The Ethiopian economy relies predominantly on rainfed agriculture for income generation, export earnings, and rural livelihoods. However, the frequency and intensity of extreme ago-climatic events projected by climate scenarios suggest considerable and growing risks from climate change to the country’s agri-food systems and the overall economy.

The amount of climate finance flowing to agrifood systems is strikingly low and continues to diminish vis-à-vis global climate finance flows. Agriculture is one of the sectors with the highest adaptation finance needs for implementing the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) but climate finance for adaptation is also on a downward trend.

Climate-induced disasters are causing increasingly frequent and intense economic damages, disproportionally affecting emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) relative to advanced economies (AEs). However, the impact of various types of climate shocks on output growth and fiscal positions of EMDEs is not fully understood.

According to this new analysis of the top 20 costliest extreme climate disasters over 2023 has revealed a “global postcode lottery stacked against the poor” where the relative economic impact of disasters varies considerably across countries.

As the world rapidly urbanises, the imperative to forge resilient cities capable of withstanding the formidable challenges posed by climate change has never been more urgent.