Ethiopia preparing to host African Climate Summit in September
AS Climate Finance Vulnerability Index (CliF-VI) has placed Ethiopia in the “Red Zone”, a designation for countries in greatest need of climate adaptation finance.
The report conducted by Columbia University and The Rockefeller Foundation evaluates 188 countries based on their climate risk and financial vulnerability.
Accordingly, Ethiopia ranks 133rd, while neighboring countries such as Eritrea (187th), Sudan (179th), and South Sudan (174th) are ranked among the most climate-vulnerable.
CliF-VI offers a comprehensive framework designed to guide and optimize the allocation of climate finance. It urges policymakers and global institutions to align funding with vulnerability scores to ensure that countries in the Red receive the support they urgently need.
According to the report, Ethiopia faces numerous climate-related hazards that strain its disaster management systems and heighten its vulnerability. Given these risks, it is logical and necessary for Ethiopia to receive a greater share of adaptation financing.
However, the broader challenge remains: the current flow of climate finance toward Ethiopia and other emerging and developing economies (EMDEs) is insufficient and must be significantly increased.
Debt-for-climate swaps are highlighted as a promising solution for heavily indebted countries like Ethiopia offering a way to ease fiscal pressures while investing in nature and climate resilience.
Eric Pelofsky, Vice President for Global Economic Recovery at The Rockefeller Foundation, emphasized the urgency: “The gap between development goals and the needed financing has never been larger. The CliF Vulnerability Index launches an important conversation about the data that should drive scarce resources to vulnerable countries that are facing immense challenges in accessing financing.”
The Vice President also said by using the CliF Vulnerability Index, donors and funders can prioritize support for countries that are potentially living one disaster away from crisis.”
In the report also indicated that governance played a pivotal role in the effective use of climate finance. While not directly included as a factor in the CliF-VI calculation, the platform does provide a governance score for each country. In Ethiopia’s case, its governance score falls in the penultimate quintile, suggesting that improving governance and institutional integrity would be critical to attracting greater climate funding.
Ethiopia is preparing to host the Second African Climate Summit in September 2025, aiming to accelerate climate financing and action across the continent, the summit expected to spotlight Ethiopia’s leadership and promote knowledge-sharing with neighboring countries.
