Search Climate Insights Directory

The report evaluates how national, provincial, city, and corporate entities in South Africa incorporate social justice into their net zero commitments. It finds significant disparities in ambition and implementation, with wealthy urban centres leading and less affluent provinces lagging. While the financial sector and some state-owned enterprises show strong just transition frameworks, many private companies and multinational corporations rely on vague offsetting strategies with limited socio-economic integration.

Dar es Salaam is one of Africa's fastest-growing cities and Tanzania's economic hub, though it faces significant challenges in infrastructure and governance. While the city's GDP is growing and it leads the country in startups and telecommunications, it is characterized by high levels of informality, with 70% of the population living in informal settlements. Public services such as water, sanitation, and waste management are underperforming, and the city is highly vulnerable to flooding and urban heat. Governance is heavily centralized, with local authorities relying on the national government for approximately 75% to 90% of their revenue, severely limiting their fiscal autonomy and ability to address local needs.

The report provides a comprehensive profile of Luanda, highlighting its rapid population growth, extreme economic inequality, and a highly centralised governance structure. While the city has benefited from oil wealth, significant service delivery gaps persist, particularly in housing, water, and sanitation for those in informal settlements. The report notes that Luanda is one of the most congested cities globally and faces increasing climate risks, including flooding and sea-level rise.

The Maputo metropolitan area, with a population of 2.9 million, serves as Mozambique's primary economic and political hub but faces significant challenges in service delivery and infrastructure. While the city shows economic growth and improving health indices, it is characterized by high levels of informal settlements, inadequate sanitation, and a fragmented local government system with limited functional autonomy. Key infrastructure projects like the Maputo-Katembe bridge have improved connectivity, but the region remains one of the poorest primary cities in the SADC region, with a heavy reliance on charcoal for cooking and a high prevalence of waterborne diseases among children.

The document defines ring-fencing as a limitation on the consolidation of income and deductions across different projects or activities for tax purposes. It argues that while ring-fencing can discourage investment in marginal ore bodies and increase compliance costs, it is essential for capturing economic rents, preventing permanent revenue loss from unsuccessful exploration, and mitigating BEPS practices. The guide recommends ring-fencing by mining licence area and suggests that profit-based taxes like Resource Rent Tax (RRT) and Additional Profit Tax (APT) must be ring-fenced to be effective. It also provides technical recommendations on apportioning indirect and general expenditures, suggesting that capital expenditure (CapEx) is a more effective allocation key than production volumes to avoid tax deferral.

The document examines the use of ring-fencing—the limitation of consolidating income and deductions across different mining projects or activities—as a tool for governments to ensure timely tax collection and protect the tax base. It analyzes the trade-offs between accelerating state revenue and potentially disincentivizing investment, particularly in marginal deposits. The guide provides detailed design options, such as ring-fencing by mining license area, activity type (upstream vs. downstream), or specific project, and offers recommendations on allocating indirect costs and managing transfer pricing risks. It also discusses exceptions for unsuccessful exploration costs to balance revenue goals with the need to attract exploration investment.

The document examines 'ring-fencing'—the practice of limiting the consolidation of revenues and deductions for different activities or projects undertaken by the same taxpayer—as a tool for governments to protect the mining tax base. It analyzes the trade-offs between accelerating public revenue and potentially discouraging investment, particularly in marginal deposits. The guide details various design options, such as ring-fencing by mining license area, activity (upstream vs. downstream), or separating mining from non-mining activities. It also provides practical recommendations on allocating indirect and general expenses, managing national transfer pricing risks, and handling permanent losses from unsuccessful exploration to balance revenue needs with investment incentives.

The report presents findings from the 2025 IPIE Expert Survey, highlighting a growing pessimism about the future of the information environment. It identifies the availability of accurate information and diverse voices as essential for a healthy environment, while citing lack of platform accountability as a primary threat. The document also examines the mixed impact of social media, the negative perceptions of generative AI, and the increasing barriers faced by researchers, particularly regarding funding and academic freedom.

The 2025/26 Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index ranks 181 countries, with Denmark scoring highest (.939) and Afghanistan lowest (.279). The report highlights a global stagnation or decline in women's status, coinciding with a historic peak in armed conflict. In 2024, 676 million women lived within 50 kilometers of armed conflict, a 74 percent increase since 2010. While developed countries generally lead the rankings, significant improvements were noted in fragile states like Congo and South Sudan. The report emphasizes the disproportionate impact of conflict on women, citing severe humanitarian crises in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, Myanmar, and Ethiopia, and calls for urgent investment in women to foster peaceful and resilient societies.

