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The document examines the intersection of trade, climate change, and development in Africa, advocating for a shift from a narrow 'just energy transition' to a broader 'climate-resilient development' (CRD) approach. It highlights Africa's vulnerability to climate crises and proposes strategies for green industrialization, climate-smart agriculture, and the strengthening of development finance institutions. The author critiques the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as 'green trade protectionism' and calls for a 'Global Green New Deal' based on multilateral cooperation, technology transfer, and the fulfillment of climate finance promises by developed nations.

The report outlines the Green Guarantee Company's (GGC) framework for integrating gender equality and women's empowerment into its credit guarantee operations for green bonds and loans. It assesses gender vulnerabilities in five key sectors—energy, transport, buildings/cities, health/food/water security, and infrastructure—and provides high-level profiles for eight target countries. The document details a seven-step Transaction Selection Process (TSP) designed to ensure that guaranteed projects are gender-responsive, including rigorous due diligence, remediation strategies, and the use of a multidisciplinary 'line of defence' consisting of internal and external gender specialists.

In 2019/2020, Nigeria received an average of USD 1.9 billion annually in climate finance, representing only 11% of the USD 17.7 billion needed annually for its conditional NDC. Public finance dominated at 77% of total flows, primarily delivered as concessional debt. Mitigation finance (USD 1.1 billion) outweighed adaptation finance (USD 663 million), despite high vulnerability to climate shocks. Energy systems received the most investment, particularly solar, while sectors like waste and industrial processes remained severely underfunded. The report highlights a significant contradiction between climate finance flows and continued heavy investment in fossil fuels, noting one LNG project alone received USD 2.77 billion. Key barriers include limited private sector mobilization, capacity constraints in GHG reporting, and a lack of national climate budget tagging.

In 2019/2020, Nigeria received an average of USD 1.9 billion annually in climate finance, representing only 11% of the USD 17.7 billion needed to meet its conditional NDC target. Public finance dominated the landscape, accounting for 77% of flows, primarily through concessional debt. Mitigation finance (USD 1.1 billion) outweighed adaptation finance (USD 663 million), despite the country's high vulnerability to climate risks. Energy systems received the largest share of investment (41%), with a strong focus on solar technologies, while sectors like waste and industrial processes remained severely underfunded. The report highlights a significant contradiction between climate finance goals and continued heavy investment in fossil fuels, noting that a single LNG project received USD 2.77 billion—more than the total tracked climate finance for the period.

The St. Kitts and Nevis Climate Smart Agriculture Project (SKN CSA-P) is a USD 21.645 million initiative aimed at addressing severe water scarcity and climate vulnerability in the federation's agriculture sector. The project focuses on four main outcomes: strengthening the enabling policy environment, enhancing decision support systems through agrometeorological data, mainstreaming low-carbon resilient practices (such as hurricane-resistant greenhouses and solar-powered irrigation), and improving knowledge management. It specifically targets smallholder farmers, women, youth, and disadvantaged groups, utilizing a CSA Matching Grant Fund to catalyze private investment. The project is implemented by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

The document details how Lucy Lemashisha and the Rural Women Network (RWN) established the Climate Resilience and Learning Center in Kajiado County, Kenya, to combat the effects of recurrent drought and famine on the Maasai community. By promoting climate-smart agriculture, rainwater harvesting, and alternative income sources, the initiative has improved food security and shifted patriarchal power dynamics, enabling women to take leadership roles in climate justice and local governance.

Malawi is not on track to meet its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals due to climate change, economic shocks, and high poverty. The report argues that an additional annual public investment of USD 543 million is required to end hunger, double smallholder incomes, and transition 14 million people to healthier diets while meeting climate commitments. Key priorities include on-farm investments in irrigation and livestock, nutrition education, and building climate resilience for vulnerable groups, particularly women.

Nigeria is not on track to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, with poverty and hunger projected to rise without significant intervention. The report identifies a massive financing gap, estimating that an additional USD 4.9 billion in annual public investment is required from 2023 to 2030 to achieve a sustainable food system transformation. This includes USD 2.3 billion from external donors and USD 2.6 billion from domestic resources. Key priorities include increasing agricultural productivity, integrating climate resilience, and transitioning to healthier diets through nutrition education and social protection. The report highlights a critical underfunding of long-term agricultural investments compared to short-term emergency food assistance.

The report highlights the urgent need for food systems transformation in southern Africa due to climate change, population growth, and high rates of malnutrition. It reviews key 2021 global and regional events—including the UN Food Systems Summit, the AGRF Summit, and COP26—to identify national entry points for action across southern African states, emphasizing the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus and the role of youth and ecosystem restoration.

