Greening the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement: Legal Levers and Limitations

In a world striving to attain sustainable development objectives in the context of a climate emergency, international trade agreements need to be examined through an environmental lens given that previous research shows that greenhouse gas emissions increase hand in hand with free trade. Specifically, with the 2019 African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) in force, the African continent is now home to the world's largest regional free trade area. AfCFTA is anticipated to increase both trade and income per capita across the African continent, so the overarching research question of this project is how can AfCFTA be harnessed into a tool that boosts economic growth in an environmentally sustainable manner? This research seeks to benefit climate and trade policy makers at the AfCFTA Secretariat and national African governments as they navigate aglobal climate emergency.