By Benard Ogembo
Africa’s position on the plastics treaty will be announced when the 20th Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN-20) commences in Nairobi, Kenya, this week. The Conference meets every two years, except in special circumstances. It will include a technical segment, a Ministerial segment, and a High-Level Special Session on AMCEN@40.
Project Lead of the Pan-African Plastic project at Greenpeace Africa, Kahaso Dena, says this is a powerful moment to reflect on and discuss the gains that African member states have made so far.
“ AMCEN brings together Africa’s environmental ministers, government representatives, technical institutes, civil society, development partners and other stakeholders to provide political guidance, environmental agreements, and to hold conversations on negotiations that are ongoing like the UNFCCC process,” She said.
“It is a renewed ambition. We all know that AMCEN brings together African environmental ministers, government representatives, technical institutes, civil society, development partners, and other stakeholders to provide political guidance, environmental agreements, and to hold conversations on negotiations that are ongoing, like the UN triple C.” She said.
The summit under the theme “Four Decades of Environmental Action in Africa: Reflecting on the Past and Imagining the Future” will look into the urgency of climate action and to find multilateral agreements on climate finance.
Hosted by the Government of Libya at the Headquarters of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa’s foremost ministerial-level body will review environmental governance leveraging the G-20 for the environment, sustainable digital technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and early warning and assessments for environmental sustainability in Africa; and critical minerals and energy transition in Africa.
While least spoken about, AI is emerging as a major plastic waste, mostly used in producing computer products. The United States, China, and the European Union host more than half of the world’s most powerful data centers, which are used for developing the most complex AI systems, according to data compiled by Oxford University researchers. Only 32 countries, or about 16 percent of nations, have these large facilities filled with microchips and computers, giving them what is known in industry parlance as “compute power.”
In contrast, Africa and South America have almost no A.I. computing hubs, while India has at least five and Japan has at least four, according to the Oxford data. More than 150 countries have nothing.
As per the 10th Special session of AMCEN held in Abidjan, the Chair of the African Group of Negotiators will give an overview, analysis and progress report on the negotiations and preparations to date.
AMCEN’s mandate is to champion environmental protection; promote sustainable development that meets basic human needs; advance social and economic progress at all levels; and support food security through sustainable agricultural practices.
In 2023, AMCEN Decision 19/2 provided the mandate for the African Group of Negotiators to support a strong, legally binding global treaty to end plastic pollution, including measures that address plastics across their full lifecycle, from production to disposal.
As the conference convenes in Nairobi, Greenpeace Africa issued a strong statement urging ministers to prioritize three critical areas that includes; uphold strong plastics treaty commitment, make polluter pay, and protect forests through direct community finance and rights recognition.
“The plastic pollution crisis is disproportionately affecting African communities. From open burning and illegal waste dumping in low-income communities, to the health threats of microplastics and toxic chemicals, it is often the most vulnerable that bear the brunt of this crisis. AMCEN must resist industry pressure and maintain its call for plastics production caps in the Global Plastics Treaty.” Says Dena.
Dr Ayub Macharia, Kenya’s INC Focal Point, Director of Environment Education and Awareness, said that the country supports the African Group of Negotiators on the treaty text. However, he admitted that a particular text on production is still contentious, and Africa has yet to reach a consensus.
“The AMCEN position has not changed since our last meeting. We still have those contentious issues, especially in regards to article three (3) on chemicals, article six (6) on production, and article five (5) on chemicals of concern.” He said.
“The AMCEN position has not changed since our last meeting. We still have those contentious issues, especially in regards to article three (3) on chemicals, article six (6) on production, and article five (5) on chemicals of concern.” He said.
A few countries are reportedly pushing fellow African nations to abandon proposed plastic production cuts citing that production cuts could hamper economic recovery efforts across the continent, particularly for countries heavily reliant on hydrocarbon revenues. The move highlights growing divisions among African oil producers as they seek to balance climate commitments with urgent fiscal pressures in the lead-up to broader treaty negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland.
Secondly, the decision 19/2 outlined African key policy messages on the plastics treaty, including the need for a treaty to address the full life cycle approach of plastics, call for adequate and predictable finance and environmentally sound technology transfer.
Thirdly, the treaty should also aim to eliminate the most harmful and high-risk plastic categories, including problematic polymers, chemicals of concern, products and applications, and bring overall plastic production to sustainable levels, apply the polluter pays and precautionary principles and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
Africa suffers heavily from plastics pollution despite accounting for only 5% of the global production and 4% of the consumption. Plastic and textile waste exported to Africa result in environmental, health and human rights concerns.
However, there is broad consensus across Africa on the need for adequate and predictable finance. Some countries want to return to an earlier version of the draft text because they feel that the financial mechanism in the Chair’s text is inadequate.
Several African countries have taken leadership positions on the plastics treaty. Ghana chairs the African Group of negotiators while Kenya is bidding to host the treaty secretariat in Nairobi. Previously, Rwanda convened the High Ambition Coalition.
The AMCEN SUMMIT builds on the UN Oceans Conference in June where 96 countries signed the ‘Nice wake up call for an ambitious plastics treaty,’ which outlines their non-negotiable positions, including reducing plastic production, regulating chemicals of concern and a financial mechanism.
The upcoming ordinary session of AMCEN (AMCEN-20), will see ministers engage in four policy dialogues and are expected to agree on a political declaration as well as decisions and policy messages related to Africa’s common positions for upcoming international environment meetings on wetlands, plastic pollution, mercury, climate change, and the global environment.
AMCEN-20 is also set to agree on the continent’s environmental priorities for the 2025-2027 biennium.
To commemorate 40 years of AMCEN (AMCEN@40), delegates are expected to issue a high-level statement on the Ministerial Conference’s achievements over the past four decades reflecting on successes made, opportunities available and lessons learnt.
About AMCEN
Established in 1985, the Conference serves as Africa’s foremost ministerial-level body on environmental governance, providing political guidance and regional leadership to promote sound environmental management and sustainable development practices in all 54 member states.
