At the 20th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, ministers pledged support for a global plastics treaty to tackle pollution across its lifecycle.
The Tripoli Declaration emphasized addressing Africa's environmental challenges, including climate change and biodiversity loss, while promoting sustainable practices and empowering communities. Greenpeace Africa urged stronger accountability measures for polluters and direct financing for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
The 20th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN-20) has committed to support a global plastic treaty, affirming the continent’s need to engage with the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
They pledged support for a robust global plastics treaty that tackles pollution across the entire lifecycle, noting that the world faced the urgency of the global plastic pollution crisis.
The meeting pledged to address the continent’s mounting environmental challenges, including climate change, environmental degradation, drought, biodiversity and ecosystems loss, pledging to address deforestation, desertification, public health risks, land, air, and water pollution,
In addition, they pledged, among other things, to address poverty and other threats that undermine sustainable development goals and threats to the lives and livelihoods of millions of Africans.
The ministers also committed to protecting vital ecosystems such as wetlands, through enhanced governance and direct support for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs).
“Wetlands are indispensable for Africa’s water security, climate resilience and biodiversity conservation; and underscoring the imperative of speaking with one coordinated African voice to elevate wetland protection and restoration as provided for under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat,” the document read in part.
They also declared focussing on circular economy principles and sustainable chemicals management, which echo the continent’s growing momentum toward reducing plastic production and ensuring polluters bear the cost of environmental damage.
In the document, dubbed the ‘Tripoli Declaration’ issued at the end of the four-day meeting, the ministers called on member states to expedite the ratification, domestication, and effective implementation of regional and global multilateral environmental agreements, including the Bamako Convention and the Maputo African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
The meeting, which concluded in Nairobi on July 18, acknowledged that Africa stands at a critical juncture in its efforts to protect its natural capital, ranging from diverse ecosystems, landscapes, air, rich biodiversity to its vast mineral wealth, freshwater, and marine resources,
The event called upon member states to embrace a “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” approach in addressing environmental challenges and to engage and empower communities, women and the youth to foster environmental stewardship and cultivate future leaders who prioritise sustainable practices.
It committed to enhance the visibility of the work of the AMCEN, through environmental action, awareness and investments.
“We also commit to employ digital technologies, including artificial intelligence to ensure that the African people are informed, empowered, and mobilised as active environmental stewards,” it pledged.
In addition, it pledged to enhance the institutional capacity of the AMCEN, including increased, stable, and predictable financial resources to its Trust Fund and explore innovative financing mechanisms, to support the effective coordination and monitoring of implementation of Africa’s environmental priorities.
Despite the pledges, Greenpeace Africa faulted the declaration, finding that it fell short in holding polluters accountable for climate damages and “inadequately” addressed the crucial role of IPLCs in forest protection. It also lacked specific funding mechanisms, legal recognition, or meaningful decision-making inclusion, the campaign group noted.
“While the declaration calls for enhanced governance and finance, it avoids direct corporate accountability measures like polluter-pays principles, fossil fuel company taxation, or mandatory compensation schemes — effectively letting polluting corporations off the hook while placing the burden on African governments,” Esther Syombua, Regional Coordinator at Greenpeace Africa, said.
The organisation is concerned about the declaration’s “implicit support for false solutions” such as carbon credit schemes, which risk undermining genuine climate action, she added.
“Carbon credits and other false solutions like waste-to-energy incineration often serve as greenwashing tactics by polluters, diverting attention from genuine emission reductions and perpetuating harmful practices like open burning that disproportionately affect vulnerable African communities. We urge ministers to prioritise proven strategies, including production caps on plastics, enforceable polluter-pays mechanisms, and direct financing for IPLCs to safeguard forests and biodiversity,” Hellen Kahaso Dena, Pan-Africa Plastic Project Lead at Greenpeace Africa, explained.
The campaign, however, lauded the ministers for their pledge to support for a robust global plastics treaty that tackles pollution across the entire lifecycle, and emphasised the need for accessible climate finance to build resilience, and committed to protecting vital ecosystems such as wetlands, through enhanced governance and direct support for IPLCs.
“Greenpeace Africa particularly applauds the declaration’s focus on circular economy principles and sustainable chemicals management, which echo the continent’s growing momentum toward reducing plastic production and ensuring polluters bear the cost of environmental damage,” the group said in a statement.
“The outcomes of AMCEN 20 will directly inform Africa’s positions at upcoming international forums, including INC 5.2 on plastics, COP30 on climate, and UNEA 7. Greenpeace Africa calls on African governments to build on this momentum by implementing the Tripoli Declaration with concrete, time-bound actions that centre equity, community rights, and ecological integrity,” it added.
AMCEN was established in 1985 in Cairo to coordinate Africa’s environmental policies. The July 18 high-level segment in Nairobi marked four decades of “Pan-African environmental diplomacy”.
The declaration is named after Tripoli, Libya—the original host of AMCEN 2025. Due to logistical constraints, the conference relocated to Nairobi, but the declaration retains Tripoli’s name to honour the North African country’s initial leadership role.