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The document analyzes the socio-economic and environmental consequences of the UK steel industry's decline since the 1970s, highlighting the failure of generic regional development policies that attempted to replicate old manufacturing models rather than transitioning to knowledge-based economies.

The proposal seeks USD 300,000 to help Malaysia align its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic with climate change priorities. The project, implemented by the Malaysia Green Technology and Climate Change Centre (MGTC) under the Ministry of Environment and Water, aims to analyze the impact of pandemic stimulus packages on climate strategies, develop a national resilient recovery strategy and investment plan, and create at least one new project concept note for GCF submission. The initiative focuses on sectors including energy, construction, transport, waste, water, and manufacturing to facilitate a transition to a climate-neutral and inclusive economy.

The report argues that achieving economies of scale in Nigeria's solar sector requires a transition from accelerated importation to local assembly and eventually local manufacturing. It identifies that approximately 7 million Nigerian households are ready for immediate solar home system (SHS) deployment based on geospatial data. The analysis demonstrates that combining four key enablers—import tariff waivers, reduced cost of debt, increased plant capacity, and product subsidies—could reduce SHS prices by 34% and increase the number of households able to afford these systems by 288%.

The author advocates for the appointment of Ngozi Okonjo Iweala as Director-General of the World Trade Organization, citing her international experience and African perspective as essential for restoring faith in the multilateral trading system. The text emphasizes that a revival of world trade is critical for Africa's sustainable development, noting that the continent must generate 20 million jobs annually over the next 20 years through agriculture and manufacturing to avoid poverty and conflict. While acknowledging the qualifications of Yoo Myung-hee, the author asserts that Okonjo Iweala's background as a former World Bank Managing Director and Finance Minister of Nigeria makes her better equipped to handle current global uncertainties, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

The document examines the state of regional integration in Africa and Southern Africa, specifically within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies significant gaps in infrastructure and productive integration, noting that while South Africa is the continent's most integrated country, the region as a whole struggles with poverty, unemployment, and poor governance. The author proposes seven dynamic opportunities for recovery: reshaping manufacturing for self-reliance, sustaining pan-African cooperation, closing the digital skills gap, addressing and financing infrastructure deficiencies, establishing infrastructure management systems, and enhancing integrated decision-making through potential supranational organisation. The paper concludes that South Africa must lead these efforts to reclaim regional agency and advance the African Union's Agenda 2063.

The policy brief argues that African governments should leverage the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis to implement lasting reforms that protect the continent's long-term growth trajectory. It outlines ten priorities divided into resource mobilization, governance, business environment, and digital innovation. Key recommendations include closing tax loopholes, streamlining government bureaucracy, improving the ease of doing business, and crowding in venture capital to support a tech-driven innovation ecosystem.

The document argues that Africa is experiencing a growing economic divergence from the rest of the world, with GDP per capita projected to be less than one quarter of the global average by 2040. While human well-being indicators like life expectancy have improved, the continent's growth is constrained by an unproductive economic structure dominated by low-end informal services and a slow demographic transition. To ignite a 'growth revolution', the author advocates for a 'bottom-up' approach focusing on basic infrastructure, reducing fertility rates, and transitioning toward manufacturing and productive agriculture. The brief emphasizes that leveraging the fourth industrial revolution, renewable energy, and the African Continental Free Trade Area, alongside accountable leadership, is essential to reversing commodity dependence and achieving sustainable prosperity.

The report examines the intersection of Africa's digital economy and the AfCFTA, highlighting how ecommerce can overcome the continent's low formal retail penetration and lack of manufacturing diversity. While identifying significant barriers—including high data costs, poor logistics, and regulatory fragmentation—it argues that a unified trading bloc will provide the economies of scale necessary for SMEs to grow. The author recommends harmonising data privacy, consumer protection, and payment systems to foster trust and enable a sustainable, inclusive digital market.

The policy brief examines the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), highlighting a critical gap between the growing youth workforce and the availability of formal jobs. It argues that while 4IR technologies like AI and robotics pose a threat to traditional labor-intensive manufacturing, they also offer opportunities in services and agro-processing. The document emphasizes that realizing a demographic dividend requires systemic education reform—specifically in STEM and TVET—and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to boost regional productivity. It warns that failure to create approximately 20 million jobs annually until 2035 could lead to increased unemployment and instability.

A study by the Climate Policy Initiative and PUC-Rio finds that the Manaus Free Trade Zone (ZFM) has not resulted in efficiency gains for the region's industries. Despite significant tax expenditures—reaching R$ 27.8 billion for ZFM, Western Amazon, and Free Trade Areas in 2015—both energy and productive efficiency levels in the ZFM remained similar to the national average from 2003 to 2015. This lack of impact persists even in the most representative sectors, such as two-wheel vehicle production and audio and video, where tax benefits are most concentrated.

The report finds that despite significant tax exemptions, the industrial sector in the Zona Franca de Manaus (ZFM) shows no increase in productive or energy efficiency compared to the Brazilian national average. Analysis of the most representative sectors, including two-wheelers and audio/video, confirms that these incentives have not translated into comparative efficiency advantages.

