Towards advancing Green Business and the Circular Economy in Africa
Policy makers and stakeholders across Africa have met to chart green economy opportunities in the agriculture sector under the lead of the Switch Africa Green programme. The forum – under the theme Advancing Green Business and Circular Economy in Africa – was organised by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment.
A regional framework on advancing green business and circular economy is a pathway to the achievement of a green economy, ensuring replication and scaling-up of green business in Africa. It is against this backdrop that the meeting, in Kampala, Uganda, discussed the avenues and approaches to implementing a circular economy and scaling the continent’s green businesses.
“The Switch Africa Green Programme already promotes circular approaches, including the promotion of biogas technology, E-waste management, promoting organic agriculture, green manufacturing and eco-industrial parks, and through standards and labelling in the hotel industry, among others,” said Frank Turyatunga, Deputy Director of UNEP’s Africa Office. “It is important that the lessons learnt, and knowledge shared among countries, result in regional harmonisation of policies and ensure maximum impact and effective implementation at the national level.”
The forum brought together officials from the SWITCH Africa Green partner countries of Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda, and other stakeholders involved in promoting an inclusive green economy, such as policy makers, business associations, the private sector, financial institutions, regional economic communities, development organisations and civil society organisations.
“Tackling emerging environmental challenges may require seizing opportunities like an inclusive green economy that are core to sustainable development and have multiple benefits such as environmental protection, and notably create growth and jobs creation. Key enablers for the transition, include access to green financing, enabling policies and standards, awareness, networking and green businesses with innovative solutions,” said Dr Tom Okurut, the Executive Director of Uganda’s National Environment Management Authority.
SWITCH Africa Green aims to turn environmental challenges into opportunities based on the understanding that an inclusive green economy is at the core of sustainable development and has multiple benefits next to environmental protection, notably growth and jobs creation, poverty reduction, economic diversification, and income generation. The programme focuses on key enablers for the transition, including access to green financing, enabling policies and standards, circular practices, awareness and skills on eco-entrepreneurship and innovative solutions.
“The New European Consensus on Development – essentially the EU's response to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – seeks to accelerate transformation by placing an emphasis on cross-cutting elements of development policy such as sustainable energy and climate action, along with investment and trade, employment, gender equality, youth, good governance, democracy, rule of law and human rights, migration and mobility,” said Pavlos Evangelidis, head of cooperation, European Union Delegation in Uganda.
Launched in 2014, Switch Africa Green has been steering seven African countries towards sustainable consumption and productions patterns, while also generating economic growth. In the past four years, the programme has achieved widespread success by providing 3,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with training, pilot demonstrations and skills-development on sustainable consumption and production practices.
Learn More: United Nations Environment Programme
Picture of Kampala by Graham Hobster from Pixabay
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