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Climate Action Professionals Zambia (CAPZ) has taken legal action against the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) and the Attorney General, accusing them of failing to operationalise statutory climate and environmental financing mechanisms.
In a petition before the Constitutional Court, CAPZ is seeking an order compelling ZEMA to operationalise the Environment Fund established under the Environmental Management Act No. 12 of 2011.
It also wants the Attorney General compelled to implement the Green Economy and Climate Change Fund established under the Green Economy and Climate Change Act No. 18 of 2024.
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The petitioner argued that the continued failure to operationalise the two funds undermines efforts to address environmental degradation and climate change, with direct implications for citizens’ constitutional rights.
CAPZ stated that the Environmental Management Act was enacted to promote integrated environmental management, environmental protection and conservation, as well as the sustainable utilisation of natural resources.
According to the petition, Section 95(1) of the Act established the Environment Fund, while Section 97 provides that the fund is intended to finance measures aimed at preventing, mitigating and restoring environmental damage.
However, CAPZ alleged that ZEMA had failed to operationalise the fund despite the law having been in force for more than a decade.
The organisation further submits that the Green Economy and Climate Change Act, which came into force in December 2024, established the Green Economy and Climate Change Fund under Section 34(1) to finance climate change and green economy interventions.
CAPZ contended that this fund had also not been operationalised.
The petitioner is asking the Constitutional Court to declare that access to a clean, safe and healthy environment is inseparable from the constitutional right to life guaranteed under Article 12(1) of the Constitution.
Among the reliefs sought, CAPZ wants the court to declare the alleged failure by ZEMA and the Attorney General to operationalise the two funds unconstitutional and to issue orders compelling their implementation.
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