Search Climate Insights Directory

The document examines the intersection of green technology and youth employment in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. It finds that while these countries have established frameworks for clean energy, e-mobility, and climate-smart agriculture, there is a persistent lack of coherence between climate policies and youth employment strategies. The analysis highlights that youth are often excluded from policy-making and that interministerial cooperation is inadequate, hindering the potential for green tech to address high youth unemployment and NEET rates in sub-Saharan Africa.

The report presents findings from a survey of 289 experts studying 54 countries, defining the information environment as the aggregate of physical, social, and digital surroundings influencing communication. Key findings highlight a consensus that the availability of accurate information is the most critical feature of a healthy environment, while social media platforms and politicians are viewed as the primary threats. The report notes significant disparities based on regime type: experts in democracies are more concerned with foreign interventions and climate misinformation, whereas those in autocracies emphasize threats from local governments and state-backed media. Over half of the experts predict the information environment will worsen in 2024, citing data access and funding as primary research barriers.

The paper examines the relationship between internal armed conflict and horizontal inequality, using regional disparities in human development as a proxy. The authors find that high-intensity, long-duration conflicts (over 1,000 battle deaths and lasting more than 5 years) are associated with significantly higher levels of horizontal inequality in infant mortality, wealth, and education. This inequality persists for many years, with declines only appearing 10-15 years after conflict termination. Sub-national analysis suggests that regions directly exposed to fighting suffer more, further widening the gap. Preliminary findings indicate that neither peace agreements nor UN peacekeeping operations significantly mitigate these increases in horizontal inequality.

The authors present the During-Conflict Justice (DCJ) dataset, which catalogues 2,205 justice processes across 204 internal armed conflicts in 108 countries between 1946 and 2011. The research identifies that DCJ is a common tool, appearing in over 60% of conflicts since WWII, with governments being the primary adopters (70.4%). The study finds that democratic governments are more likely to use DCJ, particularly trials, truth commissions, and reparations, compared to autocracies. Rebel groups tend to use DCJ more frequently when fighting democracies and as their own relative military strength increases. Analysis suggests that government-initiated DCJ is correlated with a reduction in battle deaths in the following year and a higher likelihood of the conflict ending in a negotiated settlement rather than a military victory.

The research examines the link between water scarcity and intrastate conflict, arguing that the relationship is not deterministic but is mediated by domestic political institutions. Using a simultaneous equations model for 98 countries (1981–2000), the authors find that while water scarcity does not directly increase the probability of conflict, it does negatively impact the likelihood of democratic institutions emerging. Crucially, the study finds that democratic regimes are more effective at mitigating the risk of conflict in water-scarce conditions. The authors suggest an 'ecological trap' where water scarcity promotes autocracy, which in turn fails to manage resources effectively, potentially leading to a cycle of scarcity, autocracy, and conflict.