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The document examines the dual-use nature of AI in conflict zones, highlighting its potential to improve early warning systems, scale digital dialogue, and accelerate humanitarian mapping, while warning against risks of surveillance, misinformation, and algorithmic bias. It argues that AI should complement rather than replace human diplomacy and must be governed by human rights principles and local community engagement.

The 2025 IPIE expert survey reveals a growing pessimism regarding the global information environment, with 72% of experts believing it is deteriorating. The document highlights the dual nature of social media—increasing both political polarization and engagement—and reports significant pressures on researchers, including self-censorship and harassment. It advocates for 'epistemic security' through measures such as clear labeling of AI-generated content and regular algorithmic audits.

The policy brief outlines the critical role of maritime transport in Africa's blue economy and the threats posed by climate change, including sea level rise and new global emissions regulations. It advocates for a new continental maritime governance framework to coordinate decarbonisation and resilience efforts. Key recommendations include transforming ports into green logistics hubs, implementing climate risk assessments in infrastructure design, and securing sustainable financing for fleet and port modernisation.

African cities face extreme climate vulnerability, with 83% rated at 'extreme risk', yet they are largely bypassed by the global climate financial architecture. The document highlights that while cities generate 80% of global GDP and are first responders in disasters, they are not parties to international conventions like the UNFCCC. It urges cities to conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments—including non-economic loss and damage—and to leverage city networks and multi-level governance to access the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), the Warsaw International Mechanism, and the Santiago Network. The brief recommends that national governments integrate urban loss and damage into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to improve funding access and implementation.

Nigeria faces a growing threat from improvised landmines in its northeastern region, with casualties quadrupling between 2022 and 2024. Current clearance efforts, managed exclusively by the Nigerian Army, rely on slow and risky manual tools like handheld metal detectors. The document argues that integrating airborne remote sensing and AI—technologies that have shown success in NATO and Harvard University experiments—could accelerate detection and improve safety. However, implementation is hindered by stringent drone regulations from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and state security concerns regarding the dual-use of UAVs. The brief recommends that federal authorities grant special derogations for humanitarian trials and formalize these technologies within the national mine action strategy currently being developed with the ICRC.

The policy brief assesses the failure of the Mozambican government's military-first strategy in Cabo Delgado, noting that despite interventions by Rwanda and SADC, the insurgency persists and has expanded in 2025. It identifies local grievances—including youth unemployment, religious discrimination, and economic displacement—as primary drivers of recruitment. The author advocates for a multi-level dialogue approach involving community leaders and civil society to address these root causes, while critiquing the government's tendency to frame the conflict as 'international terrorism' to avoid negotiation.

The policy brief argues that Africa's maritime security efforts are hindered by institutional fragmentation, chronic underfunding, and a gap between high-level policy and operational capacity. It highlights that while regional bodies like SADC and ECOWAS have made progress, the African Union (AU) lacks a permanent coordinating body and a tested naval component for the African Standby Force. To address this, the authors recommend establishing an African Maritime Security Expert Group, convening a permanent Committee of the Heads of African Navies and Coastguards (CHANS), and conducting the AMANI Africa III maritime exercise to validate naval command-and-control.

The policy brief proposes that Cyprus leverage its unique island profile and Mediterranean position during its 2026 EU Council Presidency to advance EU-level action on water scarcity, climate adaptation, energy security, and transport decarbonisation. Key recommendations include establishing a Mediterranean Resilience Summit, a Water & Climate Security Forum, and an EU-SIDS Compact 2030, while steering legislative processes such as the Energy Security Framework and ETS revisions to support affordability and resilience.

The policy brief highlights the lack of transitional justice mechanisms in Cyprus, where conflict-related trauma and 'ambiguous loss' remain unaddressed. It warns that as older generations pass away, the risk of losing first-hand testimonies increases, leaving future generations to rely on potentially polarizing second-hand narratives. The author proposes a shift from high-level political negotiations toward community-led, trauma-informed initiatives, including memorial spaces, intergenerational dialogue, and the archiving of underrepresented histories from the 1950s to 1970s. The brief draws on international best practices from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Chile to suggest informal, grassroots alternatives to state-level truth commissions.

The document identifies critical areas for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems to mitigate climate risks such as flooding, landslides, and coastal storms in Indonesia. It evaluates three scenarios: unconstrained conservation, infrastructure-impact conservation, and restoration. The analysis reveals that a small percentage of land area provides disproportionately high benefits for millions of people and significant portions of the national road network. Most of these priority areas lie outside existing protected networks, suggesting a need for new regulatory approaches. The brief recommends integrating these findings into national development plans (RPJMN, RPJPN), spatial planning (RTRW), and the 2020-2040 Road Network General Plan, while calling for capacity building and the integration of NbS data into national mapping platforms.

