CDKN's Tesfaye Hailu reports from Addis Ababa.

The Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) 18th Board meeting in Cairo has approved Africa’s largest GCF direct access proposal. The Ethiopian Government’s $50m climate resilience proposal focuses on sustained provision of water for potable and productive use, including the use of solar energy to power the water pumps, and improved land use management to increase ground water recharge and soil nutrient content. It is intended to change the livelihoods of more than 1 million people in highly vulnerable communities.

The proposal entitled “Responding to the increasing risk of drought: building gender-responsive resilience of the most vulnerable communities” was developed by the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation (MoFEC) with support from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN). CDKN’s resources were focused around the provision of national, technical experts who worked alongside government and other Ethiopian stakeholders in a preparatory process over one year.   The funds will be channeled directly to government avoiding the use of multilateral banks or other international intermediaries. In the official language of the GCF, this means the money is being channeled through the GCF’s Direct Access Mechanism to the National Implementing Entity (NIE).

Availability of sustainable water supply for both potable and productive use has been identified as the springboard to unlock other productive capacities in communities, bringing about wider co-benefits. More than 10 million people are highly vulnerable to climate shocks in the country. The proposal has targeted 10% of these communities and has identified the critical levers to building resilience. The sustainability of the initiative is increased by introducing other ways of boosting resilience, such as the use of renewable energy for the provision of water.

The initiative also helps Ethiopia deliver its national climate commitment to the United Nations: its Nationally Determined Contribution. Ethiopia's NDC is the most ambitious of African NDCs and one of very few globally that are commensurate with the effort required to limit global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.

Sam Bickersteth, CDKN’s Chief Executive, commented:  “The approval of this substantial, nationally led and developed project is a sign of the commitment of the Board of the GCF to the demands of climate vulnerable countries and implementing actions around NDCs.   For CDKN it has been a pleasure to have contributed alongside national capability and drive to get this underway.”

Image: Ethiopian farmer, credit USAID