Addis Ababa, November 11, 2026 (FMC) – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called for a fundamental shift in global climate financing, urging international partners to ensure that funding is predictable, accessible and released early enough to help vulnerable communities act before climate disasters strike.
Addressing the opening event of the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Türkiye, held under the theme “Towards a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future,” the Prime Minister placed early action, dependable climate finance and practical cooperation at the centre of Ethiopia’s approach to climate change, outlining priorities that will also shape the country’s preparations to host COP32 in Addis Ababa in 2027.
He argued that climate action must be treated as an integral part of economic policy, pointing to the recurring effects of El Niño-induced droughts and floods on agricultural production, livelihoods and household security. Although rainfall eventually returns and floodwaters recede, he noted, the recovery of affected families and communities takes considerably longer.
This reality, he explained, has informed Ethiopia’s efforts to strengthen preparedness at community and local government levels, enabling people to act ahead of extreme weather events and protect their livelihoods.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the cross-border significance of Ethiopia’s climate and environmental resources, noting that more than 90% of the country’s electricity comes from water resources, including electricity supplied to neighbouring countries. Rainfall patterns, he added, also sustain coffee production, linking Ethiopia’s changing climate conditions to a globally valued agricultural product.
“Ethiopia gave the world Arabica coffee, but rising temperatures and changing rainfall threaten the forests and the farms where it grows,” he stated, illustrating how climate change is affecting ecosystems and livelihoods far beyond national boundaries.
Mobilizing national resources for climate resilience
Presenting Ethiopia’s response, Prime Minister Abiy highlighted the Green Legacy Initiative as a major example of mobilizing citizens, institutions and national resources around a shared environmental objective.
Guided by the philosophy of Medemer, which brings people and institutions together around a common purpose, the initiative has mobilized millions of Ethiopians in annual tree-planting campaigns. The country has planted more than 56 billion seedlings, contributing to the restoration of degraded land, expansion of forest cover, job creation and improved livelihoods.
Beyond its environmental and economic contributions, the initiative is fostering a culture of responsibility towards nature across generations, he explained.
“Planting is now a family habit. It is teaching us to honour the land we inherit, to live in harmony with nature and to care for what we leave to our children,” the Prime Minister stated.
He also outlined efforts to extend environmental restoration and climate resilience into urban areas through flood protection infrastructure, river rehabilitation and the transformation of riverbanks into public parks and walkways.
On energy security, he emphasized Ethiopia’s long-term commitment to diversifying its energy sources through investments in wind, solar and geothermal power, while also planning for nuclear energy to reduce the vulnerability of its economy to fluctuations in rainfall.
The country is complementing these investments with technology-driven climate preparedness. Satellite data is being used to monitor land conditions, while artificial intelligence is helping improve weather forecasting and provide farmers with earlier warnings of extreme weather events.
The Prime Minister also pointed to Fayda, Ethiopia’s digital national identification system, as a tool that can help identify and reach families requiring support.
However, he stressed that early warning systems alone cannot protect vulnerable communities unless they are backed by the financial resources needed to respond.
“A warning is only effective if people have the means to act on it. Funding should be agreed in advance,” he stated, arguing that financing must be available in time to match the speed of forecasts and enable interventions before lives and livelihoods are lost.
Climate finance and the cost of development
Turning to the international climate finance architecture, Prime Minister Abiy underscored the need for stronger cooperation among countries and greater alignment between climate commitments and decisions taken across development, trade and financial institutions.
He questioned the fragmentation of global policymaking, observing that climate, development, trade and finance are often discussed in separate forums despite their interconnected nature.
“Many of us sit in all four. In each of those rooms, we should ask how we will finance the future we have agreed to build,” he stated.
The Prime Minister drew attention to the heavy debt-servicing burden facing developing countries, noting that they pay nearly one trillion dollars annually in interest on public debt.
Referring to the outcome of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Seville, Spain, in 2025, and its Sevilla Commitment, the Prime Minister noted the recognition that high borrowing costs constrain developing countries’ capacity to invest in resilience. He stressed that this understanding must translate into the lending decisions of multilateral financial institutions, particularly through measures that lower the cost of borrowing and expand access to affordable development finance.
“Lowering them is a test of our collective credibility,” he stated, emphasizing the need to translate international recognition of the problem into changes in financing practices.
He further connected climate finance with the broader development agenda, explaining that the growing costs of responding to climate-related damage leave fewer resources available for essential investments in education, healthcare and opportunities for young people.
Alongside more accessible financing, he underscored the need for accelerated global emissions reductions, stressing that countries with the greatest historical responsibility and capacity to act must lead with deeper cuts during this decade.
In this regard, he cited Ethiopia’s decision to ban imports of petrol and diesel vehicles as part of its transition towards electric mobility, presenting the move as one of the country’s contributions to reducing emissions.
Ethiopia’s COP32 priorities: Early action and accountable finance
Looking ahead to Ethiopia’s COP32 Presidency, Prime Minister Abiy identified early action and timely financing as central priorities, with particular attention to communities most exposed to climate risks.
“Ethiopia will host COP32. We will put early action at the center, funding released when warnings come, reaching the most exposed first,” he stated.
He emphasized that climate finance commitments must be transparent and actionable, proposing that every financing commitment should provide clear answers to three fundamental questions: how much funding will be made available, by when it will be released, and on what terms.
According to the Prime Minister, clarity on these matters is essential to enable governments to plan and budget, investors to make commitments, and communities to prepare for climate risks.
He also reaffirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to working closely with the COP31 Presidency to secure a successful outcome from the Antalya conference, while extending an invitation to the international community to attend COP32 in Addis Ababa next year.
Closing his address with a message that linked climate finance to the everyday realities of vulnerable communities, he recalled the dependence of Ethiopian farmers on seasonal rainfall and stressed the importance of ensuring that international support arrives when it is needed.
“Dear friends, our farmers once trusted the seasons to arrive on time. Let us make sure our support does,” he concluded.
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