The report analyzes the Zona Franca de Manaus (ZFM) as a public policy tool for industrial development in Brazil. It details the complex system of tax incentives—including exemptions and reductions in IPI, PIS/PASEP, and COFINS—and evaluates their distribution across key sectors such as two-wheelers, audio/video, and non-alcoholic beverages. The study compares the ZFM's industrial performance and workforce concentration against national Brazilian averages and provides a brief comparative overview of free trade zones in other countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the US, Canada, and China.

The document argues that while Africa has seen improvements in health indicators, it is falling further behind the rest of the world in average income and economic productivity. It identifies a 'unproductive structure' of economies dominated by low-end services and a slow demographic transition as primary barriers. To ignite a 'growth revolution' by 2040, the author advocates for a 'bottom-up' approach prioritizing basic infrastructure, a reduction in birth rates to achieve a demographic dividend, and the revitalization of the manufacturing sector to support agriculture and high-value services.

The research finds a positive correlation between energy and resource misallocation in Brazilian industry, suggesting that improving the allocation of resources to the most productive firms would simultaneously increase aggregate productivity and energy efficiency. Using data from 2007 to 2015, the authors demonstrate that resource misallocation increased over this period, acting as the primary barrier to productivity growth. While the potential aggregate output gains from fully equalizing revenue productivity are substantial, ranging from 77.9% to 96.2%, the analysis reveals that capital distortions are significantly more impactful than electricity distortions in generating these losses. The study concludes that broad industrial policies targeting these binding distortions are more effective for improving aggregate energy efficiency than firm-level initiatives.

The report examines the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to drive long-term GDP growth and poverty reduction by 2050, while noting that immediate gains will come from manufacturing and technology leapfrogging. It details the AU's suspension of Sudan following the military junta's crackdown on protestors and warns of risks including civil war and external influence from Gulf powers. The document highlights a democratic setback in Africa, where incumbents use constitutional amendments and electoral law changes to maintain power, citing Benin as a key example. It reviews AU peace support operations (PSOs) in Somalia and Darfur, arguing that military action must be paired with political solutions and questioning the neutrality of deploying neighbouring states. Finally, it discusses the AU-UN partnership, emphasizing the need for UN Security Council reform and sustainable financing for AU-led operations.

The report compares the soap, detergent, and cosmetics sectors in South Africa and Zambia, noting that while South Africa has a more mature industry, both face capacity and competitiveness challenges. Zambia struggles with a trade deficit and poor packaging quality, while South African small firms face high input costs and regulatory barriers. The authors recommend developing natural product lines, operationalising industrial clusters, and improving supermarket access to foster regional import substitution.

The report details the technical and financial structuring of climate change adaptation plans for three Colombian sectors: Water and Basic Sanitation, Manufacturing Industry, and Housing, City and Territory. It establishes adaptation goals, indicators, and portfolios of measures for each, while providing estimated costs for prioritized actions. The process highlights a strong reliance on existing Disaster Risk Management (DRD) frameworks and a significant need for knowledge management and technical capacity building across all sectors.

ClientEarth has challenged Deloitte LLP's audit of Bodycote PLC's 2017 Annual Report, asserting that the report contains material misstatements due to the omission of climate change and low carbon transition risks. ClientEarth contends that as an energy-intensive industrial manufacturer, Bodycote is materially exposed to these risks, yet the Annual Report only provides mandatory greenhouse gas emissions disclosures and a general corporate responsibility discussion. The organization argues that Deloitte, despite being a supporter of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and possessing institutional expertise on climate risks, failed to apply professional scepticism and judgement under International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Specifically, ClientEarth suggests Deloitte breached ISA (UK) 200, 315, and 720 by not ensuring the strategic and directors' reports were prepared in accordance with legal requirements regarding the description of principal risks and future business trends. ClientEarth has submitted a complaint to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and requested that Deloitte explain its processes for integrating climate-related knowledge into its audit programmes.

The policy brief contends that South Africa's financial sector fails to fund productive investment in labour-intensive manufacturing because these sectors are high-risk and offer low short-term profits. It argues that existing DFIs, specifically the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), are too small and constrained by commercial funding models to fulfill their developmental mandates. The author proposes recapitalising these institutions with public funds, providing a stable low-cost funding line, and establishing an export-import (EXIM) bank to compete with other emerging markets like China and Brazil. These measures are intended to support sectors such as capital equipment exports, automotive subcomponents, and textiles to drive job creation.

The policy brief argues that South Africa has experienced premature deindustrialisation, with manufacturing's GDP contribution falling from 21% in 1994 to 13% in 2016. To reverse this, the Institute for Economic Justice recommends strategic interventions in three key areas: the machinery and equipment sector through a regional SADC strategy to create approximately 270,000 total jobs; the fruit industry by addressing phytosanitary constraints and expanding high-value exports (e.g., avocados) to create 130,000 jobs by 2022; and the plastics conversion industry through the establishment of light manufacturing clusters and raw material price regulation to potentially add over 40,000 jobs by 2024.