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Paper short abstract:

Please refer to the extended abstract. I had severe technical issues with pasting the short abstract here.

Paper long abstract:

Creating economic blocs amongst the African states was seen as a way of stimulating faster, competitive economic development for the continent. Most of these blocs were conceptualized and birthed when environmental concerns were not a justified discussion area compared to the rising poverty rate in African countries. But Africa continues its remodelling to become a relevant player in the Western-designed globalization canopy by reorganizing the Organization of Africa Unity (OAU) to become the African Union (AU) and creating the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA. The question of how the competing interest for development and environment will shape African trade laws under a globalized market remains a veiled topic not often given concrete talk time in African continental meetings. Sub-regional blocs concentrate more on how a free market regime under AfCFTA can benefit their economies while leaving States to decide how their trade laws may affect their commitments under the Paris Agreement. This paper examines how the sub-regional blocs can play a more decisive role in pursuing a fair-trade deal for African countries with legal instruments that guarantee environmental justice for present and future generations. A critical assessment of the treaties and declarations that make up the legal instruments establishing the trade relationships of the African states per sub-regions intends to understand the extent of the consideration for local and global legal commitments to temperature reduction goals.

Keywords: Africa, Sub-regionalism, Environment, Trade