OSLO/ADDIS ABABA: Norway has extended a 1.74 billion Birr financial assistance on Wednesday to support the implementation of Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy through the REDD+ project.
This is the first financial assistance for Norway to the REDD+ project and is expected to make significant contribution to reduce emission from forests.
During the occasion, Admasu Nebebe, State Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation stated that Norway and UK are the countries who officially pledged continued support to realize Ethiopia’s vision of building carbon neutral and climate resilient middle economy by 2025.
Noting that Ethiopia remains committed to realize its vision, Admasu said “we have mainstreamed CRGE into our Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP-II) and combating climate change is one of the key pillars of the GTP”.
Noting that Ethiopia’s green development ambition is huge, Admasu said it needs continued and strong financial, technical and technological support from development partners.
Today’s support is not only an indication of the Norwegian government’s commitment towards Ethiopia’s vision of building climate resilient and net zero emission economy, but also confidence in the prevailing system of the country.
Admasu assured the ambassador that the government of Ethiopia will continue to efficiently utilize the resources and demonstrate notable results.
Ambassador Andreas Gaarder on his part said Ethiopia’s CRGE has for more than five years influenced the country’s development plans, giving hope for a future of green growth.
He said that this will be the largest investment that his country will be engaging in the years to come.
Ethiopia has been a front runner and largely contributed to developing and promoting the concept of green economy, Gaarder underlined.