In the early 20th century, between 35% and 40%  of Ethiopia was covered by forests, and in 2000 that figure was just 3%. And shockingly, over the past 50 years Ethiopia has lost 98% of its forested regions. More recently, between 1990 and 2010, Ethiopia lost 18.6% of its forest cover, and between 1993 and 2011 Ethiopia’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions grew an unbelievable 86%.

The primary cause of this massive deforestation has been exponential population growth. Since 1960, Ethiopia's population has grown five-fold, soaring to more than 100 million people. This tremendous growth has led to an increase in the demand for crops and grazing land and wood for fuel and construction. 

Unlike many of its sub-Saharan neighbors which have embraced economic growth at the expense of environmental protections, Ethiopia has embarked on one of the world’s most ambitious green growth and climate mitigation programs, pledging to cap 2030 greenhouse gas emissions at 145 MtCO2e, a 64 percent reduction from projected business-as-usual emission levels.  “No other African country has even begun to make the level of commitment that Ethiopia has in reducing emissions,” said Robert Mukiza, Ethiopia Country Director for the Global Green Growth Institute in 2015.