries rather than fueling the historical debt accumulated on the shoulders of developing countries.

“Our future depends on our decisions being made now. Urgent action is needed in limiting global warming into 1.5 degree Celsius to avoid the worst impact. Eight years after its signature, ensuring the implementation of the Paris Agreement is not an option again”, the President stressed.

She assured Ethiopia’s unwavering commitment to work with fellow Africans and other global partners to achieve the priorities and the long-term objective of making the planet comfortable for present and future generations.