Consultancy to Develop a Strategic Environmental Assessment of the AfCFTA

1. Background Africa accounts for only a small share of global emissions yet it is expected to be more severely affected by climate change and environmental degradation than any other continent given its size, geographical position and capacity to adapt. Additionally, there is significant evidence that climate change and the environment can have detrimental effects on trade in Africa and thus it is imperative to develop mechanisms to mitigate these impacts. Conversely, trade can also help mitigate environmental degradation and drive an adaptation toward reducing adverse environmental effects. Trade offers enormous potential for environmental cooperation in Africa, within the frame of the landmark African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA opens this opportunity and can help deliver on the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on climate action. In the context of increasing intra-African trade and in line with the priorities of the AfCFTA Secretariat, ATPC is developing a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the AfCFTA. To this end, UNECA-ATPC (RITD) seeks to procure the services of a credible Trade and Environmental Consultant, to develop a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the AfCFTA. ATPC has already produced a preliminary report focused on assessing the climate change dimension of the SEA, which will be made available to the selected Consultant. Considering that the environmental opportunities and challenges that trade presents are of varying degrees and dimensions, it is imperative that the SEA covers all the major elements of the environment broadly. Simultaneously, an expanded SEA will evaluate the positive and negative environmental impacts that emerge not only from trade itself but also from the expansion of economic activity the trade area will bring. The SEA will seek to explore potential entry points for reflecting its findings and recommendations into the AfCFTA framework and informing its operations. In this context, the SEA will also provide an assessment of Africa’s institutional capabilities at the continental, regional and national levels for addressing environmental considerations within the AfCFTA framework and the desireability and feasibility of negotiating environment-specific instruments or provisions as part of the AfCFTA package. Finally, ATPC wishes to develop materials to communicate the SEA’s content and findings to inform policymakers and stakeholders about its recommendations through pamphlets, infographics, and educational documents that can be used as input for informational courses and communicative to various stakeholders. 2. Development Objective The overarching objective of this assignment is to deepen the understanding of the environmental implications presented by the AfCFTA. The output of this initiative will build on existing ATPC work that focuses on environmental aspects of the AfCFTA and broaden and deepen its reach to cover all the major aspects of the environment as they relate to trade. The SEA will help inform policymakers and stakeholders of relevant environmental issues that may offer learnings for the AfCFTA and suggest methods for mainstreaming environmental considerations into trade policy and international commitmentsat continental, regional and national levels. 3. Immediate Objective The immediate objectives of this work will be to gain a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between trade and environment in general, and the environmental sustainability challenges and opportunities presented by AfCFTA, in particular, with a view to identifying policy options and recommendations that enable Africa to implement the AfCFTA as a platform for environmentally sustainable development.