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Consultative Workshop on the Development of a Road-map for Greening Ethiopian Industrial Parks

ADDIS ABABA – July 5, 2019 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI Ethiopia), in collaboration with the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) organized a Consultative Workshop for the Development of a Roadmap for Greening the Ethiopian Industrial Parks on July 5, 2019. The Workshop was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Addis Ababa.

The main objective of the workshop was to consult stakeholders on the development of the Roadmap for greening the industrial parks in Ethiopia. By “Greening the Industrial Parks” in this context, we mean, developing a set of practical and policy interventions that will lead to a dramatic reduction in GHG emissions from industrial production processes, while also addressing other environmental, economic, social and management problems that will eventually lead to transitioning to a low-carbon industrial parks in the country. This entails conducting a thorough situational analysis of the environmental, economic, social and management aspects of the industrial parks in Ethiopia, with a view to identifying areas and processes for potential reduction of GHG emission, while also proposing action-oriented interventions to address the management, economic and social aspects in the parks. The roadmap would be used by the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) as well as the Ministry of Industry (MoI) for the implementation of the country’s green industrialization agenda.

The expected outcome of the workshop was to provide guidance and inputs on the following focus areas:

  • Environmental and regulatory gaps for the implementation of green industrial principles and procedures at the industrial parks;
  • Opportunities for streamlining and improving the management processes of the industrial parks for the implementation of the greening principles and procedures;
  • Green/clean industrial and production technologies for efficient and effective environmental management and prevention of land, air and water pollution;
  • Resource-use efficiencies, focusing on energy efficiency, water use efficiency, and materials/chemicals efficiency, with special emphasis on leveraging the opportunities for implementing circular economy and resource re-use and recycling opportunities;
  • GHG Emission efficiencies such as fuel and feedstock switching, carbon capture and storage technologies;
  • Exploring opportunities for solar thermal energy for drying and washing in the garment and textile industries;
  • Sustainable solid waste management and opportunities for wastewater sludge treatment, management and re-use;
  • GHG Emission reduction opportunities from centralized effluent and sewage treatment plants;
  • Industrial process optimization for GHG emission reduction from the industrial parks;
  • Exploring opportunities to address social aspects relating to sustainable and low emission transport system for workers at the industrial parks;
  • Explore opportunities to address social aspects relating to environmental health risks as well as the associated social safeguards to ensure safety within the parks;
  • Opportunities and interventions for the development of sustainable infrastructure;

It could be recalled that Ethiopia’s Second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) envisaged the industrial sector to be one of the key sectors to play a greater role in GDP growth, job creation, and foreign exchange earnings. In this regard, the government of Ethiopia prioritized the promotion of micro and small enterprises as well as supporting the development of medium and large-scale industries across the country. The Plan also emphasized the establishment of industrial zones, public enterprise management, and privatization. This strategic direction focused on industries which are labor-intensive and having a wide market; have broad linkages with the rest of the economy; use agricultural products as input; export-oriented and import-substituting, and industries that can contribute to faster technology transfer.

The government of Ethiopia also committed to ensuring that its growth model is significantly different from the environmentally unsustainable models of the past, therefore, in 2011, it developed a strategy to foster a Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE), with a vision to attain a low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathway. The CRGE Strategy indicates that Ethiopia’s GHG emissions under business-as-usual would increase up to 400 MtCO2eq by 2030. Out of this, the industrial sector is projected to account for the highest increase in emissions, rising from 4 MtCO2eq in 2010 to 71 MtCO2eq by 2030. However, the government intends to limit its net GHG emissions from all sectors to 145 MtCO2eq by 2030.

Since then the country has been building processes and delivering on this vision, and given that a successful industrial and urban transformation will be critical for economic prosperity and that carbon emissions from the industrial sector and urban infrastructure are likely to be significant under business-as-usual, the government requires technical assistance in promoting its green industrialization agenda through the establishment of low emission and environmentally-friendly industrial Parks across the country. The government of Ethiopia plans to establish about 16 multisectoral industrial parks by 2025. The key focus sectors include textile and garment, leather and leather products, agro-processing, machinery and pharmaceuticals. Currently, 6 industrial parks (Hawassa, Bole Lemi I, Kombolcha, Makelle, Adama, and Jimma) have been commissioned, while others are under construction. While the industrial parks are being used as instruments for economic growth, job creation and foreign exchange earner in Ethiopia, they could also be a major potential source for GHG emissions, environmental pollution and inefficient use of resources. Therefore, the sector requires specific technical interventions in order to prevent it from being locked in an unsustainable pathway.

Since 2010, GGGI has been actively supporting the government of Ethiopia in the implementation of its green growth and green economy programs, including the development of the Climate-Resilient Green Economy Strategy (CRGE), which is the country’s blueprint aimed at helping it reduce GHG emissions from all economic sectors and facilitate meeting the country’s national and international environmental and climate change commitments. GGGI’s support in Ethiopia encompasses the implementation of projects from various sectors of the economy, including agriculture, forestry, environment, and climate change, finance, water and sanitation, renewable energy and industry. Since 2016, GGGI has been supporting the industrial sector in Ethiopia through the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) in the implementation of its green industrialization agenda. The support entails providing advisory services and the implementation of projects to ensure a reduction in GHG emissions, environmental management through sustainable wastewater sludge management, and the sustainable and efficient use of critical resources.

The Workshop was attended by key government ministries and institutions such as the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI), The Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE), the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology (MoIST) the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), the Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU), the National Development Bank of Ethiopia, and GIZ, among others. The participants provided valuable inputs and comments that are expected to shape the preparation of the Roadmap. In his opening remarks, Mr. Dexippos Agourides, GGGI’s  Director for Africa and Europe said: “The Industrial Sector is one of the major pillars of the CRGE Strategy . . . the one that will catalyze growth . . . but also the one that will produce the most (GHG) emissions [without the appropriate interventions].” Dexippos Agourides.

The inputs and comments delivered during the workshop would be consolidated by the Consultant and used in the drafting of the report of the scoping and situational analysis that will eventually form the basis for the preparation of the Roadmap.