UN Environment Programme and European Commission hold high level policy dialogue on Africa

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On the 2^nd October, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Commission held a high level Dialogue on Africa.

The meeting, which took place in Brussels, was an outspoken occasion for the European Commission and UNEP to engage in a political and policy dialogue with the objective of identifying priorities and common actions in Africa around pressing environmental issues.

The discussions were centered around three main topics and how these contribute to value-chains and job creation in Africa: circular economy, climate change and biodiversity. The topics addressed during the discussion are considered particularly relevant for Africa, a continent highly exposed to the effects of climate change and which still very much relies on its natural resources, often poorly managing them, and are also building blocks of the New European Green Deal, the next European Commission’s priority policy.

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The jointly organized event brought together senior officials and experts from both institutions, involved in policymaking and/or projects in African countries. Ms Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP led the UNEP delegation and was joined inter alia by Ms Juliette Biao UNEP Regional Director for Africa, whilst the Commission’s participation was supported by prominent members such as: Marjeta Jager DG DEVCO Deputy Director General, Astrid Schomaker, Global Sustainable Development at DG ENV and Brigitte Markussen, Deputy Managing Director of EEAS for Africa.

The dialogue built on the momentum generated by the UN Secretary-General Climate Action Summit and other high level events convened in New York in the context of the 74th UN General Assembly in the week of 23 September, and the upcoming 17th regular session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) to take place in South Africa from 11 to 15 November 2019.

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After rich and constructive discussions, both partners agreed that the Africa Dialogue has contributed to improving their knowledge on respective priorities and approaches, and to identifying best practices and areas of potential cooperation.

Some examples of the outcomes for each of the topics:

With regards to circular economy, UNEP and DG DEVCO are willing to continue to support Africa’s transformation, and scaling up circular economy to deliver economic growth, jobs and positive environmental outcomes and promote policy coherence including trade policies.

As far as climate change is concerned, UNEP and DG DEVCO are interested in further co-operating for supporting African countries adopt and implement ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), bring public awareness to the link between climate change and conflict sensitivity, increase the shares of sustainable investments directed to the continent and jointly work towards the phasing out of fossil fuels.

Finally, it was concluded that a joint approach, to face the issue of increased and increasing biodiversity loss, should focus on addressing land degradation, financing projects for eco-systems preservation and restoration, in both costal and terrestrial areas. UNEP and the Commission agreed upon the need to scale up the work related to establishing sustainable wildlife economies in Africa, which are linked to green and circular economy, but focus more on wild spaces where people bare the cost of living with nature. Wildlife economies need to be built around three key areas: 1. Protecting ecological assets, 2. Reinvesting dividends from biodiversity into natural assets and 3. Enhancing economic dividends from biodiversity and promoting socially just transition in places of intervention.