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The document examines Chinese investment in Nigeria's free trade zones (FTZs), focusing on the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) and the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone (OGFTZ). It highlights that while Nigeria has provided generous tax and ownership incentives since 1992, implementation has been slow due to infrastructural weaknesses and governance uncertainties. The LFTZ, a joint venture where a Chinese consortium holds a 60% stake, has faced challenges including internal consortium disputes, funding delays, and power supply issues. The author argues that Nigeria's high-risk profile gave Chinese investors excessive leverage, leading to an initially over-generous 50-year lease agreement that was later renegotiated to reduce the zone's size and mandate a 40% Nigerian workforce. The brief concludes that for FTZs to succeed and facilitate technology transfer, African governments must ensure high-level political commitment, maintain a confident negotiating stance, and improve the overall business climate.

The policy brief examines how Brazil's success in bioethanol production can be leveraged through the IBSA Forum to support biofuel development in South Africa and Africa. It identifies key barriers in South Africa, including a lack of a coherent national strategy and concerns over food security and land reform. The authors recommend that South Africa develop a balanced biofuel strategy, pursue collaborative R&D on second-generation biofuels, and create specific investment incentives to attract Brazilian expertise and capital.

The 2009 Research Highlights from Climate Strategies provides a comprehensive overview of projects addressing the operational challenges of the EU ETS, the feasibility of linking emissions trading schemes, and the design of financial mechanisms for the UNFCCC. It specifically investigates carbon leakage in energy-intensive sectors like cement and steel, the potential for 'Green Investment Schemes' in Central and Eastern Europe, and the implementation of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) in countries including Ghana, South Africa, Brazil, and India. The document also assesses the impact of carbon pricing on the chemical sector and the evolving climate policy landscape in Russia.

The report argues that carbon trading is a fundamentally flawed mechanism that fails to drive real emissions reductions or technological innovation, instead creating risks of financial speculation and locking economies into high-carbon infrastructure. It specifically critiques the use of offsetting as an unjust 'escape hatch' that shifts responsibility from developed to developing nations. The authors advocate for a shift toward direct government interventions, including carbon taxation, strict regulation, and massive public investment in low-carbon infrastructure, while calling for developed countries to provide at least €200 billion per year in new and additional climate finance to the global South.

The report argues that China can achieve a deep carbon reduction by 2050 through sectoral transformations in electricity, industry, transport, and buildings, provided it receives international financial and technological support. It proposes a combination of domestic carbon taxes, a future cap-and-trade system, and a new 'Inter-country Joint Mitigation Plan' to facilitate technology transfer. The analysis emphasizes that a low-carbon transition is essential for China's modernization, offering opportunities to move up the value chain and improve energy security, though it will require active labour market policies to manage job losses in heavy industry.

The document examines climate change as a global challenge characterized by scientific uncertainty and long-term impacts. It frames the issue as a 'market failure' resulting from negative externalities, where the costs of greenhouse gas emissions are not internalized. The authors discuss the economic costs of mitigation versus inaction, the ethical implications of discount rates and inter-generational equity, and the potential for 'carbon leakage' in international trade. It emphasizes the necessity of combining mitigation and adaptation strategies, the critical role of R&D and technology transfer to developing nations, and the importance of international agreements like the Kyoto Protocol and the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (CoP 15).

The document analyzes the institutional conflict regarding climate finance management, contrasting the 'Coordination Camp' (preferring existing institutions) with the 'Consolidation Camp' (seeking a new UN-managed entity). It proposes the Extended Reformed Financial Mechanism (RFM+) as a compromise that combines consolidated disbursement to national entities with the retention of specific international funding bodies like the GEF and Adaptation Fund. The author argues that for such a system to succeed, it must address distributive justice and thematic balance through innovative financing instruments to ensure sufficient revenue.

The paper investigates whether removing tariffs on environmental goods can significantly reduce GHG emissions. It concludes that the 'Friends of the EGS' list of 153 goods would only have a material impact through renewable energy technologies, but that tariff removal alone is insufficient to drive significant uptake without accompanying policies like feed-in tariffs. The author suggests that for trade liberalization to be effective, lists must be based on objective environmental needs rather than commercial interests and must be supported by capacity-building measures in developing countries.

The document examines the risks of 'TRIPS-plus' intellectual property standards being imposed on SADC countries through EPAs, using the CARIFORUM EPA as a model. It highlights concerns regarding digital copyright, geographical indications, and stringent enforcement mechanisms that may hinder development and public access to knowledge.

The report assesses India's emissions profile and the financial mechanisms available for mitigation, arguing that current international tools like the CDM and GEF are inadequate for the scale of transformation needed. It proposes shifting from project-based to programmatic financing and recommends specific collaborative initiatives in solar energy, energy efficiency, and the reduction of black carbon from clean cooking stoves.

