Livestock on the way to market A man looks after cattle. Near Mekele, Tigray, Ethiopia.

Ethiopia

Livestock on the way to market near Mekele, Tigray, Ethiopia.

At a Glance

Over the past 10 years, Ethiopia has seen 10 percent annual gross domestic product growth. At the same time, its greenhouse gas emissions have increased over the period—growing 11 percent alone between 2008 and 2009. More than 85 percent of emissions are due to agriculture and deforestation, while the power, transport, industrial and building sectors contribute 3 percent each. Globally, Ethiopia accounts for less than 0.1 percent of emissions, yet it is already experiencing the adverse effects of climate change. Communities are suffering from greater variability and extreme weather events, increased temperature and declining rainfall in a country where 85 percent of farmers are dependent on rain-fed agriculture.
 
In response, USAID supports Ethiopia’s economy-wide Climate Resilient Green Economy strategy, which provides a blueprint to achieve middle-income status by 2030 without increasing greenhouse gas emissions relative to 2010 levels. In support of the strategy implementation, USAID is providing assistance at the policy level through the Enhancing Capacity for Low Emission Development initiative and at the program level within the agriculture sector by improving information sharing, government and community adaptation efforts, and analytic tools for early warning and disaster risk preparedness. USAID also supports the development of Ethiopia’s vast renewable energy potential under the Power Africa initiative, with a focus on geothermal energy.

Climate Projections and Impacts

Refer to the Climate Risk Profile (2023) for more information.

Additional Information: Ethiopia Climate Change Country Profile & Fact Sheet on USAID.gov

Climate Projections

Increased Frequency/Intensity of Extreme Weather Events
Changes to Season Duration/ Seasonal Precipitation
Increased Temperature

Key Climate Impact Areas

Agriculture
Livestock
Human Health
Water

Funding & Country Climate Context


USAID Climate Change Funding (2023)

Total

$2 million

Adaptation

$2 million

GAIN Vulnerability

Medium

Population (2023)

116.5 Million

GHG Emissions Growth

3.28%

% Forested Area

12.5%

Average GHG Emissions Growth due to Deforestation

48.58%

Refer to metadata and sources for more details.

Climate Change Information

Climate Risk Profile

Climate Risk Profile: Ethiopia

Document

Climate Risks in Food for Peace Geographies: Ethiopia

Document

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Factsheet: East Africa

Ethiopia Photo Gallery

Climate Risk Profile

Climate Risk Profile: Ethiopia

Stories from the Area

Traditional approaches to health programming are no longer sufficient in this rapidly changing climate.
A group of people gather around the bottom of a weather station located on the slopes of a mountain.
Young people from more than 400 universities across 77 countries participate in the YouthMappers network to identify and respond to the needs of their communities.
Group of people kneeling around tree sapling
To track water availability for livestock and agriculture across Africa, scientists with FEWS NET developed a Water Point Viewer that monitors 338 rangeland ponds. 
Boy sitting in cart pulled by donkey's on pond shore