Nineteenth ordinary session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN)

When: 14-18 August 2023

Where: Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Airport Road, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Theme: Seizing opportunities and enhancing collaboration to address environmental challenges in Africa

The nineteenth ordinary session of AMCEN will be held from 14 to 18 August 2023 at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The session will consist of a meeting of the expert group from 14 to 16 August, and a ministerial segment, on 17 and 18 August 2023. The session will be held under the theme: “Seizing opportunities and enhancing collaboration to address environmental challenges in Africa”. The session will be preceded by a meeting of major groups and stakeholders (civil society) that will take place at the same venue on 12 and 13 August 2023.

The focus of the nineteenth session of AMCEN is to strengthen collaboration among the various institutions and enhance implementation of regional and global environmental frameworks in order to address the environmental challenges facing the continent. This entails building on existing initiatives, including strengthening the role of those institutions that support implementation of regional and global outcomes. The recent policy direction of AMCEN is that a large focus of its work should support implementation.

The session will provide a platform for strengthening Africa’s collective engagement in the global environmental agenda, including in the various conference of the parties of environmental agreements, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) and other multilateral processes related to combating climate change, desertification, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution, among others, and ensure that the region is not only able to address the challenges in these areas but also seizes emerging opportunities for a sustainable development of the continent.

The nineteenth ordinary session of AMCEN will be an opportunity for ministers to provide policy guidance for upcoming key environmental events, including the 28th session of the Conference of  Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28) and the Africa Climate Summit; the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEA-6); Africa’s participation in the development of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution (INC process); Africa’s preparations for the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16); preparations for the 5th session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5), and how Africa will respond to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The session will also aim to further strengthen the work of AMCEN in its contribution to the region’s environment and sustainable development agenda. This includes addressing emerging environmental issues, enhancing collaborative efforts with partners and stakeholders, beefing up its financial base (AMCEN Trust Fund), and review of proposals to strengthen its rules of procedure, as was decided by the resumed 18th ordinary session, among other matters.