Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative Could Attract Global Climate Finance

Addis Ababa — Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) could position the country to attract substantial global climate finance over the next three to four years.

Kindie Tesfaye, Head of Climate Adaptation and Resilience at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), told ENA that Ethiopia is well positioned to attract substantial global climate finance.

He further noted that climate adaptation financing for Africa remains severely inadequate despite the continent bearing significant impacts of emissions generated by industrialized countries.

Kindie further emphasized the need for global climate finance mechanisms to urgently scale up funding for Africa to support its climate adaptation efforts.

Ethiopia's GLI demonstrates the country's commitment to addressing climate change through large scale afforestation, he noted.

According to him, Ethiopia has taken a leading role in combating climate change through its extensive tree planting program, which involves planting billions of seedlings annually.

Kindie also highlighted the critical role of technological innovation in building a climate resilient green economy, noting that young Africans are developing various innovative solutions to address climate challenges.

However, he said limited access to finance and inadequate professional networks have prevented many of these innovations from achieving wider impact across the continent.

In this regard, the African Youth Innovation, Enterprise and Leadership in Climate Action Conference was held for two days to connect young African innovators working on climate solutions with potential investors.

Kindie further noted that global climate finance has traditionally placed greater emphasis on mitigation than adaptation.

He therefore urged international funders to give climate adaptation equal priority and allocate adequate resources to it.

Scaling up youth led technological innovations, particularly those supporting climate resilient agriculture, is essential to generating tangible climate action across Africa, he said.

He also stressed the need for African countries to expand access to finance for young entrepreneurs and strengthen collaborative networks among innovators to accelerate the development of a climate resilient green economy.

Read the original article on ENA.