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The report analyzes the tension between national cybersecurity measures—such as data localization, technical standards, and technology bans—and the goal of open digital trade. It finds that while cybersecurity is essential for trust in the digital economy, divergent domestic regulations create market fragmentation and trade barriers. The document evaluates the lack of specific cybersecurity rules in WTO treaties, the emergence of 'soft' aspirational provisions in Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs), and the significant 'cyber capacity' gap facing developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). It concludes with recommendations for evidence-based domestic frameworks and enhanced international technical assistance to bridge the digital divide.

The document argues that digital public infrastructure (DPI)—comprising digital identity, payments, and data-sharing systems—can increase the visibility of economic activities in Africa's shadow economy, which accounts for roughly 35% of GDP. It contrasts the approach of some African nations, which tax digital financial services (DFS) transactions directly, with the strategies of South Korea and India, which used digital systems to create audit trails and improve broader tax compliance. The brief recommends that African governments adopt a multi-layered DPI ecosystem, prioritize strategic compliance targeting of high-value non-compliant actors, and leverage South Africa's 2025 G20 presidency to foster an 'Africa stack' for scalable deployment.

The BBNJ Agreement, or High Seas Treaty, aims to regulate 64% of the ocean's surface through four pillars: marine genetic resources, area-based management, environmental impact assessments, and capacity building. While the African Group of Negotiators helped shape the treaty, ratification among African states remains low, with only seven of 55 countries having completed the process. Non-ratifying states risk exclusion from the Conference of the Parties (COP) decision-making and benefit-sharing arrangements for marine genetic resources. The document highlights the potential for designating marine protected areas near Africa, such as the Walvis Ridge and Saya de Malha Bank, and suggests that African states coordinate ministries and adopt cost-effective surveillance technologies, like uncrewed vessels, to manage these areas.

RMI and UNDP have launched a Climate Risk and Resilience Toolkit to protect rural African solar minigrids from climate hazards. The toolkit provides a five-step Resilience Assessment Framework and operational guidance to ensure continuous energy for critical services and agricultural productivity. It emphasizes an integrated approach that combines technical infrastructure hardening—such as elevating panels to prevent flood damage—with community-level resilience through climate-smart agriculture and disaster preparedness. While integrating these measures increases capital and operational costs, which some developers pass to users via higher tariffs, the guide argues that such resilience is essential for sustainable energy access in climate-vulnerable regions.

Susanne Riegraf, Deputy of the Federal Government Commissioner for Disarmament and Arms Control, delivered a keynote speech at the Berlin Biosecurity Dialogue on June 19, 2025. She highlighted the increasing risk of biological weapons due to the convergence of biotechnology, AI, and quantum computing, noting that AI-modified proteins can evade conventional detection methods. Riegraf discussed the limitations of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which lacks a verification regime, and the need for NATO allies to enhance collective biodefense and early-warning systems. She also detailed Germany's interagency coordination challenges and its international support efforts through the German Biosecurity Programme and the Global Health Protection Programme.

The essay examines the rise of Captain Ibrahim Traoré in Burkina Faso, analyzing the socio-political drivers of his popularity—such as the 'youth bulge', failure of previous civilian regimes, and the threat of violent religious extremism—against the actual outcomes of his rule. The author contends that military governance is fundamentally unsuitable for state administration and that under Traoré, Burkina Faso has seen a decline in security, a shrinking of civic space, and an increase in human rights violations. The text further questions the efficacy of shifting foreign alliances from France to Russia, noting that terrorism-related fatalities remain high despite the deployment of the Russian Africa Corps.

The document analyzes the effects of Executive Order 14257, which introduced a 10% universal tariff and higher country-specific tariffs (11% to 50%) on imports to the U.S. While mineral-exporting nations may find relief through exemptions for critical minerals, countries like Lesotho and Madagascar face severe economic risks, particularly in textiles. The authors discuss the precarious future of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and advocate for a coordinated continental strategy via the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area to mitigate these trade disruptions.

The research paper examines whether South Africa has eclipsed Nigeria as Africa's dominant power. While Nigeria maintains significant demographic and resource-based weight, the author argues that South Africa has leveraged multilateral institutions, a diverse economy, and a value-driven foreign policy to achieve greater global visibility and influence. The analysis highlights Nigeria's internal security challenges and strategic drift as factors that have diminished its international standing, while noting that South Africa faces its own domestic vulnerabilities, including energy crises and high unemployment.

The document examines the threats to Africa's development financing, including trade fragmentation, the 'securitisation' of economic policy, and high debt burdens. It proposes five ring-fencing mechanisms—public expenditure reviews, medium-term expenditure frameworks, independent funds, statutory protections, and debt-relief linkages—to ensure continuity in funding for education, infrastructure, and climate resilience. It further suggests that African governments frame development as complementary to security to leverage international financing and calls for reforms in the international financial architecture to support these protections.

