International diplomacy week would be colourfully marked in Ethiopia from October 2-6, 2023 with multiple sets of events regarding the diplomatic achievements of the country in different spheres of diplomacy. This piece deals with important contributions that Ethiopia has offered to the world in terms of curbing the devastating effects of climate change through a national climate diplomacy initiative.
Before proceeding with some issues on climate diplomacy, the author of this article feels that it is appropriate to define what diplomacy itself means. Best Diplomat publication defines diplomacy as:
“… as the art and practice of negotiation and conducting dialogues through different measures between states, groups, or people to influence the international system’s decisions, events, and behaviors. It is undertaken to promote peace among nations and avoid a state of war or violence.
In ancient times, diplomacy referred to the conduct of formal (often bilateral) ties between sovereign governments. By the 20th century, European diplomatic practices had spread throughout the globe, and the definition of diplomacy had expanded to include summit meetings, international conferences, multilateralism, the international endeavors of supranational and subnational organizations, unofficial diplomacy by nongovernmental actors, and the performance of international civil servants”.
There are various types of diplomacy identified in modern international relations.
They include public diplomacy, economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, science diplomacy, cyber diplomacy, energy diplomacy, regional diplomacy, education diplomacy and relatively more recently, climate change diplomacy is identified.
In popular understanding, Climate diplomacy encompasses the use of diplomatic tools to support the ambition and functioning of the international climate change regime and to attenuate the negative impacts climate change risks pose for peace, stability and prosperity across the world. Furthermore, climate diplomacy entails using the issue of climate change for furthering other foreign policy objectives such as confidence- and peace-building or strengthening multilateralism. Climate diplomacy calls for preparing appropriate risk assessment and risk management strategies at a global strategic level.
Climate diplomacy on the other hand is one of the components of modern diplomatic activities which also include economic diplomacy, public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy and diplomacy which is also conducted in the context of CSOS.
Although the negative effects of climate change have remained with us, Climate diplomacy gained currency since 1972 as a threat to global peace and security. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was conducted in 1992 followed by COP 1 from 1995 to COP 27 2022 and COP 28 in 2023.
The Kyoto Protocol was the first ever legally binding climate treaty in which the developed countries agreed to reduce carbon emission by 5% below the 1990 levels regarding the reduction of greenhouse emissions by 192 countries, 37 industrialized countries were committed to keep up to their expectations. This was followed by the Cancun Climate Fund at COP 16.
The Paris Agreement of December 2015 limiting carbon emission below 2 degree agreed by 196 countries is the most significant climate change agreement to date. Each country to the agreement was made to submit carbon reduction pledgees through Known National Determined Contributions to limit global warming to the level of 1.5 degree Celsius
Why was Ethiopia interested in the deliberations of climate diplomacy at all levels? In the first place, the country was designated as one of the 20 countries across the world as highly vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change.
Over the last 50 years, Climate change which used to occur every 10 years in the past to 5 years after the 1984 drought in the country and now effects of climate change on the country is visible almost every year affecting the country’s agriculture, water development, tourism, infrastructure development, mining, foreign and local trade.
In addition, Ethiopia can effectively use multi-lateral programs in climate diplomacy for promoting the climate resilient green economy policy it is pursuing at the national level
Ethiopia could benefit from multilateralism and cooperation, negotiation, climate justice diplomacy, promotion of agriculture based national economy. Therefore effective climate diplomacy is a matter of survival for Ethiopia.
Climate diplomacy in which Ethiopia is actively engaged is based on major principles which include accountability in meeting the provisions of the agreements and treaties to which the signatory countries are obliged to fulfil their obligations. On the other hand, no country in the world can engage in efforts of curbing climate change through a single hand approach but through multi-lateral approach. The principle of climate funding by countries who are engaged in emitting the biggest tonnage of carbon and using climate change for peace building and promotion of scientific and partnership on issues of climate change.
In terms of promoting climate diplomacy, Ethiopia has indeed registered a lot of achievements that are already recognized by international partners and global climate change related institutions.
