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Since 2000, Britain's offshore wind sector has grown to 16,000 MW of capacity, providing 17% of the country's total generation in 2024 and employing approximately 40,000 people. The industry has evolved from the 4 MW Blyth wind farm to massive projects like Hornsea 2 (1.3 GW) and the under-construction Dogger Bank (3.6 GW). While the 'Contracts for Difference' (CfD) model has influenced global policy and provided price stability for consumers, the sector currently faces supply chain bottlenecks and inflation. Future growth depends on standardising turbine components, expanding national manufacturing in areas like blade technology and deep-water foundations, and leveraging new investments from Great British Energy.

The World Resources Institute states that H.R.1. will hinder U.S. clean energy leadership by phasing out wind and solar tax credits and introducing Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) restrictions. These measures are expected to increase electricity costs, eliminate jobs, and reduce the power system's ability to meet rising demand from AI, manufacturing, and extreme weather.

Private equity firms control nearly 9% of Michigan's private sector workforce, with investments often linked to public pension funds like the State of Michigan Investment Board. The document details how this ownership model has contributed to bankruptcies in the automotive, retail, and hospitality sectors, as well as labor disputes and service reductions in healthcare and waste management. Specific examples include the bankruptcy of Joann and IAC Group, and child labor allegations at Hearthside Food Solutions.

The paper examines the evolution of EU-Africa relations from the 1975 Lome Convention to the 2020 Comprehensive Strategy with Africa, highlighting a persistent gap between the African Union's goals for industrialisation and the EU's focus on trade and aid. It argues that the EU's preference for market-led growth and its interest in securing raw materials have led to the marginalisation of industrial policy, technology transfer, and skills development in their partnerships. Despite new initiatives like the Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs, the author notes that foreign direct investment remains concentrated in extractive sectors rather than manufacturing.

The policy brief outlines a framework for a production tax credit (PTC) to decarbonize industrial heat. It argues that the credit should target 'useful heat' used in manufacturing processes, be refundable to maximize investment efficiency, and utilize a rate based on heat temperature and power to account for varying technology costs. The author recommends excluding biomass and byproducts while focusing on scope 1 emissions to avoid complexity and ensure the policy targets industrial facilities rather than the electricity grid.

The policy brief proposes a technology-neutral emissions standard for industrial heat, focusing on a declining limit of CO2 and other pollutants per unit of useful heat. It recommends applying the standard to both new and existing equipment, using a long-term legislative schedule to reach zero emissions, and focusing exclusively on direct (scope 1) emissions to encourage electrification without penalizing efficient technologies like heat pumps.

The report compares a 'base case' trajectory for the Democratic Republic of Congo with several sectoral scenarios and a combined 'Agenda 2063' scenario. It finds that while the combined scenario significantly boosts GDP and reduces extreme poverty and inequality, it also leads to higher carbon emissions. Industrialization and manufacturing are identified as the most impactful drivers for long-term GDP per capita growth, while agriculture provides the strongest short-to-medium term gains. The report emphasizes the need for a green energy transition to mitigate the environmental costs of this economic growth.

The document argues that South Africa's domestic renewable energy market is insufficient to support a viable manufacturing sector, which requires a minimum annual demand of 3 GW to 4 GW. It identifies the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) as the most advantageous trade framework, providing preferential access to Namibia, Botswana, eSwatini, and Lesotho. The brief also highlights Zambia as a competitive SADC market due to its specific import tariffs on non-SADC countries. It recommends that manufacturers leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and target off-grid electrification opportunities in countries like Nigeria, Rwanda, and Ghana.

The document argues that industrialisation is essential for improving living standards and creating youth employment in Africa, but notes a lack of focus on this goal during the 2022 and 2023 G20 summits. It identifies a productivity gap where large firms fail to generate sufficient employment and small firms lack productivity. The author recommends that the G20 adopt a unifying theme of industrialisation to support structural transformation, agricultural productivity, and the integration of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) into global value chains.

Kenya is characterized as a medium economic transformer with an ATI score of 28.1 in 2020. While the country shows strengths in economic diversification and human well-being, it faces challenges in productivity increases and export competitiveness. The manufacturing sector has shrunk due to a lack of strategic investment and climate-related declines in agricultural output. Despite these challenges, Kenya has seen significant improvements in technology upgrading and a substantial reduction in the gender gap within formal sector employment.

The 2022 Angolan elections are characterized as a tight race between the ruling MPLA and UNITA, occurring against a backdrop of economic stagnation and public dissatisfaction. While the MPLA promises policy continuity, UNITA advocates for structural reforms and a transition of power. The analysis highlights significant concerns regarding the transparency of the electoral process, including partisan control of electoral institutions and flawed voter registration. Despite these challenges, the MPLA is expected to win due to its control of state resources, though the results may trigger protests. Internationally, Angola's role as an OPEC member and oil producer makes it a strategic energy alternative for Western markets amid the crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The document outlines the potential for South Africa to expand its local wind energy industry, noting that while some components like towers and transformers are produced domestically, most turbine parts are imported. It highlights the need for targeted industrial support, such as concessional finance and the development of precast concrete facilities, to increase local content. The text also notes that South Africa's Integrated Resource Plan targets a wind energy share of 21% (17,742 MW) by 2030, which would require approximately 5,000 new large turbines.

