Preparations for the AU-EU summit offer an opportunity to give AU-EU cooperation on green transitions a new impetus. On the European side, the European Commission has proposed an ambitious agenda to transform the European Union in a carbon-neutral continent by 2050 and to decouple economic growth from resource use. While the Green Deal is first of all a transformative agenda for Europe, it also has important implications for the EU as a global actor and in particular for the EU’s relations with Africa. On the African side, the African Union and African states have launched a number of initiatives to promote a green transition that also allows for poverty reduction and job creation. The AfCFTA shall promote continental economic integration while the Agenda 2063 has ambitious objectives for energy transitions and the AU is currently preparing a new climate strategy. At the same time, the Corona crisis opens fundamental questions about how to move forward with the implementation of the Green Deal.

Against this backdrop, this Online Expert Roundtable took a broad perspective on the Green Deal’s agenda and relevance for the AU-EU partnership. Questions such as how to formulate a joint vision and narrative for a AU-EU sustainability transformation, what socio-economic challenges and opportunities arise from green transitions on both continents and what is the potential of a joint circular economy were discussed.

The event is part of a series of policy briefs and online events ahead of the AU-EU summit, jointly organized by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), and the European Center for Development Policy and Management (ECDPM) with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.