Publication: Green Competitiveness in Ethiopia: An Overview of How Environmental and Climate Factors Increasingly Shape Ethiopia's Economic Outlook in Selected Value Chains
Loading...
Published
2024-11-12
ISSN
Date
2024-11-12
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Environmental and climate factors play an increasing role in shaping Ethiopia’s economic competitiveness, and this report aims to provide an overview of these shifts. This novel report is a high-level assessment of how certain factors could affect Ethiopia’s economic competitiveness: (i) supply side impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, and (ii) demand-side changes caused by a growing number of sustainability requirements in key export markets, notably sustainability regulations and decisions by international buyers. Concentrating on four sectors that are both critical to Ethiopia’s economy and exposed to environmental and climate factors - coffee, textiles and garments, cut flowers, and aviation - illustrates these shifts. The objective is to identify cross-cutting trends of how sustainability factors affect Ethiopia’s economic competitiveness, but the sector-specific angle helps identify pressing challenges that policy makers in Ethiopia need to address. Note that the selected sectors are used to illustrate the trends described in this report and do not imply a recommended prioritization. Many other sectors essential to Ethiopia’s green transformation are not discussed. Moreover, although the report acknowledges that social and environmental aspects are deeply intertwined, it does not cover topics such as occupational health and safety, inclusion, living wages, and gender rights. The assessment applies a mixed methods approach by drawing on insights from interviews with experts conducted online and in person in Ethiopia (conducted mainly between November 2023 and April 2024), analysis of trade and economic data, and an extensive literature review. This report underlines the macro criticality of green competitiveness for Ethiopia, embedded in the wider economic and political context.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2024. Green Competitiveness in Ethiopia: An Overview of How Environmental and Climate Factors Increasingly Shape Ethiopia's Economic Outlook in Selected Value Chains. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42403 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Green Cities : Sustainable Low-Income Housing in Brazil(Washington, DC, 2011-05)Housing development has direct and indirect impacts on the environment. Through its design, construction, and operation, housing represents a significant point of direct consumption of natural materials, water, and energy. Therefore, greenhouse gas emissions embodied in housing can be very significant. Moreover, in Brazil, civil construction is responsible for the largest percentage of solid waste volume generated in cities, resulting in additional environmental impacts. The housing sector also has substantial indirect environmental impacts associated with extended commuting distances from residents of housing developments and their resulting greenhouse gas emissions.The housing sector in Brazil offers substantial opportunities to improve enviromental performance. Housing developments, particularly large-scale low-cost programs, provide opportunities to minimize local and global environmental impacts through the use of energy efficient materials, design and construction guidelines, as well as performance standards. Many of these technologies and practices are appropriate to Brazilian conditions, and a number of them are already in use. Low-cost housing programs can be designed to incorporate sustainable materials and guidelines, with potentially large-scale impacts. With the launch of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV) economic stimulus program to subsidize the construction of 1 million low-income housing units (and recent approval of a second round of subsidies for 2 million homes), Brazil is in a unique position to achieve the triumvirate of sustainable growth the social goal of reducing the national housing deficit, the economic stimulus goal of creating jobs in the construction industry, and the environmental goal of developing healthy homes and communities. Centralized funding sources like MCMV provide can be also used as models for other assisted housing programs and, potentially, market-rate housing developments as cities, developers and construction product manufacturers become more experienced in green housing technologies.Many green construction and technology programs are already in place. Brazil has a history of promoting programs and policies related to sustainable housing design construction and maintenance, such as product certification, supply-chain, research and development, and Green Building programs. The Selo Azul Program, launched by CAIXA in 2010 with the goal of promoting green housing development in Brazil, is particularly promising. Enhancements to current programs can greatly improve sustainability of housing sector. With increasing awareness on sustainable construction, there are currently major opportunities to promote the incorporation of green construction technologies, as well as hazard-resistant technologies for climate adaptation, within formal and informal low-income housing in Brazil. Based on a review of current practices at the national and international level, as well as on interviews with public and private sector practitioners, this Policy Note presents recommendations aimed at enhancing the sustainability of low-income housing approaches in Brazil, through the provision of high quality, energy-efficient housing with minimal environmental impacts.Publication Climate Vulnerability Assessments : An Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability, Risk, and