Becoming a climate-resilient green economy: Planning for climate compatible development in Ethiopia

This working paper documents Ethiopia's experience in planning for a climate-resilient green economy between 2013 and 2016. It details the governance structures, strategic frameworks, and financial mechanisms Ethiopia has implemented to integrate climate resilience into its national development plans, while identifying key barriers such as the need for further human capital development and regional capacity strengthening.

• Ethiopia has established a comprehensive hierarchy of legislation and strategic visions to guide its transition to a low-carbon economy, starting with the 2011 Climate Resilient Green Economy Vision. This vision aims for the country to achieve middle-income status by 2025 with zero net increase in carbon emissions from 2010 levels.
• The 2011 Green Economy Strategy identified six priority sectors with high carbon-abatement potential: industry, energy supply, transport, green cities, forests (including REDD+), and agriculture.
• Ethiopia has demonstrated strong national ownership of climate action through significant domestic investment; between 2008 and 2012, 14.5% of the national budget was allocated to climate adaptation and mitigation interventions.
• A specialized governance structure led by the Prime Minister's Office coordinates climate action, featuring the Climate Resilient Green Economy Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee, a Management Committee formed in 2013, and the Climate Resilient Green Economy Facility.
• The Climate Resilient Green Economy Facility, operational since December 2013, has attracted approximately US$40 million from bilateral partners (Austria, Denmark, Norway, and the UK) between 2014 and 2015. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation gained accreditation in March 2016 to directly access funds from the Green Climate Fund (up to US$50 million) and the Adaptation Fund (up to US$10 million).
• Ethiopia has implemented large-scale green infrastructure projects, including a 34-km light rail transit system in Addis Ababa that began operating in 2015 and is powered by a grid that is 97.9% renewable. The country is also constructing a US$4 billion, 750-km railway line connecting Ethiopia to Djibouti.
• Despite progress, Ethiopia faces several barriers, including the need to formalize ad hoc sectoral units, the requirement to build technical human capital, and the necessity of strengthening the capacity of semi-autonomous regional governments to replicate federal success.

APA

Redda, R., & Roland, R. (2016). Becoming a climate-resilient green economy: Planning for climate compatible development in Ethiopia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Green-economy-Ethiopia.pdf

Chicago

Redda, Robi, and Rachel Roland. Becoming a climate-resilient green economy: Planning for climate compatible development in Ethiopia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2016. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Green-economy-Ethiopia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Redda |first1=Robi |last2=Roland |first2=Rachel |title=Becoming a climate-resilient green economy: Planning for climate compatible development in Ethiopia |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=July 2016 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Green-economy-Ethiopia.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{redda2016becoming, author = {Redda, Robi and Roland, Rachel}, title = {{Becoming a climate-resilient green economy: Planning for climate compatible development in Ethiopia}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2016}, month = jul, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Green-economy-Ethiopia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }