Africa: Environment

The EU Packaging Regulation introduces sweeping reforms to packaging and packaging waste legislation across all Member States, establishing requirements for the entire lifecycle of packaging from labelling to environmental sustainability. With ambitious targets to reduce packaging waste per capita by 15% by 2040 and mandatory recyclability standards taking effect from 2030, businesses involved in product packaging face significant compliance obligations that will fundamentally reshape how they design, manuf

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has fundamentally transformed packaging from a waste management issue into a comprehensive product compliance framework affecting manufacturers worldwide. Japanese exporters and other non-EU businesses must now navigate complex requirements spanning conformity documentation, extended producer responsibility, and supply chain obligations that vary by role and route to market.

Environmental justice in Nigeria extends far beyond oil spills and conservation, touching every sector from mining to waste management. Yet persistent myths continue to shape how businesses assess risk, how regulators enforce compliance, and how communities understand their legal rights. What are the seven most dangerous misconceptions about environmental justice that could be costing your organization in regulatory exposure, investor confidence, and stakeholder trust?

The European Union continues to advance its energy and climate policy framework through significant regulatory developments spanning electricity balancing platforms, carbon market reforms, and infrastructure modernization. Recent actions by EU institutions address critical issues including carbon leakage protection for energy-intensive sectors, renewable energy auction criteria, and the expansion of energy security measures, while enforcement proceedings target Member States for delayed transposition of key

The European Commission has introduced a comprehensive rating scheme for data centers and launched a consultation on minimum performance standards that could fundamentally reshape how EU facilities measure and report sustainability metrics. These initiatives establish electronic labels displaying key performance indicators like Power Usage Effectiveness and Water Usage Effectiveness, while exploring mandatory minimum standards that may require substantial operational changes and investment in cooling, heat-

The European Commission has proposed significant revisions to the EU Emissions Trading System that would expand carbon pricing requirements to certain international aviation routes while maintaining exemptions for flights to major markets like the U.S. and China. Beginning in 2029, the proposal would subject commercial departures from European Economic Area airports to destinations within 5,000 km of Frankfurt to EU ETS requirements, alongside all private business jet operations, while simultaneously streng

A leading Nigerian environmental justice advocate calls on presidential candidates to prioritize the Niger Delta's environmental recovery, proposing the establishment of a statutory authority to implement decades of unfulfilled recommendations. The tragic death of Joy Amos from gas seepage in Bille Kingdom underscores the urgent need for coordinated action on pollution, remediation, and accountability in Nigeria's oil-producing region.

A quiet contest is underway across Africa over the housing and use of data, raising a fundamental question: where does African data live, and whose law governs it? As the continent generates a rising share of global digital activity yet hosts only about one percent of the world's data centre capacity, the answer carries real economic and legal weight that will determine who controls, profits from, and bears the costs of Africa's digital future.

Nigeria presented 65 investment projects worth about US$78.5 billion to investors at the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok on 14 October 2026. That figure is what the projects need, not money already committed, and a project that looks fundable in a pitch deck is not yet ready to build. Before any of these projects can lawfully break ground, it has to clear Nigeria’s environmental rules: an environmental impact assessment (EIA) under the EIA Act where the project is likely to significantly affect the environment, approval of that assessment, and the permits NESREA and state agencies enforce.

Gas flaring has been a source of pollution in the Niger Delta region for more than six decades, polluting the atmosphere the soil, and eroding the lives of communities living in one of the most oil-rich regions in Africa. The Nigerian government's efforts at solving this environmental problem have been characterized by delay and capture. The enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 20212 represents the most ambitious legislative attempt yet to bring routine flaring to an end, through an explicit statutory prohibition, mandatory monetisation planning, and a new institutional architecture anchored around the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

Can oil pollution violate fundamental rights under Nigeria's Constitution? This article examines the complex intersection of environmental law and constitutional protections, exploring how Nigerian courts have grappled with whether severe environmental degradation from oil spills can constitute violations of the rights to life and dignity guaranteed in Chapter IV of the Constitution.

Environmental justice extends far beyond basic environmental protection, encompassing fairness, equality, and equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across all communities. Dr Udenna Chukwulobe of Olisa Agbakoba Legal examines widespread misconceptions about environmental justice in Nigeria, from its geographic scope to its relationship with economic development and constitutional rights.