Economy

Ethiopia Loses 20 Billion Hours Annually to Firewood Collection

The Reporter (Amharic) · 3 hours ago · Read the Full Story on The Reporter (Amharic)

AI SUMMARY

A report by the International Energy Agency reveals that Ethiopia loses 20 billion hours annually to firewood collection while highlighting critical challenges and targets in the country's energy sector.

International Energy Agency reveals that Ethiopia loses 20 billion hours annually to firewood collection, an amount equivalent to the total annual working hours of the labor force in Tunisia or Portugal.
As of 2024, 91 percent of Ethiopia's total energy supply comes from renewable sources, and 97 percent of electricity is generated from hydropower.
More than 120 million people, accounting for over 92 percent of the population, still rely on traditional cooking methods.
Access to clean cooking energy is limited to 8 percent nationally and drops to less than 1 percent in rural areas.
Indoor air pollution caused by traditional wood and charcoal use results in over 60,000 deaths annually.
Women and girls spend an average of two hours daily collecting firewood, hindering their participation in income generation and education.
Traditional three-stone stoves waste 85 to 95 percent of consumed energy.
400,000 tons of wood are harvested annually for cooking, contributing to deforestation and soil erosion.
The energy sector requires $9.6 billion and clean cooking requires $3.5 billion through 2030, funded through grants, carbon finance, concessional loans, government budget, and private investors.
Aging transmission lines, energy losses, and foreign exchange shortages leave 25 percent of installed generation capacity inactive for technical reasons.
National electricity access stands at 35 percent as of 2024, with 87 percent in urban areas and 18 percent in rural areas, leaving 85 million people without power.
Ethiopia aims to reach 75 percent electricity access by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035.
Ethiopia banned the import of non-electric vehicles in January 2024, with 115,000 electric vehicles operational by the end of 2025.
High initial connection fees prevent many citizens from connecting to nearby power grids, and crypto-mining companies consumed nearly one-third of domestic power in 2025.
Heavy reliance on hydropower creates vulnerability to drought, prompting the need to diversify energy sources through solar, wind, geothermal, and natural gas projects.

Read the Full Story on The Reporter (Amharic)

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