Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. James Murombedzi, Head of the African Climate Policy Center (ACPC) at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), highlighted the center’s crucial role in helping African countries tackle climate change and advance sustainable development.
In an exclusive interview, Murombedzi also underscored Ethiopia’s global leadership through the Green Legacy Initiative, which has planted tens of billions of trees.
For him, Ethiopia’s success not only helps stabilize ecosystems but also enhances their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide.
Explaining the role of the African Climate Policy Center in supporting African nations’ efforts to mitigate climate-induced impacts, Murombedzi said the center serves as the secretariat for Climate of Africa, a continental initiative jointly led by UNECA, the African Union Commission, and the African Development Bank.
The program, he noted, is designed to help African member states invest in weather and climate observation systems, analyze climate data, and develop effective climate-related policies, strategies, and plans.
Most importantly, he emphasized, the center supports countries in preparing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), implementing the Africa Climate Change Strategy, and securing access to climate finance to translate plans into action.
“It’s a pan-African initiative, implemented across multiple countries, addressing investment, policy support, capacity building, and sustainable development,” he added.
According to him, drawing on the center’s extensive research and data on the impacts of climate change on African economies, it has been supporting governments across the continent in strengthening their capacity to implement climate actions.
In this regard, he pointed to a recent landmark achievement—the development of the Africa Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy, which was adopted by the Committee of African Heads of State on Climate Change in 2023.
However, the head stressed that financing remains the continent’s biggest challenge in mitigating climate impacts and building an environmentally friendly economy in the continent.
“Africa accounts for less than 5% of global emissions yet receives less than 15% of climate funds, most of which are loans rather than grants,” Murombedzi noted. “This adds to an already significant debt burden, limiting the continent’s fiscal space for climate action. While African countries are contributing increasingly from their own resources—sometimes up to 9% of GDP—this comes at a cost to other development priorities, including health, education, and infrastructure.”
Despite these challenges, Africa has immense opportunities for climate solutions.
“Our natural ecosystems, renewable energy potential—such as solar, wind, and hydropower—and initiatives like Ethiopia’s Green Legacy, which has planted billions of trees, provide pathways for sustainable development while mitigating carbon emissions,” he said.
Reflecting on Ethiopia’s leadership, Dr. Murombedzi lauded its Green Legacy Initiative, which he noted not only stabilizes ecosystems but also enhances carbon absorption.
“Ethiopia is a global leader through the Green Legacy Initiative, which has planted many billions of trees, which are going to contribute towards not only stabilizing ecosystems, but also increasing their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide…”
He urged African countries to follow Ethiopia’s footsteps in building resilient and sustainable environments for the future.
He further pledged the African Climate Policy Center’s support for Ethiopia’s green development journey, praising its success as a model of sustainability.
Speaking on the already completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Murombedzi expressed his confidence that the dam will be contributing towards generating clean energy in the region.
“One of the things that Ethiopia has done is you have invested Ethiopia’s own resources in the construction of GERD. This is going to be a major contribution towards generating clean energy for Ethiopia and moving the country out of the use of fossil fuels.
One of the results is that Ethiopia is now the leading country in importation as well as the distribution of electric vehicles. Electric mobility is becoming the key model of mobility in Ethiopia. This is because Ethiopia can generate clean energy from the renaissance dam,” he elaborated.
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