August 6, 2026
Addis Ababa
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In an official farewell ceremony marking the end of a pivotal diplomatic tenure, Ethiopian Forestry Development (EFD) bade farewell to the outgoing Royal Norwegian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Stian Christensen.
The ceremony celebrated over a decade of robust bilateral cooperation in forest conservation, forest landscape restoration, sustainable forest management, forest sector transformation, climate resilience, and carbon finance, honoring Ambassador Christensen’s role in elevating the partnership between Ethiopia and Norway.
The farewell ceremony aimed to meet the following objectives.
1. Honoring a Key Architect of Climate Diplomacy
During his diplomatic service, Ambassador Stian Christensen emerged as a leading voice for climate actions such as sustainable forest management and natural resource stewardship. Under his tenure, the climate and forestry partnership agreement reached between Norway and Ethiopia and transitioned from foundational project-based support into a mature, market-linked and results-based financial model.
Speaking during the farewell event representatives of the Ethiopian Government reiterated that Ambassador Christensen’s diplomatic leadership bridged high-level climate policy with community-based execution on the ground. His commitment transformed the bilateral agenda of both countries into a practical, results-driven model for sustainable forest management.
2. Ethiopian Forestry Development (EFD) Leadership
Ambassador Christensen consistently championed a results-based payment mechanism. In Norway’s view, paying for verified outcomes rather than unmeasured activities reinforces long-term accountability, fosters national ownership, and builds rural resilience against compounding climate shocks.
Ambassador Christensen has been a leading voice in emphasizing the need to restore and conserve the highlands of Ethiopia for regional stability. He stated that whether anyone knowingly or unknowingly downplays the regional significance of the Ethiopian highlands, their importance is of paramount scale as a vital water source and for the mitigation of regional climate change.
3. The Scale of Norwegian Support to
Ethiopia’s Forest Sector
The Royal Norwegian Government has long been Ethiopia’s largest bilateral donor in sustainable forest management and REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) activities in general
4. Key Strategic Funding & Milestones.
4.1. Long-Term Financial Investment: Since 2017, Norway has committed over $130 million in direct support for Ethiopia’s climate and forest initiatives.
4.2. Extended Bilateral Agreements: A $75 million agreement extends Norwegian support up to 2030, targeting certified emission reductions, standing forest protection, and market readiness for forest products.
4.3. REDD+ Investment Program Phase II (RIP II): Supported by a $25 million grant, Phase II focuses on landscape restoration, seedling quality improvement via the PATSPO project, and institutional capacity building across regional and woreda (district) levels.
5. Combatting Forest Loss and Mitigating Climate Change.
For Ethiopia where agriculture forms the backbone of the economy, forest degradation directly threatens rural livelihoods, soil fertility, and water catchments. Hence, Norwegian support directly targets these national benchmarks through a three-pillar mitigation approach:
5.1. Carbon Sequestration: Forests represent Ethiopia’s largest potential carbon sink. Norwegian-backed initiatives help capture carbon, directly driving the nation’s goal of reducing 130 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent (MtCO₂e) annually by 2030.
5.2. Deforestation Control: By creating sustainable market systems for non-timber forest products (such as forest coffee and spices) and supporting community-managed forests, the program reduces rural economic reliance on forest clearing.
5.3. Synergy with the Green Legacy Initiative: Norwegian technical and financial support reinforces Ethiopia’s nationwide tree-planting movement, which has seen tens of billions of seedlings planted since 2019 to reclaim eroded watersheds.
6. Overcoming Deforestation: The Norwegian Perspective.
From Norway’s perspective, tropical and highland forest conservation is one of the most cost-effective global mechanisms to halt biodiversity loss and slow planetary warming.
During the farewell event, the Norwegian ambassador emphasized three core pillars for the future of the partnership.
6.1. Community-Centric Conservation: Conservation strategies must deliver tangible economic benefits to local farmers and forest-dependent communities for the investment to become socially beneficial and environmentally sustainable across generations.
6.2. Alignment with International Standards: Support will continue assisting Ethiopia in meeting rigorous carbon verification standards and international carbon trade requirements, besides compliance with the European Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) for key forest product exports like Ethiopian coffee.
6.3. Global Climate Leadership: Norway lauded Ethiopia’s proactive role in shaping international environmental policy—highlighted by its appointment as host of the COP32 UN Climate Change Conference in November 2027 in Addis Ababa.
7. A Lasting Legacy
As Ambassador Stian Christensen completes his tenure, both Ethiopian Forestry Development and the Royal Norwegian Embassy emphasized that the structural foundation laid over recent years will ensure seamless continuity.
With the sector transformed, its both human and structural capacities strengthened, and results-based finance locked in through 2030, the Ethiopia–Norway partnership stands as a global benchmark for international environmental collaboration.
