BY DARGIE KAHSAY
Ethiopia is investing its maximum efforts in combating climate change and building climate resilient green economy. Considering the devastating impacts of climate change, Ethiopia is maximizing its mitigation and adaptation actions in all sectors and introducing new policies, strategies and actions in building climate friendly green economy. In building climate resilient green economy, Ethiopia gives due emphasis in developing climate friendly renewable energy production and making its economy to use energy sources from the renewable energy sources.
These actions are among the all rounded efforts of Ethiopia in combating climate change. In addition to introducing climate friendly infrastructural and economic investments, Ethiopia is massively planting seedlings to increase the forest coverage of the country. Increase in forest coverage has regional and global benefit. As part of its initiative to combat climate change, Ethiopia is planting over 20 billion seedlings within four rainy seasons which the fourth plantation season is ongoing.
As part of its all rounded efforts, this week Ethiopia launched service delivery of 60 electric vehicles in Addis Ababa with the ambition of building climate resilient green transportation and to minimize the carbon emission from the transport sector. Introduced by Green Tech Africa in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, the sixty electric vehicles were started service in Addis Ababa since Wednesday.
During the launching ceremony of the event, Dagmawit Moges, Minister of Transport and Logistics said that Ethiopia is working to decrease the amount of carbon emission from the transport sector by introducing climate resilient green transportation vehicles and building climate friendly transport service. Dagmawit noted that since the transport sector is contributing high carbon emission to the environment, electric vehicles are promoting and becoming solutions to minimize carbon emission from the sector. Buying this global trend, Ethiopia also is introducing electric vehicles to the transport system.
According to Dagmawit the introduction of electric vehicles, in addition to its role in green transportation by reducing carbon emissions, would provide comfortable, efficient, modern, and reliable transportation service in the country and helps to replace fuel consumption which is increasing from time to time. Hence, considering this in mind, the ministry is working to replace the growing fuel consumption with renewable energy sources and facilitate the transportation services with environmentally friendly vehicles in its 10 years plan.
“We are working to realize the vision of creating a carbon-free transportation and logistics system in the country through integrating our vast renewable energy potentials with competitive electric based vehicle technology by partnering with stakeholders,” Dagmawit said. As to her, the Ministry has been taking various initiatives and collaborations with concerned bodies to eliminate carbon emissions of the transport sector through promoting alternate transportation services like bicycle.
According to Dagmawit Ethiopia’s annual fuel consumption costs the nation over four billion USD and as the amount of vehicles is increasing from year to year, the fuel consumption and the amount of carbon emission from the transport sector is likely to increase. Hence, promoting climate resilient green transportation and modern fuel saving vehicles is taken as a strategy both to minimize the cost for fuel and the carbon emission to the environment. As to her, encouraging electronic vehicles will bring about significant changes in stabilizing the oil-violate market and reducing the carbon emission from the sector, she noted.
For charging purpose, Dagmawit noted that 40 charging stations are being installed in Addis Ababa and both the E-vehicles and the charging stations will be increased. She further said that once charged in charging stations paying only 20 Birr the electronic vehicles can travel an average distance from 200-240 kilometers. Compared to fuel consuming vehicles this can save up to 950 Birr per a vehicle.
Dagmawit underlined that the 60 electric vehicles are provided by Green Tech Africa and the Ministry has planned to introduce 4,800 electric based buses and 148,000 electric based automobiles in its ten years strategic plan.
Dagmawit underlined that building sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation sector is the focus of the National Transport Policy of Ethiopia and promoting Electric vehicles is one strategy in the national policy.
Engineer Habtamu Itefa (PhD), Water and Energy Minister, for his part stated that Ethiopia is hugely investing in renewable energy production from hydro, wind, solar and geothermal sources. He added that Ethiopia’s current investments in the energy sector targets to double the country’s current energy production within few years. The country’s current energy production is 4,800 megawatts.
For his part, Director General of Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Getahun Garedew (PhD) during the occasion stated that the world especially developing countries are suffering a lot from the continued devastating impacts of climate change. It is time to take necessary actions in all sectors to reduce carbon emission to the environment and the factors that contribute for worsening climate change, he added.
For Getahun, the transport sector is among the contributing factors for the carbon emission. Hence, reducing the carbon emission from the transport sector would contribute vital role in combating climate change. Considering the devastating impacts of climate change, Ethiopia takes a lot of measures since 2010 in all sectors to reduce the contributing factors in carbon emission to the environment.
“From 2010 to 2020, the actions applied only in the transport sector in Ethiopia contributes to reduce 341, 330 tone carbon die oxide emission” Getahun stated adding introducing and expanding electric vehicles would facilitate the country’s efforts of building climate resilient green transport sector which is vital.
Introducing and implementing environmentally friendly technologies and innovations in the economy sector is vital in protecting the sustainability of healthy environment and combating climate change and its impacts. Hence, for him, the introduction of E-vehicles to the Ethiopian transport sector would increase Ethiopia’s efforts of building climate resilient development.
Green Teach Africa representative Sitra Ali during the launching ceremony stated that Green Tech Africa introduced the 60 E-vehicles as initial phase and within mid time the company plans to introduce more E-vehicles ranging from auto rickshaws to high speed vehicles spare parts by assembling locally.
The Ethiopian Herald 17 July 2022
