Digital Press Briefing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Commitments to Africa

Listen to or download the audio here .

MODERATOR:  Good morning to everyone from the U.S. Department of State’s Africa Regional Media Hub.  I would like to welcome our participants logging in from across the continent and thank all of you for joining this discussion.  Today, we are very pleased to be joined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Michael S. Regan, on the last day of his mission to Mozambique and Ghana.  Administrator Regan will close – discuss the commitments that the EPA is making to share solutions on a range of environmental priorities in Africa, including initiatives to protect clean air, encourage the responsible mining of critical minerals, improve recycling of materials from plastics and electronic waste, as well as collaboration between schools in America and Ghana to foster cultural and environmental exchanges for information.  Following brief remarks, EPA Administrator Regan will take questions from participating journalists.  Administrator Regan joins us from Accra, Ghana.

We will begin today’s call with opening remarks from the administrator and then we will turn to your questions.  We will try to get to as many of them as we can during the briefing.

As a reminder, today’s call is on the record.  And with that, I will turn it over to Administrator Regan.

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  Good morning, everyone.  It’s an honor to join you all today.

Since the very start of my time as administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, I’ve been focused on tackling the pollution challenges that transcend geographical boundaries and disproportionately impact underserved communities – from climate change, to air and water quality concerns, to the recycling of plastics, and many others.  

As I close out my first mission to Africa, I couldn’t be more invigorated to keep pushing forward.

As the first Black man to lead the EPA, the significance and weight of this mission is not lost on me.

Not only is Africa the birthplace of mankind, but it’s a beautiful rich land with culture, diversity, and extraordinary natural wonders.

It’s the land of my ancestors, the soul of humanity – the genesis of civilization. 

I’m honored to represent President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the Biden-Harris administration – responding directly to the President’s call to expand substantive and meaningful partnerships with African countries, institutions, and people across the continent.

My time here has been enlightening, humbling, and truly remarkable.

I’d like to share a few announcements from this trip that underscore EPA’s commitment to sharing our expertise with the people of Africa, as well as build greater partnerships and forge solutions together.

On my first day in Mozambique, I was proud to join Ambassador Vrooman to announce a new air quality monitor at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo.  Maputo has now joined nearly 80 U.S. embassies and consulates across the world to monitor air quality and display it on EPA’s AirNow website – empowering communities to make informed decisions about their health and safety. 

EPA will also work with the Mozambican Government officials to provide technical assistance surrounding the use of its AERMOD air modeling software, which uses state-of-the-art technology for air quality monitoring.

On this trip, I learned about how mining operations are impacting the environment and local communities.  And EPA announced that it will provide technical assistance and guidance to help the Mozambican Government and civil society more meaningfully engage in public processes around responsible mining operations. 

I also had the pleasure of meeting local advocates leading clean-up efforts on the Macaneta Beach in Mozambique to address coastal erosion.  EPA experts will partner with our U.S. Geological Society counterparts to host a webinar with a community in Mozambique that is struggling with the impacts of coastal erosion. 

After taking a tour of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Cookstove Lab, EPA announced it will support a conference for lab and field research on cookstoves, as well as provide technical assistance to the lab.

EPA will help build capacity for e-waste management by featuring Ghana at an upcoming International E-Waste Management Network webinar and by providing support for an e-waste technical expert from the Government of Ghana to participate in an annual IEMN meeting.

And finally, one that hits close to home for me:  EPA, in partnership with the Peace Corps, will develop a twinning program between schools in my home state of North Carolina and here in Ghana to foster cultural and environmental exchanges of information.

Reflecting back, I’ve seen and experienced so much on this mission:

A water tower that uses solar energy to provide clean water to 8,000 people in surrounding areas.

A “Glass House” made of bottles that have been picked up from the nearby beach, helping to educate and inspire children about the impact of marine litter.

A woman-owned biomedical manufacturing company called BioMec that repurposes plastic collected from Mozambique’s shores to create custom prosthetics.

I went to Bazaruto Archipelago National Park and met with waste collectors who have removed over 500 tons of waste and turned it into bricks for infrastructure projects.

A visit to the Parco facility in Vilankulo to learn about how innovative solutions to remove waste from the ocean can have a profound impact on improving the lives of children and all people.

I visited Electro Recycling Ghana, which has developed an innovative approach to refurbish, reuse, and recycle electronic waste.

A liquified petroleum gas bottling plant that is helping contribute to Ghana’s goal of bringing access to liquified petroleum gas to 50 percent of Ghanaians by 2030.

I visited the community of Jamestown with Her Excellency the Second Lady of Ghana Samira Bawumia, to meet with mothers who are using cleaner, more efficient cookstoves to put food on the table and provide for their families.

Later today, I will visit Environment 360, to meet with young activists and entrepreneurial women that are uplifting their communities.

I will also see an energy facility turning coconut husks and shells into clean, affordable charcoal.

And finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t speak personally about my experiences at the home and final resting place of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, where I had the opportunity to lay wreaths in his honor with my friend, NAACP President Derrick Johnson.  Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois was a trailblazer and an extraordinary leader, and his work has inspired me and countless others.

Another impactful and deeply powerful moment was visiting Cape Coast Castle.  There, President Johnson and I laid wreaths at the site that once served as a holding facility for enslaved Africans before they were transported to the Americas.

In closing, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to visit both of these remarkable countries and will forever be inspired by the incredible hospitality I experienced and the kind people I met along the way.

It’s been my honor, and truly an experience that I will take with me forever.

The Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring all people have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and an opportunity to lead a healthy life – and we won’t let up until that statement is realized in every corner of the world.

Thank you so much.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Administrator Regan.  We will now begin the question-and-answer portion of today’s briefing.  

Before we get started, I did want to just ask that the EPA has recently announced a National Environmental Youth Advisory Council.  Can you say how – describe how this is organized and whether that model could work in the countries that you visited in Africa?

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  Absolutely.  You know, we realize that every major social movement in the Americas and around the world are typically led by young people.  Young people have so many ideas and so much energy.  And as administrator, I wanted to harness the ideas, the energy, the intellectual capacity of young people all across the United States.  So we created a 16-member federal advisory council made up solely by young people ages 16 to 29 that are as diverse as our country is.  And they will be providing expertise and ideas to me as administrator at least three to four times per year during public meetings, and I in turn will incorporate their ideas and their thoughts into regulations, policies, and advice that I give to President Biden as it relates to climate change, recycling and reuse, air quality, water quality, and cleaning up many of our polluted lands. 

I’ve spoken with both the ambassador at – in Mozambique, U.S. ambassador in Mozambique, the U.S. ambassador here in Ghana, about this program.  And we believe that there are opportunities to create similar programs in both countries and have some connection amongst these councils as we continue to fight for clean air and clean water and combating the climate crisis all across the world.

MODERATOR:  Super.  We have a question that has come in in advance from Mr. Lloyd Rabaya; he’s a freelance journalist in Zimbabwe.  He asks:  “What is the EPA’s stance on carbon credits in Africa?”

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  You, know we support a well-monitored, high-integrity carbon credit program that meets the strong safeguards that allows for the integrity to remain – to help developing countries speed up their transition away from fossil fuels, but also to support land sector transitions to halt and reverse emissions from deforestation.  So responsible, high-integrity carbon markets represent what we believe to be a potentially strong, promising channel to unlock significant capital to help support decarbonization, and to help limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees and leverage private sector action.

I’d also like to say that we commend Ghana for having pioneered the generation of high-integrity credits, and we support Ghana’s trailblazing jurisdictional REDD+ efforts through the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility’s Carbon Fund, and more recently, the LEAF Coalition.  Just recently in Dubai, Ghana was one of the first two countries to sign an emissions reduction purchase agreement under the LEAF Coalition, which was launched on Earth Day in April of 2021 by the Biden administration along with other bilateral and corporate partners.

So yes, we absolutely support well-monitored, high-integrity carbon credit programs. 

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  We have a question that has come in live from – just one moment, Ashley did not put her outlet.  I’m trying to find this.  From Ashley Okwuosa, I believe from Nigeria.  “The EPA mentioned the inclusion of an air quality monitor in the Maputo Embassy.  My understanding is that that is a monitor that also exists in the Accra Embassy and currently lists the air quality in the area as, quote, ‘very unhealthy.’  Is there anything that can be done in particular to address air quality in these regions beyond monitoring?”

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  Well, we recognize that monitoring and the transparency of data is very critical so that each community can understand what the air quality impacts are, and that helps us to determine the source of that air quality pollution.  It is at that point that different communities, different jurisdictions may have different modes of pollution.  And we believe that our governments together can design programs to tackle those sources of emissions.  Whether those emissions are coming from – pollution are coming from vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles or vehicles in a dense urban environment, or whether some of those air emissions are coming from specific facilities that are stationary, being able to measure those air emissions is very important.  Determining where they’re coming from is very important.  And then that gives us the opportunity to work towards mitigating those emissions by tackling those unique sources with programs specifically designed for those sources. 

So yes, we believe that we’re making tremendous progress there, and these high-integrity monitors that are connected to an international monitoring system that is fed by EPA’s resources is really an excellent way for multiple countries to exchange their data, identify and highlight the problems that they’re facing, and then begin to share what they are doing and what we all are doing to combat air quality issues at our local levels.

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  One of the questions comes in live from Maputo, Mozambique.  We are really honored to have six – sorry, eight journalists there at the embassy.  Berta Madime from Mozambique asks:  “What is the scope of the initiative to mitigate the coastal erosion in Macaneta, in Maputo?”  

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  Well, there’s a tremendous effort being led by a number of national nonprofits that are based in Maputo.  Number one, we saw a number of organizations or individuals contributing to the repairing of the coastline using techniques such as large tires sprinkled in with the planting of native plants.  I had the chance to walk along the coastline and see that work in action to get a feel for where the coastline once was, but how it has been restored by these natural – a combination of natural and manmade barriers.  

So creating these natural buffers using native plants and native trees, along with materials like tires, are going to be extremely helpful.  And as we see the different combinations of techniques that are being used, we would like to continue to provide partnership and technical assistance on how to scale up these programs, and also how to think on an international level how we give access to these local nonprofits to potential international resources where there are similar activities going on around the world.  

So very inspired by the work that is mainly being done by volunteers, because the community recognizes the importance of preserving their environment, the threat that coastal erosion and sea-level rise has – not only harmful from a physical standpoint and a natural resources standpoint, but from an economic standpoint.  So I was very delighted to be hosted by the nonprofits focused on this work in particular. 

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question is also out of our Maputo Embassy.  Danissa Moiane of TV Miramar:  “Is there an effort to work with schools in Mozambique similar to the initiative in Ghana?  If so, how will it be assured that women are included?”

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  Well, we are piloting the twinning program between the schools in my home state in North Carolina and here in Ghana, and that is to foster cultural and environmental exchanges of information, and we absolutely are pursuing gender equity and empowering women.  That is a priority here in Ghana.  After we pilot it here in Ghana and work out all the kinks, then we will begin to explore other opportunities across the continent of Africa.  

So we want to be sure that we establish it and set it up well and that it’s working efficiently and meeting all of our goals, and then the exploration for pushing to other countries will start. 

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  We have a live question from Kizito Cudjoe from Ghana.  I’m trying to see if I have her outlet.  I do not.  Sorry, she’s with Business and Financial Times, Ghana, and they ask:  “To what extent is the EPA actively engaging with global partners, particularly in regions like Ghana affected by illegal mining, to address environmental challenges and ensure sustainable water resources for present and future generations?” 

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  Well, on this trip I’ve had the opportunity to see very up close and learn how mining operations are impacting the environments in local communities.  And with the ministers and other governmental leaders, EPA has announced that we will provide technical assistance and guidance to help the Mozambican Government and the civil society more meaningfully engage the public processes and share some of our experiences around mining operations and how they are regulated in the United States.  This is an area where we recognize that many of these critical minerals will be the supply chain of the advanced technology to combat the climate crisis – many of these clean energy technologies. 

So we believe that the mining is necessary but not at the expense of communities and not at the expense of natural resources and the environment.  It is very important that we have strong regulatory programs designed to oversee these mining operations, but equally as important, very strong programs designed to allow for the public to be engaged in these mining projects have input and have these operations respond in kind to some of the needs of these communities.  We hope to partner here in Africa on these issues because we have some learnings and experience that we believe will be helpful. 

