The 19th ordinary session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) kicked off on August 17 in Addis Ababa, with the participation of Morocco, under the theme “Seizing Opportunities and Enhancing Cooperation to Address Environmental Challenges in Africa.”
This two-day session is an opportunity for ministers to outline political guidelines for upcoming major environmental events, examine ways of resolving emerging environmental issues, and boost cooperation with partners and relevant actors.
Ministers participating in the Conference will review the report of the Secretariat of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) for the 2022 session, which features information on the implementation of the decisions approved by the Conference at its 18th ordinary session and other activities during the period under review.
The Conference’s 19th session will also assess the progress in implementing AMCEN’s decisions, and address emerging environmental issues, Africa’s green recovery program and the assessment of its implementation, the African Forum of Environmental Protection Agencies, critical minerals, their role in Africa’s energy transitions and their growing demand, in addition to the gradual elimination of open burning of waste in Africa.
The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) aims to strengthen cooperation between institutions and improve the implementation of regional and global environmental frameworks to meet the challenges facing the continent.
The session will also provide a platform to strengthen Africa’s collective engagement in the global environmental agenda, including in the various Conferences of the Parties (COP) to environmental agreements, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), and other multilateral processes on the fight against climate change, desertification, degradation of nature and biodiversity, and pollution, and ensure that the region is capable of facing the challenges in these areas and seizing the emerging opportunities for sustainable development in Africa.
The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) was established in December 1985, following a conference of African environment ministers held in Cairo, Egypt. AMCEN’s mission is to advocate environmental protection in Africa, to ensure that basic human needs are adequately and sustainably met, social and economic development is achieved at all levels, and agricultural activities and practices meet the region’s food security needs.