Africa Must Be Where Climate Goals Are Achieved, Says PM Abiy

Addis Ababa, September 8, 2025 (FMC) — Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced Ethiopia’s candidacy to host the 32nd United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP32) in 2027, calling for Africa to become the continent where global climate goals are realized.

Speaking at the Second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, the Prime Minister said Africa must be the place “where the world sees climate goals achieved; where reforestation is not a pilot project but a culture; where climate-smart agriculture feeds millions, and where green corridors connect cities and rural areas in a shared economy of life.”

He highlighted Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative as a prime example of this vision. Since its launch in 2019, the program has overseen the planting of more than 48 billion seedlings, restoring watersheds, cooling the land, protecting soil, and creating jobs. “In Ethiopia, reforestation is not a pilot project but a culture,” Abiy emphasized, stressing that the initiative is a sustained, community-driven effort rather than a temporary program.

The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where governments, scientists, and civil society convene annually to assess progress and negotiate future climate action. Hosting a COP summit requires strong climate credentials and the capacity to accommodate tens of thousands of delegates.

Ethiopia’s candidacy, reinforced by transformative initiatives such as the Green Legacy and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), reflects its ambition to demonstrate Africa’s leadership in global climate policy.