Zakia Khattabi

Zakia Khattabi, Belgian Federal Minister of Climate, the Environment, Sustainable Development and Green Deal. Mrs. Zakia Khattabi started her political career as a militant with a passion for social phenomena. She became a politician for the Belgian French-speaking Green party Ecolo; first as leader of the Senate faction (2009), later as a Member of Parliament (2014). Her parliamentary work was devoted to the Justice, Interior and Equal Opportunities Committees. In 2015 Zakia Khattabi was elected co-chair of her party, a task she fulfilled during 5 years before being appointed federal Minister of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and Green Deal in 2020. As a Minister she attaches great importance to the “One Health” concept in all her policies, acknowledging the crucial link between the health of humans, animals, and our environment. She is also strongly convinced of the need to ensure that the ecological transition is also a social just transition. On the international scene, she acted as EU negotiator both on the mitigation work programme at the Climate COP27 as well as on targets and goals at the Biodiversity COP 15.