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The report examines the role of South Africa's 2025 G20 presidency in advancing a 'transformational' theory of change for the climate crisis. It emphasizes 'country platforms' as a bottom-up methodology for national transition planning and argues that current global financial structures are a 'non-system' that misallocates capital and imposes an unsustainable cost of capital on developing nations, particularly in Africa. The author proposes a 'monetary architecture' approach to unlock funding by reconfiguring balance sheets, rather than relying solely on market-oriented blended finance or fiscal expansion.

The document argues for a comprehensive AU-EU partnership on the green transition and energy access that moves beyond a risk-based lens to address Africa's developmental goals. It highlights the critical need to expand electricity access, leverage private investment through de-risking mechanisms, and integrate nexus issues such as agriculture and the digital economy. While acknowledging the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the briefing suggests the crisis offers an opportunity to redesign the partnership to ensure a just transition that includes skills development and gender mainstreaming.