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Our next question in here also came in the chat – lot of interest in the chat, which is great – from Leopoldo Agapito from Radio Mozambique.  He asks:  “What is the priority of the United States and Mozambique this year in terms of environment?”  And he also questions that, “If environmental education” – he notes that behavioral change is critical.  He asks:  “Is there any possibility of training for journalists who work with environmental issues?”

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  Well, when we spoke with the leadership of the Mozambican Government, we specifically focused on a few topics.  The first was ensuring that we do a proper exchange of intellectual capacity around mining.  We also agreed to focus on emissions reductions from methane operations.  We talked a lot about the importance of a circular economy as it relates to waste and plastics in particular.  And we also spoke about youth engagement around sustainability and the environment as it relates to those topics, but also many more.  

An underpinning aspect of all of these categories is the importance of transparency for our communities, for our young people, for those who report on this – our journalists.  And so, yes, as part of the overall design, we want to do a better job collectively around the world in articulating very clearly how our governments are working together, what those priorities are, and how can we encourage the public processes that allow for as much community engagement as possible.  

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  I know your time is short.  I’d like to, if possible, just ask one last question.  We have so many questions.  People are so interested in this.  We have a question still out of Mozambique asking – Dalia Langa from STV, she asks:  “What are the main initiatives in combatting climate change in Mozambique and Ghana?”  

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  Well, there are a number of ways that both countries are leading in this area.  I’d like to start with recycling.  Both countries have recognized that methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases that we are combatting.  And as these materials are landfilled, we understand that landfills are significant contributors to methane.  So the recycling of waste and the circular economy approach to plastics and other waste is extremely important as we combat the climate crisis.  

We are also collectively looking at numerous ways that we can deploy technologies – such as solar energy, battery technologies – that can be used instead of traditional fossil fuels to help ensure that we get clean water delivered all across the country; that as we generate power, for instance, with the brilliant people that are looking at recycling materials for prosthetics, the power that generates that extremely well-thought-out social good can be done with clean, renewable energy.  And we want to focus on the climate crisis and clean, renewable energy and recycling, but we also want to capture the co-benefits of a healthy land by not having so much pollution in these communities and all of our communities, and also ensuring that they’re not burned and creating additional air quality impacts that are harming our children and our families.

I was extremely delighted to be able to visit Jamestown with her excellency the second lady of Ghana, to see how clean cooking, clean cookstoves will transform so many communities, not just in Ghana but across the continent.  Our women and young women are cooking for hours at a time, inhaling these toxic fumes from charcoal and from wood, but the clean cooking transition is something that we know can contribute to greater air quality benefits, healthier lifestyles for many of the families here.  And so those are the types of solutions that we’re trying to couple together so that we are protecting the planet by protecting public health at the same time for everyone.  No matter where you live or how much money you have, everyone deserves clean air, clean water, and the right to live a healthy life.  

MODERATOR:  Thank you very much.  I apologize to all our journalists, but that is all the time the administrator has this morning.  Administrator, again, do you have any final words for our journalists? 

ADMINISTRATOR REGAN:  I am just so appreciative of what I’ve learned during this mission.  President Biden held a U.S.-African Leaders Summit about two years ago, and there he pledged to strengthen the partnerships between our countries and continent to help combat the climate crisis, to help promote environmental justice across the world; to ensure that no matter where you live, no matter what community you come from, assuring our members of the community that you have a right to clean air, clean water, and a healthier lifestyle.  And I’ve seen so much entrepreneurship and so much energy in Mozambique and Ghana that gives me another level of hope that there are so many opportunities for partnership and that none of us are in this alone.  And so I am just so thankful for the welcoming environment in both countries.  I’m thankful for those who took time out of their busy schedules to talk about ideas and how we can have the best ideas win to tackle some very hard topics.  But together I’m confident that we can win the day.

MODERATOR:  Thank you so much.  That concludes today’s briefing.  I want to thank EPA Administrator Michael Regan and thank all the journalists for participating.  We will post a transcript of the briefing on our website.  In the meantime, if you have any questions about today’s briefing, you may contact the Africa Regional Media Hub at AFMediaHub@state.gov.  Thank you.

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