The report argues that while Canada has a competitive advantage in clean electricity, industrial electrification is stalled by technical gaps, grid reliability concerns, and the low cost of natural gas. It focuses on the manufacturing, mining, and construction sectors, noting that industry electricity use must increase from 25% to 41% by 2050. To accelerate this, the authors propose three primary catalysts: the development of near-term corporate electrification plans and pilots, the alignment of utility planning with net-zero pathways to ensure power supply, and the use of financial mechanisms like carbon contracts for difference to provide carbon pricing certainty.

The report identifies the manufacturing, construction, and mining sectors as having high potential for electrification to reduce Canada's industrial greenhouse gas emissions. It highlights three primary barriers: technical readiness for hard-to-abate sectors, concerns over electricity reliability and availability, and the low cost of natural gas. To overcome these, the report proposes three catalysts: the development of short-term electrification plans by companies, the alignment of utility planning with net-zero trajectories, and the implementation of guaranteed carbon pricing mechanisms, such as carbon contracts for difference.

The AfCFTA has the potential to generate USD 3.4 trillion in GDP and lift over 100 million people out of poverty by 2040, with primary gains expected in manufacturing and services. However, significant disparities in factor markets—including labour skills, technology adoption, and financial capacity—exist across the continent, with Eastern and Southern Africa generally possessing higher capacities than Central and Western Africa. The document highlights risks associated with heavy reliance on non-African financing, such as the EU-funded Africa Trade Observatory, and urges member states to leverage domestic capital markets and sovereign wealth funds. It further emphasizes that political stability and the empowerment of regional bodies are essential to protect private sector investment in cross-border infrastructure, which the World Bank estimates requires USD 47.6 billion annually.

The Ugandan government responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing expansionary fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the economic contraction caused by aggressive containment measures. While these policies helped maintain financial sector stability and provided temporary liquidity to businesses, the economy experienced a significant slowdown, with real GDP growth dropping from 6.8% in FY 2018/19 to 2.9% in FY 2019/20. The industrial and services sectors were hardest hit, contributing to a projected 34.5% increase in the number of people living below the poverty line. Fiscal strain led to a rise in public debt from $12.55 billion to $15.27 billion in FY 2019/20, while the external sector saw a contraction in foreign direct investment and tourism receipts.

The 'Closing the Loop on Textile Waste in Kenya' partnership, led by Enviu, PurFi, and Upset Sourcing East Africa, utilizes a chemical recycling technology to process textile waste into high-quality materials for new manufacturing. The initiative has sold 100,000 kg of textile cotton waste and employs a sorting team of women processing 36,000 kg per month. By collaborating with Kenya's Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), the partnership aims to integrate circular waste-to-value solutions into the country's expanding textile industry to reduce environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

The paper assesses the synergy between the AfCFTA and the BRI, arguing that targeted, structured cooperation—such as sector-specific preferential trade agreements and the strategic use of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)—is more beneficial for Africa than a status-quo ad hoc approach or a full continent-wide Free Trade Agreement (FTA). It highlights the potential for growth in manufacturing and agriculture while warning against the risks of increased Chinese imports and the complexities of rules of origin.

China faces significant economic vulnerability to climate-induced floods and heatwaves, with potential cumulative GDP losses between 6.6% and 23.5% by 2048 depending on global warming levels. The eastern and coastal provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang are particularly at risk, which could trigger global supply chain disruptions given their role as hubs for electrical manufacturing, cement, and shipping. Projections indicate that river floods could cause cumulative losses of USD 479 billion by 2035, with indirect costs often exceeding direct damages. Additionally, heatwaves are expected to reduce working capacity in key manufacturing regions by up to 2.04% under a >3°C scenario, driven by health-related productivity losses and reduced cognitive performance.

The document analyzes the devastating impact of COVID-19 on South Africa's economy, noting a 7% contraction in 2020 and a record unemployment rate of 32.6% in Q1 2021. It highlights that initial relief measures, such as the R500 billion rescue package, were poorly implemented, with only one-third materializing by February 2021. The brief details severe job losses in construction, trade, and manufacturing, and notes that women and informal workers were disproportionately affected. It specifically identifies a 'second pandemic' of gender-based violence and femicide (GBV-F), with annual costs estimated between R28.4 billion and R42.4 billion. To mitigate these crises, the IEJ recommends replacing the Loan Guarantee Scheme with grants, extending the TERS wage support, reinstating the SRD grant at R585 per month, and increasing public infrastructure spending.