AMCEN, an annual gathering of African Environment Ministers to discuss and strengthen environmental governance, was this year held from August 14 to 18th, 2023, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the theme; “Seizing opportunities and enhancing collaboration to address environmental challenges in Africa”.

In his keynote address, Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen, highlighted the important contribution of AMCEN in promoting collective environmental and climate action across the continent and allowing African countries to speak with one voice on the global diplomatic arena.

Over the years, a key agenda of AMCEN is the African common position on climate change negotiations – a Addis Ababa Declaration containing key priorities and demands in the various themes of the climate negotiation process.

The need to unlock climate finance has, for years, dominated the discussions for Africa, a continent that is especially vulnerable to the impacts of the climate change, and yet contributes less than 4% to global climate causing emissions.

At the close of the 19th ordinary session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), Ministers adopted the African common position, highlighting the continent’s priorities for the upcoming 28th session of the Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November/December 2023.

The Africa Climate Summit, scheduled for Nairobi from September 4 to 6, 2023, was also a key highlight at AMCEN 19 as it is envisaged to discuss the continent’s development aspirations in relation to climate change and the green growth agenda.