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The document argues that African nations should leverage the post-COVID-19 recovery to 'build back better' by adopting green finance mechanisms. It identifies green bonds as a primary tool for raising large-scale capital and emphasizes the need for targeted public finance to de-risk investments and attract private capital. The briefing details several pathways for a green transition, including the establishment of environmental funds, the deployment of renewable energy as an economic stimulus, and the implementation of green fiscal reforms such as carbon taxes. It also highlights the critical role of central banks in 'greening' the financial sector through macroprudential regulation and the development of green taxonomies to reduce information asymmetries.

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed structural weaknesses in global health security and created a 'triple burden' for LMICs, who must manage pre-existing noncommunicable diseases, endemic infections, and the pandemic response. It advocates for a shift from 'vertical' disease-specific funding to a 'whole systems approach' to avoid zero-sum resource shifts. The author emphasizes that domestic resource mobilisation (DRM), including tax reforms and 'best buy' spending efficiency, is the only sustainable path for healthcare strengthening, as official development assistance (ODA) is prone to a 'panic-neglect' cycle. The briefing also calls for a temporary waiver of TRIPS intellectual property provisions to ensure equitable vaccine and medicine access, drawing lessons from the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa.

The document finds that African LICs' economic responses to COVID-19 were modest and suboptimal compared to developed nations, primarily due to pre-pandemic structural weaknesses such as high debt, inflation, and limited fiscal space. While expansionary monetary policy was the most common tool, fiscal stimulus was generally low (1% to 2% of GDP), with exceptions like Senegal, Niger, and Mozambique. The brief highlights a significant financing gap in donor support and argues that recovery requires a shift toward data-driven policy, increased digital and financial inclusion, and the independence of monetary and debt management authorities.

The document examines the two-wave economic impact of COVID-19 in Africa, highlighting the first wave's disruption of trade, commodity prices, and remittances, and the second wave's risk of sovereign credit downgrades and debt defaults. It argues that limited fiscal space and high debt-to-GDP ratios leave many African nations unable to fund recovery, suggesting that central banks use monetised interventions and governments leverage digital technologies to maintain financial stability.

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for Ghana and other African nations to shift from natural resource-based development to a socially inclusive green economy. While Ghana has established frameworks like the National Green Jobs Strategy (2021–2025) and the National Climate Change Policy, its immediate pandemic recovery measures, such as the $17 billion Ghana-CARES programme, have focused on short-term stabilisation rather than structural greening. The author suggests that the G20 and multilateral institutions should condition medium-term financial support on green interventions to ensure a sustainable transition.

The document advocates for redefining youth engagement in African climate policy, moving beyond 'tick-box' exercises to treat young people as key stakeholders. It emphasizes the importance of intersectional approaches, the role of youth networks, and the need for comprehensive curriculum reform to build climate-conscious citizens.

The report finds that while renewable energy investment is growing, continued funding for fossil fuel power plants and the presence of 'locked-in' emissions from existing assets keep the global power sector on a temperature trajectory exceeding 3.2°C. It highlights a significant gap between actual 2018 investment carbon intensities and the negative thresholds required by 2030 to achieve Paris alignment. The analysis identifies specific misalignments among major economies like China, India, and Japan, and among financial actors such as commercial banks and export credit agencies. The document recommends halting new carbon-intensive investments, accelerating the retirement of existing fossil fuel plants, and harmonizing climate risk reporting.

The document argues that while the world possesses sufficient global financial assets to fund sustainable development, a significant financing gap and a persistent digital divide hinder the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. It traces the history of UN efforts from the 1972 Stockholm Declaration to the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda, highlighting the critical need for technology transfer and financial mobilization for developing countries. The text notes that developed countries have struggled to meet the USD 100 billion annual climate finance goal and identifies barriers to technology diffusion, including intellectual property rights and insufficient absorptive capacities. It concludes by calling for better alignment between development cooperation and climate action to ensure financing does not undermine sustainable development.

The document argues that current investment treaty compensation practices lead to excessively high awards, often based on speculative future earnings rather than actual losses. It highlights the use of the discounted cash flow (DCF) method as a primary driver of these high costs and notes that tribunals often ignore contextual factors like public interest or state capacity to pay. To address this, the authors suggest reforms such as limiting compensation to actual investment amounts or aligning awards with the host state's domestic laws.

The document argues that current investment treaty arbitration leads to excessively high and inconsistent compensation awards, often based on speculative future earnings rather than actual losses. It highlights the risks of corruption and the financial burden on host states, particularly in regulatory disputes and cases involving planned investments that never materialized. The authors suggest that states reform their treaties to move away from the 'full reparation' principle toward more balanced or capped compensation models.

