AfCFTA: The environmental case for the continental free trade area.

The climate talks (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt this November come at a time when momentum on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is picking up with the recent launch of the guided trade initiative - an initial pilot of eight African countries trading under the treaty's preferential terms.

The AfCFTA seeks to create a single market of 1.3 billion people, with an estimated GDP of $2.6 trillion. According to the World Bank, it could lift 30 million people from extreme poverty.

At the same time, in a recent interview with Africa Renewal, Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank, maintains that since COP27 is Africa's COP, it must address Africa's climate challenges.

From an AfCFTA perspective, what might an African-led response to climate change look like?

To achieve sustainable development, Africa needs to quicken the pace of industrialisation and reduce its reliance on manufactured imports. Studies repeatedly show that the manufacturing sector will be the main beneficiary of the AfCFTA.

Africa accounts for only a tiny share of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions - at below 4% - yet, as acknowledged by the 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, the African continental will be most negatively affected by climate change. That reality is already painfully evident in East Africa where, following four consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall, the Horn is facing a catastrophic drought, the worst in 40 years.

Free-trade agreements like the AfCFTA are not usually associated with climate-friendly policies, as many people correctly perceive trade as a major contributor to carbon emissions. According to the World Trade Organisation, GHGs released by the production and transport of traded goods and services represent on average 20-30% of global GHG emissions. The international transport sector alone generates 12% of emissions.

With the dramatic growth of global trade since the 1950s, demand across the world for increased choice and variety of goods and services knows few limits. For instance, air transport for low-value perishable goods has become economically viable.

Nowadays, throughout the year, supermarkets in high-income countries stock fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers from around the world, opening windows of opportunity for suppliers in countries with a warmer climate or those in the southern hemisphere.

Technological changes - the much trumpeted 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' -...