Accordingly, in 2009, Ethiopia organized the first National Climate Change Conference in line with the Paris Climate Change Agreement. This was a conference in which the national participants deliberated on the effects of climate change on the environment and also charted out various means and ways of decarbonizing the national economy by further accelerating the construction of carbon free energy resources. Along with the conference a national Climate Change Forum was formed in the same year.
Ethiopia coordinated Africa’s efforts on climate diplomacy from COP-16 to COP- 21. The country planted 1.7 billion trees in line with UNEP initiative for 2007 and took over India’s leadership on tree planting.
Ethiopia ratified the UN Framework Convention for climate change in 1994 and Kyoto protocol in 2005.
Ethiopia designed a National Adaptation Plan in 2011 and Nationally Determined Contribution to UNFCCC in 2015 came up with Nationally Determined Contribution to UNFCCC in 2015.
Ethiopia is engaged in climate diplomacy not only from the perspectives of promoting its national interest but from her strong commitment to a multi-lateral approach for saving the global ecosystem from being damaged by global warming and other resultant effects of climate change.
The author believes that climate diplomacy is not and must not be restricted to only issues of climate change as variation and recurrences of climate change are also associated with other global issues of significance including poverty reduction and a constellation of other issues linked with the development of under development.
What are the main reasons behind Ethiopia’s successes on climate diplomacy? The most important factor, among others is a strong political leadership that was put in place since 2009.
The late Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi led the Conference of African Heads of State and Governments for two terms starting with COP 15 in Copenhagen and up to COP 17 in Durban, South Africa. On the occasion of COP 15, Ethiopia firmly advocated for a pledge of USD 100 billion each year to provide economic support for less developed countries affected by climate change.
Moreover, Ethiopia was also an active participant in formulating IGAD regional climate change strategy for the period from 2016- 2030 for the purpose of harmonizing national efforts to reduce the effects of climate change among the member countries.
As part of the National Green Legacy Initiative, Ethiopia dispatched higher level government officials to Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, and Rwanda for using tree planting as a tool for good will and peace building among the countries of Africa.
Ethiopia is also engaged in integrating the climate diplomacy both in domestic sector development programs and international investment initiatives, thus used climate diplomacy as a vehicle for promoting national economic development through a strong national coordination.
As a diplomatic capital of Africa, Ethiopia tasked herself to developing riverside projects in the city to contribute to the national efforts underway to curb the effects of climate change in every location of the country.
It is no accident or a simple diplomatic gesture to see diplomats and representatives of UN and AU engage in tree planning programs that Ethiopia has organized over the last four years through the National Green Legacy Initiative in which ambassadors and representatives of regional and international organizations planted trees in solidarity with Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative.
To date, Ethiopia has planted more than 30 billion trees in four years and According to the Arbor Day Foundation report from 2015, in one year a mature tree will absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen in exchange. One can therefore imagine the magnificent role that Ethiopia is playing in fighting off the effects of climate change at the global level.
Ethiopia is now entering into a new phase of climate diplomacy as the nation has now become a member of BRICS effective January 2024. The nation can use climate diplomacy along with other routine diplomatic undertakings to siphon in more FDI into the country and also for promoting tourism and people to people public diplomacy across BRICS member countries.
In addition, Ethiopia needs to scale up her efforts in G77 countries to promote climate diplomacy in the context of South-South cooperation framework.
On the other hand, Ethiopia can use the nation’s experience in public diplomacy to bolster climate diplomacy by blending it with the promotion of ecotourism as a driving force for climate diplomacy and also by incorporating the various forms od diplomacy mentioned earlier.
It must be noted that diplomacy that is conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is institutional diplomacy that is conducted at government level. Heads of State and Government also conduct diplomacy at their level either by mobilizing the various government institutions or just by themselves.
Climate diplomacy is therefore one form of diplomacy from among various forms of diplomacy employed by the states. Ethiopia has a lot to gain from climate diplomacy in the future.
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
The Ethiopian Herald September 24/2023
