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GGGI Co-organized a High-level workshop on Enhancing Capacity of Ethiopia to Address Climate Change

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; August 8, 2019- GGGI co-organized a Workshop on Enhancing Capacity of Ethiopia to Address Climate Change. The workshop was held on August 8-9, 2019, at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. GGGI organized and coordinated the workshop  in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA); Center for Climate and Marine Governance of Korea University (CGCMG); Environment, Forestry and Climate Change Commission (EFCCC) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; United Nations Development Program (UNDP); Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources of Hawassa University (WGCF-NR); Green Asia Organization and the Center for Climate and Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLAP).

The workshop falls under the Joint Collaboration Program between GGGI and the Center for Global Climate and Marine Governance of Korea University to cooperate in implementing the KOICA funded project of “Strengthening the Capacity to Address Climate Change on Forestry in Ethiopia”. The program’s implementation started on February 1, 2018, and will be concluded on December 31, 2020. This is the second workshop organized under this program. GGGI co-organized the first Workshop on Enhancing Capacity of Ethiopia to Address Climate Change held on July 31 – August 1, 2018, and the main focus was on forestry and MRV issues.

Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) vision, as outlined in the CRGE strategy, involves introducing measures for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This will be achieved through the following: targeted interventions in the key emission-heavy sectors including forestry and agriculture; utilizing Article 6 mechanisms for attracting outside investments and; strengthening the coordinated implementation of Ethiopia’s Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) framework in key CRGE sectors. Successful realization of the interventions requires Ethiopia’s continued and accelerated development of awareness creation and capacity building across sectors.

In this context, the high-level workshop aimed at enhancing the understanding of the government officials and other related stakeholders on the issues of forestry, International Market Mechanism under the Article 6 of Paris Agreement and transparency of MRV issues. More than 25 participants from various ministries, experts from international organizations and academic/research institutions attended the workshop, including Ministers, State ministers and experts from CRGE ministries, the Ambassador for Climate Change of the Republic of Korea, the Korean Ambassador to Ethiopia, GCF, Korea Forestry Service (KFS), UNDP, GIZ, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

H.E. Prof. Fekadu Beyene, Commissioner of EFCCC, in his keynote speech, emphasized the importance of the workshop and reassured “…Ethiopia will continue its unwavering commitment to working with the Republic of Korea to address the impacts of Climate Change and other environmental challenges”. GGGI’s support to Ethiopia in the areas of capacity building, policy development, assessment and research was highlighted by H.E. Admasu Nebebe, State Minister of Finance, who further stated that Ministry of Finance and EFCCC are highly benefiting from the technical assistance provided by GGGI.

Covering various issues from forestry, agriculture, water to international market mechanism, this workshop was an open forum in which various stakeholders from different organizations and countries shared their experiences and sought for ways to bridge collaboration and move forward.