The report details the G20's shifting focus on food security from 2020 to 2025, highlighting key declarations and initiatives from various presidencies. It compares G20 efforts with G7 initiatives and other global actors like the FAO and WFP, while outlining South Africa's specific priorities for its 2024-2025 G20 presidency, including inclusive market participation and climate resilience.

The paper provides a comparative analysis of green industrial policies in Brazil and South Africa, focusing on solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind energy. It argues that while market-based mechanisms like auctions attract investment, state-led industrial policies—including localisation requirements and concessional finance—are essential for domestic technological upgrading and job creation. Brazil is highlighted for its relative success in building a domestic wind turbine supply chain through the BNDES and PROINFA, whereas South Africa's progress via the REIPPPP has been hindered by institutional resistance from the state utility Eskom and grid infrastructure bottlenecks. The author concludes that a just transition requires aligning energy procurement with long-term industrial strategies, investing in grid modernization, and leveraging multilateral platforms like BRICS and the G20 to facilitate technology transfer.

The document examines the socio-economic challenges of the energy transition in South Africa and Brazil, focusing on the gap between decarbonisation goals and the actual reskilling of vulnerable workforces. In South Africa, the transition is complicated by a heavy reliance on coal for electricity and high unemployment, while Brazil faces challenges in balancing its clean energy mix with high emissions from agriculture and deforestation. Both nations struggle with structural inequality and the need for robust social protection systems to ensure that the shift to green industries does not exacerbate existing poverty or exclude informal workers.

The Production Gap Report 2025 finds that governments are planning more fossil fuel production than in 2023, with projected 2030 levels exceeding 1.5°C-consistent pathways by over 120%. While some countries are advancing clean energy transitions, 17 of 20 profiled major producers still plan to increase the production of at least one fossil fuel by 2030, undermining global climate commitments.

The study analyzes riskification in climate change adaptation (CCA) across four European cities, finding that while local factors like risk culture and technocratic governance create distinct variations, they collectively tend to depoliticize climate risks. This emphasis on technocratic risk management often overshadows broader societal implications and hinders the transformative, innovative strategies needed to address complex climate challenges.

The document details the history and global expansion of Bogota's Ciclovía, a weekly event closing 127 kilometers of roads to cars. It examines how this model inspired similar programs like CicLAvia in Los Angeles, Ciclodia in Lima, and Open Streets Cape Town, highlighting their roles in promoting sustainable transport, social cohesion, and local economic growth.

The research paper examines the gap between constitutional human rights declarations and actual implementation within BRICS nations. It argues that the organisation, now expanded to include several non-democratic states, may function as a shield for autocratic regimes to avoid Western-led human rights sanctions while pursuing economic and geopolitical influence. The author highlights systemic violations across member states, including democratic backsliding in Brazil and India, war crimes in Russia, state-sponsored forced labour in China, and systemic corruption and xenophobia in South Africa, concluding that BRICS members often instrumentalise human rights rhetoric to assert regional dominance.

The document analyzes the synergy between NAPs and NDCs, proposing a continuum of alignment from 'no alignment' to 'full alignment'. It finds that while most countries exhibit partial alignment, the timing of document submission significantly impacts coherence. It urges countries to use the 2025 NDC update to integrate detailed NAP findings, including costs and capacity gaps, to improve adaptation ambition and attract international finance.

The document analyzes the degree of alignment between NAPs and NDCs, categorizing countries into 'no alignment', 'partial alignment', and 'full alignment'. It finds that while 82% of countries with multisectoral NAPs reference the NAP process in their NDCs, most (68%) only achieve partial alignment. The briefing argues that the 2025 NDC update is a critical opportunity to use NAPs as operational vehicles to implement high-level NDC goals, improve the quality of adaptation data, and communicate financial and capacity needs to the international community.

The report assesses the deployment of Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and Renewable Energy Auction (REA) policies in Kenya, identifying significant gaps in stakeholder awareness, communication, and financial de-risking. While Kenya has strong technical capacity and a high renewable energy grid mix, the transition from FIT to REA has been hampered by bureaucratic processes and a lack of inclusive policy formulation. The authors recommend establishing a centralized body for REA bidding, enhancing stakeholder engagement with research institutions, and implementing robust financial incentives like tax credits and guarantees to attract private investment and achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2030.

The CCPI 2025 reports that while 61 of 64 assessed countries increased their renewable energy share over five years, the top three ranks remain vacant as no country performs well enough to meet Paris Agreement goals. Denmark ranks 4th, while oil and gas producers like Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Russia are the lowest performers. The G20, responsible for over 75% of global emissions, shows poor overall performance with only the UK and India ranking as high performers.