Successes in climate and sustainable development action: GCAP's role in supporting Ethiopia's Climate Resilient Green Economy initiative

From 2012-2013, GCAP, commissioned by the Global Green Growth Institute, supported the development of the Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) initiative, the Ethiopian government's efforts to design and implement an ambitious green growth, climate mitigation and adaptation policy. With some excitement, we at GCAP read a recently published analysis (covering 2011-2014) which assesses Ethiopia's success with the program and highlights the possibilities of rapid climate and sustainable development action in low income countries.

Through the CRGE, Ethiopia has strengthened its institutional capacity for climate mitigation and adaptation across ministries, championed by committed leadership and climate resilience prioritization. Setting out to transform the country's economy to green growth, including net zero carbon emission and reaching middle-income status in the coming years, climate change has become a key consideration in its sustainable development plans (Paul & Weinthal, 2018).

In support of these objectives, GCAP, with our local partner GEOSAS, led the climate resilience strategy for agriculture, forestry and land use. The strategy assessed the risks of climate change to key sectors of Ethiopia's economy and identified priorities for building climate resilience to ensure that Ethiopia reaches its ambitious growth and green economy targets. The project pioneered an innovative methodology for the economics of climate resilience including multi-attribute assessment of options and phased strategies. Finance options included scenarios of development funding that shift the Ministry of Agriculture's annual budget of nearly $1 billion from humanitarian crises to sound resource management and transforming the sector.

While challenges remain in translating national climate policy to local action (Paul & Weinthal, 2018), capable institutions and formalized financial investment (here in the form of the CRGE Finance Facility) are the foundation for effective climate resilience and development action.

Here at GCAP, we have long pursued an adaptation and resilience approach that focuses on our clients' decision requirements. We seek to integrate adaptation and resilience solutions into clients' operations, by identifying the information that would improve their processes and lead to sustainable impacts in their investments. In Ethiopia and beyond, GCAP continues to develop the pioneering methodologies behind the CRGE, creating for its clients specialized tools that are effectively enabling transformative change.

If you are interested in learning more about GCAP's role in the CRGE development or would like to know how GCAP can support your organization's climate adaptation and resilience needs, please get in touch!

Authors: Karen Pilgrim, Erica Downing, Ben Smith

Reference:

Paul, C. J., & Weinthal, E. (2018). The development of Ethiopia's Climate Resilient Green Economy 2011–2014: implications for rural adaptation. Climate and Development, 5529, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2018.1442802