Ethiopia

Ethiopia usually doesn't figure into discussions about global warming. But Prime Minister Meles Zenawi made an impression at the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative in New York, where he provided the following well-received comments:

The only realistic option for Africa is to grow in a carbon neutral fashion. Many people when they discuss global warming and climate change, they are doing it from the point of view of those who are responsible for 80% of the pollution. But there is an African perspective.

The African perspective is: Africa contributed nothing to global warming. Second, the impact of global warming is going to be more devastating in Africa than the rest of the world. This for two reasons.

First, global warming is going to expand the Sahara desert and you are going to have intense droughts
covering larger parts of the continent than you have ever seen. And related to this, Africa’s capacity to cope with climate change is very weak. And therefore, global warming and climate change could push the fragile economies and societies of Africa beyond the precipice.

We have recognized that global warming – like colonialism and slavery – could be another one of those shocks that could affect the future of the continent. But we have the possibility to change, and I’ll give you two examples:

The fact that biofuels are becoming more popular in your countries means that our agriculture does not have to be depressed by the subsidies you pay your farmers. There will be enough of a market for all of us. Africa has the potential to grow in a green fashion.

Another example: Ethiopia and Congo. These two countries can generate enough electricity from hydropower to electrify the whole continent. We can grow without polluting the environment

When asked what Ethiopia wants from an international treaty on global warming, here's what he said:

The key thing for us is the cap-and trade mechanism.

The cap and trade mechanism is ultimately about the allocation of property rights.

 

There’s a scarce resource here, which is, the amount of pollution that the earth can take.
We are not part of that property allocation for that scarce resource at the moment. We want to be part of it. We are part of this world, physically. We want the property right to pollute, or to sell our property right to those who cannot help but pollute. And we want it as a matter of right.

 

If it is going to be driven by philanthropy, we will not get enough money to have clean development. So give us the access to the carbon trade as a matter of right.