Revisiting What Shapes National Climate Policy Development in Africa: Insights from Ethiopia's CRGE Policy Process

Abstract

A growing number of African countries have initiated national climate policies, creating a valuable opportunity to study climate policy processes in the Global South. This study revisits the policy shift toward Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy, examining the policy process. Data was collected from semi-structured interviews with key informants and content analysis of documents. Based on the theory of policy process, the analysis uncovers the specific narratives, actors, and politics underlying the development of CRGE. It reveals that the centralised and elitist political culture influences climate policymaking, where co-benefits to economic growth drive the agenda-setting. The top-down policymaking approach sidelines the participation of non-state actors that had an active role in the advocacy stage but not in the policy design process. The outcome contributes to the theory of governance in climate policymaking and policy learning in the context of a least-developed country in the Global South.