The report examines the mechanism of Common African Positions (CAPs) used by the African Union to articulate collective interests on the global stage. While highlighting successes such as the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the Position on Asset Recovery, it identifies critical weaknesses including a lack of member state ownership, over-dependence on external funding, and a disconnect between AU headquarters in Addis Ababa and multilateral diplomatic hubs. The author argues that for CAPs to be effective, the AU must move toward more inclusive, participatory processes and ensure that member states, rather than AU bureaucracy, drive the advocacy and implementation of these positions.

The document argues that while Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE aggressively market surveillance solutions (Safe City/Smart City) that can impinge on rights, there is little evidence that the Chinese government is imposing a specific authoritarian blueprint on African states. Instead, it finds that African governments often drive the demand for these technologies to strengthen their own power, and that the actual effectiveness of Chinese surveillance tech in reducing crime is often overestimated and fails to account for local socio-political complexities.

The document examines how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing debt distress in Africa, where average debt-to-GDP ratios rose from 60% to 70%. It critiques the G20/Paris Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) for its limited scope, noting that private creditors and multilateral development banks (MDBs) have largely refused to participate. The brief highlights the role of credit rating agencies in discouraging participation due to fears of downgrades and argues that many nations face solvency crises rather than temporary liquidity issues. It recommends extending the DSSI, reallocating IMF Special Drawing Rights, and establishing a permanent UN-led forum for debt monitoring and restructuring.

The report identifies a significant lag between energy finance commitments and disbursements, noting that while energy disbursements in high-impact countries (HICs) grew by over 61% between 2013 and 2018—outpacing overall development finance growth of 12%—substantial funding gaps remain. It argues that approximately USD 45 billion per year is required between 2020 and 2030 to meet SDG7 targets and emphasizes that project design and coordination are key to reducing disbursement delays.

The author contends that COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities in African governance and that current responses are too reactive and focused solely on health security. The pandemic is projected to cause Africa's first recession in 25 years, significantly increase food insecurity, and lead to substantial job losses, particularly among youth. The document advocates for a 'whole-society approach' to security that balances health, economic, and political priorities to build resilience against future pandemics.

This research paper by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) examines the gap between the signing of regional trade agreements and their actual implementation in Africa. It highlights the 'crisis of implementation' affecting the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and discusses the potential and challenges of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The authors argue for a shift from top-down agreements to a bottom-up, problem-driven approach centered on regional public goods to ensure sustainable economic integration.

The document describes the global governance of sustainable energy as a "regime complex" characterized by overlapping mandates and a lack of a single central authority. It highlights the importance of SDG 7 in merging the goals of energy access and sustainable transitions, while detailing the contributions of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) initiative. The text notes a significant financing gap, stating that achieving SDG 7 by 2030 requires additional annual investments of USD 1.36 trillion, whereas international finance for clean energy in developing countries was only USD 21 billion in 2017. It concludes that while the current multi-stakeholder, non-hierarchical model allows for specialized and flexible action, the absence of a binding international treaty or single organization limits the ability to drive top-down ambition and common norms.

The briefing examines the critical role of cold chains in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, highlighting the gap between current infrastructure and the requirements of new vaccine candidates, some of which need ultra-low temperatures (-70C to -80C). It identifies significant barriers in low- and middle-income countries, including unreliable energy access, outdated equipment, and high upfront costs. The report argues that achieving herd immunity requires a massive expansion of sustainable, energy-efficient cold chains and proposes strategies such as 'Cooling as a Service' (CaaS), public-private partnerships like Project Last Mile, and a 'last mile' planning approach to ensure equitable access.

Friends of the Earth International denounces the October 22, 2020, killing of Mama Fikile Ntshangase, a member of the Somkhele community and the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation (MCEJO). Ntshangase opposed the expansion of the Tendele coal mine, owned by Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) Ltd, which threatened to displace 21 families. The document argues that environmental defenders across Africa face increasing violence and intimidation as transnational corporations expand extractive activities, often with the complicity of captured states. The organization demands a binding instrument to regulate corporations and calls on South African authorities, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, to ensure an impartial and thorough investigation into the murder.

The document denounces the murder of Mama Fikile Ntshangase, a member of the Somkhele community and vice-president of a sub-commission of the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation (MCEJO). Ntshangase was killed on October 22, 2020, after refusing a bribe from Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) Ltd to drop legal actions against the expansion of the Tendele coal mine, which would have displaced 21 families. The statement highlights a broader trend of human rights violations against environmental and land defenders across Africa, driven by the expansion of mining, oil, and gas activities by multinationals. It demands that South African authorities, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, conduct impartial investigations and calls for a binding international instrument to regulate states and end the impunity of multinational corporations.