Aiming High, Going Green

Ethiopia launches its strategy for Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) on 18 November 2011. EEPFE center director and senior researcher, Dr. Alemu Mekonnen, was part of the technical committee that worked on the green economy aspect of the strategy as representative from our host institution, the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI).

The CRGE initiative that came together in February 2011 under the leadership of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI), has been developing a strategy to build a green economy in Ethiopia. Seven sectoral teams involving more than 50 experts from more than 20 leading government institutions have been driving the initiative. The objective was to identify green economy opportunities that could help Ethiopia reach its ambitious growth targets while keeping green house gas emissions low. The government intends to attract development partners to help implement this new and sustainable growth model.

This strategy was announced on November 18, 2011 before it was also presented at the 17th Conference of Parties (COP 17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that started in Durban on November 28, 2011.

The strategy follows a sectoral approach and has so far identified and prioritized more than 60 initiatives, which could help the country achieve its development goals while limiting 2030 GHG emissions to around today's 150 Mt CO2e - around 250 Mt Co2e less than estimated under a conventional development path. The green economy plan is based on four pillars:

  1. Improving crop and livestock production practices for higher food security and farmer income while reducing emissions
  2. Protecting and re-establishing forests for their economic and ecosystem services, including as carbon stocks
  3. Expanding electricity generation from renewable sources of energy for domestic and regional markets
  4. Leapfrogging to modern and energy-efficient technologies in transport, industrial sectors, and buildings
As part of the strategy, the government has selected four initiatives for fast-track implementation: exploiting the vast hydro-power potential; large-scale promotion of advanced rural cooking technologies; efficiency improvements to the livestock value chain; and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). These initiatives have the best chances of promoting growth immediately, capturing large abatement potentials, and attracting climate finance for their implementation. The strategy welcomes emerging climate finance schemes, which will compensate developing countries for the provision of environmental services to the world.

Full Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy paper...