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Ethiopia will host the 32nd United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP32), with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pledging to make early climate action and timely access to funding central to the country’s agenda.
Abiy announced the priorities during his address at the COP31 talks in Turkey on Wednesday, saying Ethiopia would work to ensure that climate finance reached vulnerable communities before extreme weather events caused severe damage.
“Ethiopia will host COP32. We will put early action at the centre, funding released when warnings come, reaching the most exposed first,” he said.
The Prime Minister called on countries to make clear commitments on climate finance, particularly regarding the amount of funding, when it would be released and the conditions attached.
“That work should begin here, with every pledge of finance answering three questions. How much? By when? On what terms?” he said.
Abiy said the answers should be clear enough to allow governments to plan their budgets, investors to make commitments and communities to prepare for climate-related risks.
He also called for greater international cooperation to reduce the financial constraints facing developing countries, noting that they pay nearly $1 trillion annually in interest on public debt.
Ethiopia will host COP32
We will put early action
at the centre:
funding released when warnings come,
reaching the most exposed first. https://t.co/35cLvsLuyz— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) November 11, 2026
According to him, high borrowing costs limit the resources available for investment in climate resilience, while the cost of responding to climate damage reduces funding for education, healthcare and opportunities for young people.
Abiy urged multilateral financial institutions to consider the impact of borrowing costs on developing countries’ ability to invest in climate adaptation.
He outlined Ethiopia’s efforts to address climate change, including a nationwide tree-planting programme through which more than 56 billion seedlings have reportedly been planted.
The initiative, he said, has helped restore degraded land, expand forests, create jobs and improve livelihoods.
The country is also investing in wind, solar and geothermal energy while exploring nuclear power to reduce its dependence on hydropower, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of its electricity supply.
Abiy said Ethiopia was using satellite data and artificial intelligence to improve weather forecasting and provide farmers with earlier warnings of droughts, floods and other extreme weather events.
He also highlighted the country’s transition towards electric vehicles, noting that Ethiopia had banned imports of petrol and diesel-powered cars.
The Prime Minister pledged that Ethiopia would work closely with the COP31 presidency to ensure a successful outcome at the Turkey conference ahead of its own hosting of COP32.
He concluded by urging world leaders to ensure that support for vulnerable communities arrived in time to help them prepare for changing weather patterns.
“Dear friends, our farmers once trusted the seasons to arrive on time. Let us make sure our support does,” he said.
