Continental Circular Economy Action Plan for Africa (2024-2034).

 

This Action Plan aims to pave the way for the circular economy journey for the African continent through actions that are based on a well-founded understanding of the different characteristics and contexts present across the regions. It includes goals and actions for sectors which are relevant for all regions — although depending on a region or country’s specific situation, some might be more relevant at this point in time. However, tackling them represents an important step towards a more circular economy that should be taken at some point. Naturally, a continental document cannot be as concrete as a national document. Hence, the high-level goals and actions presented in this Circular Economy Action Plan require dedicated initiatives and intentional collaboration of the African Union Commission (AUC), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as well as AU Member States to ensure translation to the local level.

 Understanding of circular economy 

The concept of circular economy is very broad and overarches a range of related topics, including resource efficiency, the waste hierarchy, a shift to renewable resources both for material and energy purposes and more. This breadth is the strength of the circular economy. The circular economy provides an alternative model to the current linear economy, transforming it towards sustainable development. The desired system ultimately reduces both waste and pollution by circulating materials and products at their highest quality within the production system and, where possible, feeding materials back into the biosphere to restore natural capital (biodiversity and ecosystems) at their end of life. In short, a circular economy is based on three overarching principles: • Designing out waste and pollution by focusing on product design, creating more efficient and sustainable products/industries from the start to reduce energy, water and other resources consumed ꟷ more than 80% of a product’s environmental footprint is determined during the design phase ; • Maintaining the value of materials and products and keeping them in use as long as possible by prolonging their life through activities, such as reuse, repair or refurbishment; • Regenerating natural systems by moving from exploitive to regenerative practices, for instance, through the application of regenerative farming, focussing on growing renewable raw materials or the transition to renewable energy sources9 . The transition towards a circular economy challenges governments, businesses, and consumers to rethink production and consumption patterns and redefine the term “growth” into one that captures benefits beyond economic profit alone. In fact, the transition towards a circular economy entails decoupling economic activity from the consumption of natural resources while designing negative externalities (waste and pollution) out of the system. As this is a complex challenge, it demands a holistic approach and lifecycle thinking which includes raw material extraction and processing, design and manufacturing, transport, retail, delivery, consumption and (re)use, repair as well as end-of-life management. Ultimately, it enables the identification of strategic intervention points along the whole value chain and lifecycle of products. It also prioritises collaboration and cooperation as key enablers the engagement of all stakeholders is essential for the successful transition towards a circular economy.

With its comprehensive approach and regenerative intention, the circular economy has a positive impact on all types of capital: financial, human, social, and natural. Besides phasing out waste and reducing pollution, a circular economy can also be linked to GDP growth and job creation at local and national levels by linking production more closely with consumption.   An additional important interrelation exists to climate mitigation: circular economy has the potential to support reaching emission reduction targets (e.g. in NDCs) set by global climate agreements and domestic legislation as stated by international studies. • The Ellen MacArthur Foundation showed that the circular economy can tackle 45% of global GHG emissions11. • GIZ calculated that current commitments would only help to cut 40% of the total needed reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions while the circular economy could help reach 50% of the gap that remains12. However, approaches based on the decarbonisation of processes are not enough, as carbon is either built into the products themselves and then released at their end-of-life (e.g. plastics) or is core to the process chemistry of their production (such as for primary steel in blast furnaces or for cement, and more generally in the manufacture of the majority of basic metals, materials and chemicals). Thus, it is equally important to make more of the materials and products already produced and in use. targets (e.g. in NDCs) set by global climate agreements and domestic legislation as stated by international studies.harmonisation in statistics, fiscal, economic and monetary policies, and efforts toward financial autonomy of RECs and Member States.

Read the full report.

Continental Circular Economy Action Plan for Africa (2024-2034) (EN)
Continental Circular Economy Action Plan for Africa (2024-2034) (FR)