Ethiopia Shows Strong Leadership in Advancing Climate Ambitions, Says CIF Chief Executive Officer

Addis Ababa, April 28, 2026 — Ethiopia has shown strong regional and global leadership in advancing its climate ambitions, according to Tariye Gbadegesin, Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Chief Executive Officer.

The Chief Executive Officer told ENA that Ethiopia’s efforts reflect a clear commitment to moving from ambition to implementation.

She highlighted Ethiopia’s role in guiding climate-related discussions across Africa and globally, emphasizing how Ethiopia is translating its policy priorities into pathways for receiving additional climate financing.

Gbadegesin pointed to key areas of focus, including the energy transition, the integration of clean energy to support economic development and growth, and initiatives centered on nature. 

Moreover, the CEO cited Ethiopia’s tree-planting program and efforts to strengthen resilience—particularly by improving livelihoods for communities facing challenges such as water scarcity, flooding, and extreme weather events. 

According to her, restoring land and nature is essential to boosting both resilience and sustainable livelihoods.

“Programs such as the Green Legacy initiative have really shown that Ethiopia is willing to move from ambition to implementation.” 

A lot of the work that Ethiopia is doing in guiding the dialogues, both in Africa and globally, are very crucial for how the country maps its policy framework into the receipt of additional funding, the CEO said.

She also underscored CIF’s longstanding partnership with Ethiopia, noting that it has been supporting Ethiopia in catalytic finance across programs in the areas of energy, nature, and resilience.  

“CIF has had a strong partnership with Ethiopia. We invest catalytic finance to mobilize funding from the multilateral development banks and raise additional funding. To date, we've provided 90 million US Dollars of catalytic finance into different programs that has mobilized over a billion dollars.”

Emphasizing the need for collaboration, Gbadegesin said no single country—or source of finance—can achieve climate goals alone. 

She stressed that public and international finance must function as part of a partnership led by each country’s priorities, with Africa expected to play a central role in clean energy utilization, investment, and the sustainability of clean energy solutions.

Gbadegesin further emphasized that countries should adopt strategic coordination across short, medium, and long-term time frames, working closely with the international community to convert climate ambitions into implementable plans. 

The CEO finally said that approximately 30 percent of CIF funding is allocated to Africa and Africa-based initiatives, including large-scale programs for advancing clean energy solutions.