Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has shared Ethiopia’s success story on Green Legacy and renewable energy with leaders participating in the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Summit.
The summit, an anchor event of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), began in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates on Monday.
Heads of state and leaders from multiple sectors are discussing pressing sustainability issues and opportunities on the road to net zero as they attend the ongoing summit in person since 2020.
The Ethiopian delegation led by Prime Minister Abiy arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday Morning for the ADSW 2023,
And PM Abiy was among the keynote speakers at the opening of the Summit during which he spoke about Ethiopia’s push to mitigate climate change and his government’s ongoing economic reform “underpinned by principles of sustainable growth”.
The East African nation remains one of the developing nations vulnerable to climate change.
“Considering this vulnerability, we are cognizant of the pressing need for climate change adaptation across all sectors,” Abiy said.
‘More room for growth’
“Although we are at the mercy of high emitters, we are nevertheless committed to do our plan,” he said, indicating Ethiopia’s net zero and climate resilient 2050 strategy.
The strategy outlines ambitious scenarios in priority sectors with a view to making the country’s economy more innovative and sustainable.
It includes an energy transition towards low carbon and resilience and transport sector decarbonization.
The PM said Ethiopia, which has abundant renewable energy resources, generates its electricity entirely from green energy sources such as hydropower, wind, solar and geothermal.
“While we have been making progress in effectively tapping into this energy potential, we still have more room and opportunities for growth,” Abiy said.
The PM mentioned the Green Legacy initiative as a case in point to show Ethiopia’s contribution to withstand climate change.
The Initiative, launched in 2019, has mobilized 25 million Ethiopians to plant 25 billion seedlings within four years.
“The impact could be equated to removing 64 million gasoline-powered cars from the roads for a whole year,” Abiy noted.
Partnership Crucial
The initiative, he said, “will certainly contribute towards removing the equivalent of hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere” while reducing deforestation and creating green jobs.
“This implies Ethiopia’s significant contribution to the global climate change mitigation efforts,” the PM added.
“Partnerships are of course crucial in sustaining these wins, as are they in manifesting the full potential of our climate resilient strategy,” Abiy told participants of the summit.
Ways to scale up transformative technology, the importance of international partnerships, and food security are among the agendas that the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Summit.
The attendants are also expected to deliberate on how to shape the global financial architecture for climate action, and how to secure a stable energy pathway to net zero.
In addition to the Summit, ADSW 2023 features a series of key events throughout the week that seek to engage all sections of society.
The gulf nation has been hosting the ADSW since 2008, enabling discussion, debate, and action around some of the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges. Last year alone, more than 30,000 people attended the event.
Source: Link to the Post
