АЗІАТСЬКИЙ ТА АФРИКАНСЬКИЙ НАПРЯМИ ЕКОЛОГІЧНОЇ ДИПЛОМАТІЇ ЄС

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of environmental diplomacy of the European Union in Asia and Africa. The EU is the leader in the development of international environmental activities. The uniqueness of the EU, compared to other countries in the world, is that its environmental diplomacy is implemented in most regions of the world, including Asia and Africa. All this determines the relevance of the study of Asian and African areas of EU environmental diplomacy. The Asian vector of EU environmental diplomacy is implemented through various programs, projects, through the Asia-Europe Meeting platform (informal process of dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe, launched in 1996) and the EU-CA platform on environment and water cooperation (High-level conferences in Rome in 2009 as a basis for EU-CA cooperation in the field of water and environment based on the EU Strategy for Central Asia agreed with the CA countries). The African continent is particularly vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation. Food security, sustainable water supply and extreme weather events (floods, arid deserts) are key issues that require joint efforts by Africa and the EU. The article reveals the EU-funded Regeneration of Africa program, which began in 2017. The program aims to improve livelihoods, strengthen food security and strengthen resilience to climate change, while restoring degraded ecosystem services in eight countries. The EU pursues its external environmental goals in Africa, namely, high-level political dialogue in the form of a Joint Africa-EU Strategy, capacity building through development projects and programs, and manipulating utility calculations in the Economic Partnership Agreement. The environment and climate change have become more important in EU-Africa relations over the last decade. However, the EU’s attempts to pursue its foreign policy through high-level political dialogue are hampered by many of the same weaknesses that undermine its broader relations with Africa.