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while most African and other Countries are struggling to implement the importation of used or old cars, Ethiopia which is among the 5 fastest-growing economies, has taken a step faster to ban imports of internal combustion cars.
pollution regulators have welcomed Ethiopia’s move and hailed it as a climate heroic move. With good reason too: The move will reduce emissions preventing an estimated deaths from heart- and lung-related ailments.
Ethiopia has become the first country in the world to ban the import of petrol and diesel cars. Alemu Sime the Ethiopian Minister for Transport and Logistics announced last week that it will not allow vehicles to enter the country unless they are electric.
It should be noted that the country has been investing huge amounts in its energy infrastructure over the last twenty years, to the point that Ethiopia, whose energy comes 97% from renewable sources, is about to inaugurate a 6,500MW hydroelectric power plant, the largest in Africa. So, this shift towards total electrification, while responding to the obvious economic pressures, also appears to be part of a broader strategy that has been in the making for over two decades.
Compared to the rest of the world, which plans to ban the sale of combustion-engine vehicles by 2040 (in Central America, India, and several African countries), 2035 (in most of Europe, the United States, Japan, Singapore or New Zealand), or 2025 (Norway), Ethiopia intends to ban them right now. Alemu Sime, Ethiopia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, says the country’s Logistics Master Plan bans the importation of non-electric cars.
On the Global stage, specialists are reviewing arguments between ICEs and EVs. Where vehicles ignite and combust fuel within an internal combustion engine (ICE). Electric vehicles (EVs) are powered by electricity from a rechargeable battery instead. These are well-known and important differences, but will the impact be fast?
Editor, EM