The document outlines the framework for state Clean Electricity Standards (CES), emphasizing that effective policies must be mandatory, technology-inclusive, and ambitious. It contrasts CES with Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) by highlighting the inclusion of clean firm resources like nuclear and carbon capture. The brief details various design options—such as retail sales vs. emission-based standards—and explains how federal incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) reduce implementation costs. It also discusses advanced features like clean capacity standards and hourly matching to accelerate the deployment of long-duration storage and firm clean power.

The document advocates for the integration of a 'gender lens'—defined as business structures and policies that reduce barriers for women and enable their leadership and employment—within low-carbon SMEs. Based on findings from the Gender Equality in a Low Carbon World (GLOW) programme, it asserts that such approaches are successful strategies for business viability, particularly in agriculture and aquaculture value chains.

The document examines how current electricity rate designs in the U.S. often overcharge heat pump users because their peak demand occurs in winter, while grid peaks typically occur in summer. Using data from NIPSCO in Northern Indiana, the brief demonstrates that aligning rates with the actual cost of service could save electrified customers hundreds of dollars annually. It proposes several rate reform options—including seasonal heating rates, time-varying rates, and separate customer classes—while emphasizing the need for affordability measures for low-income households and the long-term evolution of rates as the grid transitions to clean energy.

The document outlines the benefits of a net-zero electricity transition in Canada, noting that the power sector has already reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 60% since 2005. It argues that a clean grid will lower household energy costs, create distributed employment, and improve public health by eliminating pollutants from coal and gas plants. The brief emphasizes that achieving net-zero by 2050 will require doubling or tripling electricity generation to support electrification across all sectors, necessitating coordination between federal, provincial, and territorial governments.

The document examines the phenomenon of carbon leakage, where carbon pricing in one jurisdiction leads to increased emissions in others. It evaluates several mitigation tools, including Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs), carbon cost containment measures (such as free allocations in ETS), subsidies, and product standards, while noting the political and practical hurdles of achieving a coordinated global carbon price.

Egypt is increasingly a destination and transit point for migrants from Africa and the MENA region, while simultaneously seeing a surge in its own citizens emigrating to the EU due to severe economic instability. The document details how Egypt leverages its geopolitical position to secure EU financial support and strategic partnerships, primarily focusing on curbing irregular migration and managing refugees. It highlights the critical impact of IMF-mandated austerity, currency devaluation, and climate change—specifically sea-level rise in the Nile Delta and water security threats from Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam—as primary drivers of displacement and emigration.

The document examines the decline of voter participation in South Africa, attributing it to a perceived lack of accountability and a disconnect between voting and service delivery. Based on workshops with 309 participants, it suggests moving toward direct representation and enhancing civic education to restore faith in the democratic process.

The policy brief argues that CARICOM lacks a cohesive trade strategy aligned with the global 'Sustainability and Inclusiveness' (S&I) agenda. It analyzes the region's economic vulnerabilities—including small market size, dependence on fossil fuels, and climate risk—and evaluates existing trade agreements like the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and the CARIFORUM-EU EPA. The authors recommend a regional approach that integrates trade with policies on energy, climate change, the blue economy, and food security, while increasing the participation of non-traditional stakeholders such as MSMEs and civil society.

The document outlines a three-step approach for utilities to incorporate the DOE's Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program into resource planning: modeling portfolio-wide savings from low-interest financing, prioritizing 'clean repowering' at existing fossil sites, and optimizing transmission investments. It argues that failing to model these factors leads to suboptimal resource portfolios and missed savings. The brief provides technical guidance on calculating forward interest rates, managing compliance costs (such as NEPA and the Davis-Bacon Act), and leveraging the EIR's $250 billion lending authority to accelerate the clean energy transition while reducing costs for ratepayers.

The document examines the legal mechanisms of treaty amendments, annex modifications, adjustments, protocols, entry into force, and reservations within multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to inform the development of the future plastics treaty. It highlights that while treaty text amendments are infrequent and slow, annex amendments are common and more agile. The brief notes that the current 'Compilation Draft' for the plastics treaty proposes a three-fourths majority for amendment ratification and a 50-state threshold for entry into force, while advising the INC to consider 'hard majority' adjustments and the potential for protocols if a framework convention is pursued.