The report argues that domestic ownership is essential for low-carbon transitions and proposes a framework combining low-carbon development strategies, NAMAs, tailored international support mechanisms, and robust monitoring and reporting. It details specific mechanisms for technology cooperation and financial support, while providing case studies from Ghana, South Africa, Brazil, and India to illustrate barriers such as financing, regulatory gaps, and technical capacity. The document emphasizes that international support should shift from purchasing cheap carbon offsets to creating long-term enabling environments for private sector investment.

The report identifies that while Ghana has a target of 10% renewable energy in its energy mix by 2020, progress is hindered by implementation and roll-out barriers, including weak domestic technical capacity, inadequate regulatory frameworks, and limited access to long-term finance. It suggests a combination of market-mandated policies, the use of the Clean Development Mechanism, and the establishment of innovation centres to accelerate technology adoption. The study estimates that removing these barriers with international support could avoid at least 14 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from renewable energy projects and 70,000 tonnes from energy efficiency activities.

The document argues that replacing approximately 16 million inefficient agricultural pump sets in India, combined with the adoption of High Voltage Distribution Systems (HVDS) and mandatory metering, can significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. It identifies financing as the primary barrier, driven by high upfront costs of efficient pumps and flat electricity tariffs that remove incentives for conservation. The author proposes a phased policy approach moving from pump replacement to metered tariffs, suggesting that international cooperation is most effective for financial support and capacity building rather than technology transfer. The paper also provides a framework of indicators to monitor program initiation, pump deployment, and tariff reform.

The report examines co-operative IPR practices—including cross-licensing and patent pools—as mechanisms to overcome patent thickets and accelerate technology diffusion. Using case studies from the mobile telecoms industry (ETSI) and South Africa's pre-paid metering (ESKOM), it argues that such arrangements can reduce litigation risks, lower costs, and enable developing countries to enter markets. The authors suggest that public policy intervention may be necessary to facilitate these arrangements in the low-carbon energy sector, particularly for technologies like wind power and smart grids, to avoid proprietary lock-ins and high costs in developing economies.

The report details the progress and divergences in UNFCCC negotiations leading up to COP 15. It examines the 'four pillars' of the Bali Action Plan: mitigation, adaptation, technology, and financing. While some progress was noted in adaptation, significant divides remain between developed and developing nations regarding emission targets, the role of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and the nature of financial commitments. The document highlights the critical role of the United States' domestic legislation and the potential for a U.S.-China accord to influence the final outcome in Copenhagen.

The report details the progress and deadlocks in UNFCCC negotiations during 2009, specifically the Bonn II and III meetings. It examines the four pillars of the Bali Action Plan: mitigation, adaptation, technology, and finance. Key tensions persist between developed and developing nations regarding emission reduction targets, the role of the United States, and the funding of adaptation and technology transfer. The document highlights the urgency of accelerating negotiations before the December 2009 Copenhagen summit, noting that the 200-page negotiating text remains largely unresolved.

The document analyzes the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and China, noting a shift in strategy following the transition from President Olusegun Obasanjo to Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. It argues that the 'oil for infrastructure' model failed due to Nigeria's electoral cycle and governance issues, leading China to adopt a lower-risk strategy of purchasing established oil companies. Despite political volatility, Chinese multinational companies continue to expand their market share in Nigeria's construction, telecommunications, and power sectors due to competitive pricing and access to state-backed credit.

The document argues that shifting to low-carbon technologies requires a comprehensive 'enabling environment' consisting of innovation capacity, human and institutional skills, regulatory frameworks, and finance. It proposes a capability-innovation framework to match international support mechanisms to a country's specific level of development and the maturity stage of the technology (R&D, demonstration, deployment, and diffusion). The authors suggest that Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) should serve as the primary vehicle for developing countries to define domestic needs, which can then be supported by tailored international mechanisms such as R&D cooperation, Global Technology Demonstration Funds, and technical assistance. The paper emphasizes that for these mechanisms to be effective, they must be coordinated with domestic policy and monitored through specific quantitative indicators to facilitate international learning and accountability.

The Climate Strategies Research Prospectus 2009 details a comprehensive program of academic research designed to support government decision-makers. The work is organized into three primary themes: industrialised country commitments and global market mechanisms (including carbon leakage and emissions trading system linkages), global engagement, technology and finance (focusing on the UNFCCC's Reformed Financial Mechanism and technology innovation centres), and industry-specific sectoral approaches (specifically the steel and maritime sectors). The organization operates as a not-for-profit network, convening international experts to provide independent, fact-based assessments for policy formation, with a particular emphasis on the European Union, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region.

The document evaluates the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) as a pioneering multi-stakeholder mechanism for global Internet governance. It argues that the IGF should be maintained because it defuses tensions over the U.S. oversight of ICANN and provides an open space for developing countries to address issues like access, security, and open standards. The report suggests that the 'Internet model'—characterized by shared ownership and bottom-up collaboration—could provide valuable lessons for the governance of other critical technologies, including those related to climate change and geo-engineering. It concludes by recommending that a second mandate for the IGF should focus on better integrating developing country concerns and mainstreaming sustainable development goals.