African Energy Leaders Push Back on Global Plastics Treaty, Spotlight Namibia’s Skills-Driven Petroleum Growth

Johannesburg, South Africa | 15 August 2025 — African oil and gas producers are mobilising against the proposed United Nations Treaty on Plastics, warning it could slow economic growth, deter investment, and undermine industrialisation. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) frames the treaty as a structural risk to Africa’s development trajectory, urging governments to reject the current draft and instead align environmental goals with industrial competitiveness and job creation.

Set for negotiation in late 2025, the treaty seeks to limit plastic production and consumption worldwide. While its environmental goals are acknowledged, African industry leaders argue that a uniform global framework could disproportionately impact economies reliant on petrochemicals, manufacturing, and energy-linked sectors. Such restrictions could reduce Africa’s ability to leverage hydrocarbon resources for fiscal stability, local content growth, and value-added production.

The AEC emphasises development sovereignty, calling for policies that prioritise domestic manufacturing, resource-based industrialisation, and workforce empowerment. It points to Namibia’s emerging petroleum industry as an example of how hydrocarbon resources can drive inclusive and sustainable growth.

Namibia’s offshore discoveries have triggered significant investment, backed by policies that expand technical training, strengthen local supply chains, and integrate domestic enterprises into the petroleum value chain. The AEC’s advocacy for Namibia’s youth-led energy future illustrates how a skills-driven approach can combine resource extraction with sustainability principles. This model includes renewable energy integration, environmental safeguards, and climate-conscious planning while building engineering and project management expertise among young professionals.

With Africa’s population projected to double by 2050, energy-intensive sectors like petrochemicals remain vital for manufacturing expansion, infrastructure delivery, and large-scale job creation. The treaty’s restrictions risk limiting these opportunities, increasing dependence on imported goods, and weakening economic self-reliance.

African nations now face a strategic choice: adopt a framework that could limit industrial potential or advance a growth model that merges environmental stewardship with skills-based development. The current state in play of the treaty reflects the broader tussle of interests between sustainability-focused advocacy and African economic reality and progress.