The document analyzes the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) and Gabon's 2023 debt-for-nature swap as models for mobilizing climate finance in Africa. CAFI, a multi-donor effort focused on REDD+, has achieved emission reductions in the DRC and Gabon but faces challenges regarding national ownership and a lack of explicit adaptation targets. Gabon's blue bond swap reduced sovereign debt by $125 million to fund marine conservation, demonstrating the potential of capital markets for conservation, though it is criticized for high transaction costs and limited transparency. The author recommends integrating adaptation objectives into CAFI, expanding the use of blended finance, and standardizing oversight for debt-for-nature swaps to prevent 'bluewashing'.

The paper examines how the geopolitical contest between the US and China over critical minerals creates a strategic window for African countries to diversify investors and build domestic green value chains.

Global Witness reports that 92% of surveyed environmental defenders have suffered online abuse, with Meta-owned platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram) being the most frequent sites of harassment. The report highlights a direct link between digital attacks and offline violence, noting that 75% of those harmed offline believe online abuse contributed to it. It criticizes social media algorithms for promoting polarization and argues that inadequate moderation resources, particularly in Africa and Asia, leave defenders vulnerable to doxxing, cyberattacks, and criminalization. The document concludes that these digital threats create a chilling effect on the climate movement, leading to productivity loss and, in some cases, the cessation of activism.

The research paper outlines the challenges facing African development finance, including a significant annual financing gap and the 'African premium' on international capital markets. It argues that the G20 common framework for sovereign debt restructuring has failed African countries and proposes that South Africa's G20 presidency prioritise the creation of a Borrowers' Forum, the improvement of sovereign debt architecture via the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, and the appointment of a G20 panel of technical experts to address barriers to affordable finance.

The 2025 Utility Roundtable highlighted the need for African power utilities to move beyond dependency on foreign aid by adopting new financing strategies, addressing structural inefficiencies like commercial losses, and strategically integrating renewable energy into fragile grids through regional collaboration and private sector engagement.

Morocco possesses significant reserves of green transition minerals (GTMs), including approximately 72% of global phosphate, positioning it as a strategic partner for the EU and China. While the EU emphasizes regulatory compliance and sustainability standards, China provides rapid industrial scale and technical expertise in refining. The authors argue that Morocco's current bilateral engagements are fragmented and propose a five-step trilateral framework—including a joint task force, dedicated industrial zones, and a sustainability charter—to transform geopolitical competition into coordinated investment and technology transfer.

The briefing highlights the vulnerability of sub-Saharan African food systems to climate change, noting that women bear a disproportionate burden despite their crucial roles. It critiques industrial agriculture for exacerbating inequalities and environmental degradation, proposing agroecology as a solution to enhance biodiversity, soil health, and food sovereignty.

The Accreditation Framework of the Green Climate Fund defines the requirements and processes for entities to become Accredited Entities (AEs), enabling them to submit funding proposals for climate mitigation and adaptation. It distinguishes between Direct Access Entities (DAEs), based in developing countries, and International Access Entities (IAEs). The framework outlines a five-step institutional accreditation process—nomination, pre-screening, application, screening, and Board approval—grounded in fiduciary standards, environmental and social safeguards (ESS), and country ownership. It also provides mechanisms for capacity building for DAEs, a fast-track approach for recognized standards, and a project-specific assessment approach (PSAA) as a pilot alternative to institutional accreditation.

The report analyzes gender inequalities in ten target countries to integrate gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) into the Global Green Bond Initiative (GGBI). It identifies systemic barriers—including gendered divisions of labor, educational gaps, and limited access to finance and property—that reduce women's resilience to climate change. The document outlines a strategy to mainstream gender into green bond issuances through gender-responsive policies, the use of gender-specific KPIs, and the appointment of gender experts to ensure equitable benefit-sharing and increased women's leadership in climate finance.

Twenty years after the 7/7 bombings, Islamist extremism remains a significant security threat in the UK, though it has shifted from top-down, group-organised attacks to grassroots, self-initiated actions by loosely connected individuals. The landscape is now characterised by a mix of traditional ideologies and hybridised forms of extremism amplified by social media. While some global movements have transitioned toward nationalist local governance, others, particularly in Africa, are expanding. A critical emerging trend is the radicalisation of minors, with a significant portion of recent terrorism convictions involving children and a rise in Prevent referrals for youth.

The paper examines AUDA-NEPAD's role in driving Africa's structural transformation through trade integration and industrialisation. While the agency has successfully established high-level policy frameworks and partnerships, it faces significant implementation gaps due to institutional complexity, donor dependency, and structural bottlenecks. The document highlights a persistent disconnect between policy design and execution, particularly in the area of green industrialisation, and argues for a shift toward locally adaptive action and reduced external influence to achieve sustainable economic growth.