Efforts towards building a green economy
Gemech Tussa
- Ethiopia has been struggling to build its green economy since the overthrow of the military junta. Its efforts have still continued mainly on raising the productivity of agriculture and livestock, maximizing the generalizing of power from renewable sources and through extensive environmental rehabilitation programs.
- The Ethiopian climate resilient green economy has to be supported to be further strengthened. The country seeks to attain a triple win of achieving middle income country status, carbon neutrality and climate resilient economy by year 2025.
- Climate change generates various kinds of risks and opportunity for Ethiopia that would affect all sectors in the country. Preliminary projections suggest that climate change can have a sizeable impact that ranges from 7 to 8 percent of Gross Domestic Product loss per year, with stronger impacts in later decades and on the poor.
- Ethiopia’s economy has generally low carbon intensity. Ethiopia is low emission country both at the Ethiopian climate resilient green economy has to be supported to be further strengthened. The country seeks to attain a triple win of achieving middle income country status, carbon neutrality and climate resilient economy by year 2025.
The first one is improving crop and livestock production securing farmers’ productivity while reducing emission. Efforts in agricultural transformation enabled farmers to shift to high yield crops through irrigation development, water harvesting and river diversion.
Due to the consolidated efforts done so far in the country focusing on improving farmers’ productivity and modern livestock production, poverty has fallen, from 40 percent in 2010 to 23 percent at the moment.
This is as a result of the efforts done in implementing the first growth and transformation plan. Currently, the country strengthened its endeavors further having identified some of the gaps in it and addressing in its second Growth and Transformation Plan.
In this regard, the government targets to boost export revenue by 29 percent in each year of the second GTP. It also stipulates in the 2019/20 fiscal year, the country will generate USD 16 billion in export revenue, while the manufacturing sector will account for 25 percent of total exports.
At the same time, the government is working to reduce shares of the agricultural sector in the Gross Domestic Product to 36 percent from its current level of 40 percent, in favor of industry and services sectors in its second national plan.
It is also focused to foster agricultural development, irrigation systems will be developed over four million hectares of land. Irrigation expansion was established as a priority in the first GTP. With a decreasing share of GDP, the agricultural sector is expected to represent only 36 percent of the GDP by the end of the second GTP.
The second important factor in building green economy is protecting and reestablishing forests for their economic and ecosystem values. In this regard, the country has become one of the model countries in the world.
Many African countries have taken lesson from Ethiopia on how to rehabilitate its environment and develop its forests. The recent award given to the Tigray Regional State is one of the real witnesses that indicated the performances of the country in this regard.
Expand electricity generation capacity from renewable source of energy. In this regard, Ethiopia has been working to develop its power generating capacity to 10 thousand Megawatts. As for this issue is concerned, the lion’s share in this case id the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The 6000 MW power generating capacity dam is believed to contribute to the country’s endeavor in alleviating poverty by meeting the energy needs of the country. The country has set target in its five year plan to increase its generating capacity to over 17,000 MW by 2020, with an overall potential of 35,000 MW by 2037, according to the Ethiopian Electric Power Authority.
It is planned to sell power to neighboring countries to ensure mutual benefits and cooperation and to create power integration among the neighboring countries and beyond. The grand project, which created jobs for the youth and expatriates, created a huge wave of public mobilization.
The dam is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed, is also attracted hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian visitors. Some 200,000 people drawn from across the country and representatives of many international media institutions were visited the project, which is well underway. The government and the public have pledged to complete the project with a motto that displays their readiness to realize the project with local resources.
The grand dam is enabling the nation to realize the slogan of ensuring mutual benefit from word to meaningful action, he said. Although some groups in the region mainly in Eritrea and Egypt advocate as if GERD only benefits Ethiopians, political and economic analysts argue that this project has immense benefit to the entire people in the region.
It will play a significant role in enhancing the economic integration of countries along the Nile Basin apart from its contribution to minimize water evaporation, minimize flood and maintain constant amount of water that flows to downstream countries.
Therefore GERD will not only benefit Ethiopians and downstream countries but also it will play a significant role in economic integration of the Nile Basin Countries. The country’s efforts towards building hydro-power dams are one of the significant area in building its green economy.
In conclusion, Ethiopia has been working hard to build green economy along with its efforts to alleviate poverty and ensure sustainable economic growth that could move the country to the middle income status.
In this regard, it mainly concentrates in increasing the productivity of the farmers through improving farm products and livestock rearing, intensifying its environmental rehabilitation programs and developing power from renewable resource.