The main development objective of the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) is to eradicate poverty and sustain growth. In line with this, Ethiopia has set a vision to achieve middle-income status by 2025. To make this ambition a reality, Ethiopia has prepared a Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy which has triple core objectives; namely: reducing greenhouse gas emissions from different sectors, reducing vulnerability to climate change, and ensuring economic growth.
It is clear that the implementation of the CRGE initiatives may generate adverse environmental and social impacts. Therefore, as part of its striding effort to ensure the attainment of the triple interrelated core objectives of the CRGE strategy, the GoE has prepared the Environmental and Social Safeguards Framework (ESSF) to address environmental and social issues that may arise from any CRGE investments. Moreover, the preparation of the safeguards framework is based on the provisions and principles of the national environmental and social policies and legal frameworks, including the Constitution and the Environmental Impact Assessment Proclamation.
The ESSF provides an enabling mechanism to GoE to meet environmental and social safeguard requirements associated with investments that it finances through the CRGE Facility. Ethiopia’s Environmental And Social Safeguards Framework (ESSF) For The CRGE Initiative defines roles, responsibilities/institutional framework, and provides procedures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate any direct, indirect and potential environmental and social risks and impacts which may arise from the implementation of CRGE investments. It also addresses mechanisms for public consultation and disclosure of project documents as well as redress of possible grievances in case this is needed during project implementation.