Adaptation in Albania’s Power Sector(World Bank, 2009-12-01)Energy security is a key concern in Albania, which relies on hydropower for about 90 percent of its electricity production. While renewable energy resources like hydropower play a fundamental role in moving the world towards a low-carbon economy, they are also vulnerable to climatic conditions. Climate variability already affects Albania's energy production to a considerable extent, and climate change is bringing further challenges. This report summarizes work conducted in partnership with stakeholders in Albania's energy sector and other closely related sectors. It aimed to build greater understanding of the climate risks faced by the energy sector and of priority actions that could be taken to reduce vulnerabilities. The remainder of this report is set out as follows: section two describes the context for this assessment, covering the Albanian energy sector, observed and projected climatic conditions and Albania's adaptive capacity. Section three outlines the climatic vulnerabilities, risks, and opportunities facing Albania's energy sector. Section four describes the key adaptation options identified for managing climate risks to the energy sector. Section five provides the cost-benefit analysis of physical adaptation options. Section six sets out next steps for improving the climate resilience of Albania's energy sector. Finally, section seven includes references and lists of annexes and appendices.Publication Green Industrial Policy : Trade and Theory(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-10)This paper studies the reality and the potential for green industrial policy. It provides a summary of the green industrial policies, broadly understood, for five countries. It then considers the relation between green industrial policies and trade disputes, emphasizing the Brazil-United States dispute involving ethanol and the broader United States-China dispute. The theory of public policy provides many lessons for green industrial policy. The authors highlight four of these lessons, involving the Green Paradox, the choice of quantities versus prices with endogenous investment, the coordination issues arising from emissions control, and the ability of green industrial policies to promote cooperation in reducing a global public bad like carbon emissions.Publication Competitiveness and Growth in Brazilian Cities : Local Policies and Actions for Innovation(World Bank, 2010)Given the Brazilian federal government's high priority on economic growth, competitiveness is at the top of the economic agenda. While economic policies at the national level are important to this agenda, more than 75 percent of people live in urban areas, which produce more than 90 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). 'What can cities do to improve economic performance and create jobs?' Mayors, governors, and federal government officials have frequently asked this question. For cities, economic competition has become more intense with globalization. Many municipal officials have been striving to enhance municipal infrastructure and services, while others have also been working on reducing the cost of doing businesses to make their areas more attractive for private investment. On the other hand, promoting local economic growth without considering local context and market conditions does not always achieve expectations. The policies discussed in this report are essentially about promoting local economic development. However, the author believe that the term competitiveness, as a dynamic concept, is helpful for local policy makers as it implies two essential aspects of promoting local economic development in today's environment: (a) cities not only need to provide a good business environment, they need to strive to provide a better one than others, at least in certain aspects (or niches); and (b) cities need to continually upgrade and innovate to achieve sustained growth.Publication Trees, Cities, and a Green Future(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-12-01)Urban forestry has evolved into a multifaceted discipline, encompassing far more than aesthetic landscaping. As a cornerstone of environmental stewardship, it includes strategic planning and comprehensive management to optimize the environmental, social, and economic benefits of trees. This involves the conservation of various green spaces—parks, riverbanks, vacant lots— to enhance urban life. It adds economic and property value, creates jobs, and offers costsaving benefits such as reduced infrastructure needs and lower energy costs by providing shade. Social advantages include improved public health through recreational spaces, stress reduction, air pollution reduction, and promotion of physical activity. Additionally, the environmental impacts of urban forestry are profound: mitigating climate change, enhancing air and water quality, reducing erosion, and promoting biodiversity. The World Bank’s series of webinars ‘Trees, Cities, and a Green Future’ were held from January through July 2023 to address the pressing need for awareness, education, and collaborative action in the field of urban tree management; especially considering its multifaceted importance in modern cities and unique relevance in Central Asia. It was cohosted by the World Bank’s Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy and Urban, Resilience, and Land global practices. The series represented a thematic set of learning events curated as an online knowledge exchange platform that aimed to connect policy makers, practitioners, and experts across Central Asia and the globe, all focused on advancing urban forestry and greening best practices for urban land restoration and climate resilience in cities and regional development projects.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.