Levin on Ethiopia's climate commitment example
Ethiopia has made an ambitious commitment to curb its greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030. As one of Africa’s most vulnerable nations, and the first least developed country to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC, Ethiopia communicated its plans to cut emissions below 2010 levels from 150 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) in 2010 to 145 MtCO2e in 2030. This represents a major shift, since conventional economic growth would more than double Ethiopia’s greenhouse emissions by 2030.
The INDC builds upon Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy, which commits to reducing emissions and building climate resilience while achieving middle-income status before 2025, and communicates its central goal internationally.
Ethiopia’s contribution represents a 64 percent emissions reduction from business-as-usual emissions by 2030, a deeper cut than might be expected of a least developed country. Ethiopia contributes only 0.3 percent of global emissions, while 76 percent of its population lacks access to electricity and 72 percent of Ethiopians live on less than $2 a day.