The report outlines a framework for food systems transformation in southern Africa, emphasizing the need for a water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approach, the integration of indigenous knowledge, and the empowerment of women and youth. It identifies key leverage points for change, such as governance reform, sustainable rural livelihoods, and the adoption of climate-smart agriculture. The document recommends shifting from siloed sectoral approaches to systemic, multi-sectoral governance and suggests using 'futuring' methodologies to identify 'Seeds of Change'—small-scale innovative projects that can be upscaled to build regional resilience.

The report outlines a framework for a social taxonomy that classifies business activities based on their contribution to social well-being and governance. It establishes a system of minimum social safeguards as a mandatory threshold, followed by two Guiding Principles (GP1 for positive social impacts and GP2 for governance improvements). The taxonomy uses a color-coded performance scale (Red to Dark Green) to categorize companies and activities, providing illustrative examples across sectors such as construction, finance, and agriculture to guide investors and regulators in identifying socially sustainable investments.

The document explores the evolving relationship between Korea and Africa, focusing on how Korea's carbon-neutrality goals and technological expertise can support Africa's climate resilience. It identifies key areas for partnership, including renewable energy, green minerals for batteries, smart city development, and climate-resilient agriculture, while emphasizing the need for these initiatives to be African-led and aligned with the AU's strategic framework.

The document highlights the climate vulnerability of the Singida region in Tanzania, where smallholder farmers face low productivity due to unreliable rainfall and pests. It details the success of Amani Saidi Mwangu and the 'Muungano Group', who adopted climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and irrigation after receiving training from Sustainable Environment Management Action (SEMA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), and a 3,000,000 Tanzanian shilling loan. These interventions enabled the use of drought-tolerant, early-maturing seed varieties (such as Bombay red and Red creole), leading to increased yields of tomatoes and onions and expanded market reach to Uganda and Kenya.

The document outlines the complex regulatory environment of Ghana's cocoa sector, highlighting the central role of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the tensions between production targets and forest conservation. It details the hierarchy of Ghanaian law, specific primary legislation affecting land and agriculture, and the roles of various state institutions. The briefing also addresses socio-economic challenges, such as poverty and child labour, and examines international treaties and emerging sustainability standards like the Ghana Climate-Smart Cocoa Production Standard (GCSCPS) and the African Regional Standard for Sustainable Cocoa (ARS 1000).

The document outlines a 24-month readiness project for Mauritius, implemented by the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). It aims to bridge the 'usability gap' where national experts struggle to translate scientific evidence into actionable climate interventions. The project focuses on creating a functional climate service network, developing data collection tools, and training stakeholders to integrate climate science into sectoral policies and GCF funding applications. Key target sectors include agriculture, water resources, and coastal zones. The proposal also emphasizes gender mainstreaming, aiming for 50% female representation in working groups and training, and includes a regional exchange visit to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Samoa.

The document provides conceptual clarity on nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), emphasizing that for these solutions to be effective and legitimate, they must integrate gender responsiveness, social inclusion, and robust environmental safeguards.

La Banque Agricole (LBA) is seeking US$ 646,600 from the Green Climate Fund's Project Preparation Facility to design a large-scale programme aimed at fostering climate-smart agriculture in Senegal. The proposed programme intends to establish a dedicated Line of Credit (LoC) to provide concessional loans to smallholder farmers, MSMEs, and cooperatives for the adoption of CSA practices, such as drip irrigation and biodigesters. The PPF will fund critical preparatory activities, including baseline and market studies, a feasibility study for a digital lending platform (Agricash), a gender assessment, and the development of a climate rationale. The ultimate goal of the full programme is to increase farm productivity and resilience while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 3.42 million tCO2e over 20 years, benefiting approximately 307,000 direct beneficiaries.

The Managing Watersheds for Enhanced Resilience of Communities to Climate Change in Nepal (MaWRiN) project aims to reduce vulnerability to landslides, floods, and droughts in the Marin watershed, Sindhuli district. With a total cost of USD 36,657,417, the project focuses on mainstreaming climate change adaptation (CCA) into local policies, transferring climate-resilient agricultural and livestock technologies, and implementing nature-based solutions (NbS) across six critical catchment areas. The project specifically targets indigenous populations, who make up 68.5% of the area, and addresses systemic barriers such as high poverty (43%) and limited institutional coordination between municipalities.

The GCF Board's 31st meeting resulted in the approval of two funding proposals totaling approximately USD 187.6 million, the adoption of an updated accreditation framework, and the re-accreditation of several entities. The Board discussed the Second Performance Review (SPR) and the need for a more effective private sector strategy and simplified approval processes for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The Indian GSS debt market experienced significant growth in 2021, reaching a cumulative volume of USD 19.5 billion, with green bonds dominating the landscape. While the market is primarily driven by non-financial corporates and focused on utility-scale renewable energy, there is emerging activity in sustainability-linked bonds and potential for expansion into electric vehicles, waste management, and climate-smart agriculture. The Indian government is supporting this growth through the Ministry of Finance's Sustainable Finance Task Force and the planned issuance of a domestic sovereign green bond in 2022.