On March 11, 2021, the French Development Agency (AFD), the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission of Ethiopia (EFCCC) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) held a launch event for the Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) project at the Embassy of France, Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia is taking concrete action to better manage adverse impacts and risks of climate change and climate variability. Ethiopia’s mitigation efforts are rooted in the country’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy which aims to keep greenhouse gas emissions low and build climate resilience, while achieving middle-income status by 2025. The country has signed the Paris Agreement and is amongst the first few Least Developed Countries that has submitted the most ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The Paris Agreement invites Parties to submit their Long Term – Low Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) by 2020 towards achieving the ambitious commitment by all countries to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C. LT-LEDS is an instrument that illustrates how countries envision to decarbonize their economies in the long run, up to 2050 and beyond, against which shorter-term targets can be set through NDCs and NAPs. Guided by lessons from past practices in terms of planning and implementation as well as the call from Paris Agreement, the government of Ethiopia is interested in the development of its long-term carbon neutral 2050 strategy.
On February 10, 2021, EFCCC, AFD and GGGI signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Development of Ethiopia’s Long-Term Low Emission and Resilient Development Strategy. The specific objective of the proposed work is to support the Government of Ethiopia to develop a LT-LEDS document for submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Subsequently, AFD, EFCCC and GGGI organized a high-level launching workshop of the LT-LEDS project.
H.E. Rémi Maréchaux, Ambassador of France to Ethiopia, welcomed the participants and noted that France is committed to continuing to play a role in Ethiopia’s sustainable development in various sectors. H.E. Prof. Fekadu Beyene, EFCCC Commissioner, in his speech pointed out that LT-LEDS strategy will pave the way for Ethiopia to bring together development and environmental objectives and avoid locking-in long-term consequences of policy decisions that would be more difficult to reverse in the future. During the event, a presentation on LT-LEDS was made by the Country Representative of GGGI Ethiopia, Dr. Gemedo Dalle, and GGGI’s Regional Expert, Mr. Gebru Jember. AFD Country Director, Mrs Valérie Tehio, and GGGI’s Regional Director for Africa, Mr. Dexippos Agourides, were also amongst the speakers at the event. Higher officials of CRGE ministries and PDC, the country director for World Resource Institute (WRI), and other stakeholders were present at the launching event and had an opportunity to provide their insight into the upcoming project. The event was concluded by the establishment of a permanent steering committee composed of the actors from EFCCC, AFD, GGGI, Ministry of Finance of Ethiopia, officials from the CRGE implementing line ministries, Ethiopian Planning and Development Commission, academia and other relevant institutions. The steering committee will be chaired by EFCCC and GGGI Ethiopia will serve as the secretariat.
