Search Climate Insights Directory

Friends of the Earth International denounces the killing of Mama Fikile Ntshangase, a member of the Somkhele community and vice-president of a subcommission of the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organization (MCEJO). Ntshangase was murdered on October 22, 2020, after opposing the expansion of the Tendele coal mine, owned by Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) Ltd (a Petmin subsidiary), which threatened to displace 21 families. The organization highlights a broader trend of increasing human rights abuses against environmental and political activists across Africa, where transnational companies expand mining, oil, and gas activities despite local opposition. The statement calls on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and other authorities to ensure an impartial and exhaustive investigation into the murder and other attacks on community rights defenders. It further advocates for a legally binding international instrument to regulate transnational corporations and end corporate impunity.

The policy brief examines the current state of digitalization in Africa and Europe, highlighting a significant digital divide where only 28.2% of Africans used the internet in 2019 compared to 82.5% of Europeans. It identifies key barriers including connectivity gaps, funding shortfalls, and fragmented regulatory frameworks. To strengthen the AU-EU partnership, the authors recommend prioritizing Digital4Development (D4D), establishing a digital single market in Africa via the AfCFTA, enhancing STEM education and digital skills, and collaborating on data sovereignty and digital taxation.

Nigeria's response to Covid-19 was characterized by low reported death rates, potentially due to limited testing capacity, and a reliance on lockdowns that exacerbated poverty for low-income earners. The pandemic exposed critical weaknesses in the national health system, which had received funding below the 15% Abuja Declaration target, and highlighted the economic risk of the country's heavy dependence on oil revenue. To mitigate economic contraction, the government adjusted its oil benchmark price, secured a $3.4 billion IMF loan, and implemented various tax reliefs and intervention funds for small businesses and the healthcare sector.

The 2020 Goal 1 assessment concludes that the world is failing to halve natural forest loss and associated greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and is not on track to stop them by 2030. Using data from Global Forest Watch and the FAO, the report finds that global annual gross tree cover loss has increased by 40% since the NYDF was signed in 2014 compared to the 2001-2013 baseline. Humid tropical primary forest loss has increased by 41% on average since the baseline period. While net natural forest loss decreased slightly from 10.4 million hectares per year (2000-2010) to 7.8 million hectares per year (2010-2020), this is insufficient to meet targets. Tropical Africa is identified as an emerging frontier of forest loss, while Latin America remains the region with the highest absolute area of primary forest loss. Greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and primary forest loss are also moving away from 2030 targets, with primary forest emissions 45% higher since the NYDF signing than before.

FSD Africa reports that between 2012 and 2020, it reached over 5.47 million people and 3.2 million MSMEs through financial inclusion and capital market projects. Key achievements include catalysing £1.53 billion in long-term capital, supporting 27,000 jobs, and effecting approximately 130 regulatory changes. The organization is now transitioning to 'FSD 2.0', shifting focus toward 'sustainable futures', jobs, and basic services, with a particular emphasis on green finance and Covid-19 recovery.

The document identifies six key areas where technical assistance and capacity building (TACB) are needed to implement a future WTO instrument on fisheries subsidies: identifying and notifying subsidies, ensuring compliance with prohibitions, establishing domestic rules, re-purposing subsidy schemes, identifying IUU fishing and overfished stocks, and strengthening management regimes. Analysis of OECD and Pew Charitable Trusts data from 2012–2017 reveals that while fisheries-related official development assistance (ODA) has grown, it remains a small fraction (0.3%) of total sector-allocable ODA. The brief finds a significant gap in support for subsidy reform and IUU monitoring, while a large portion of funding is directed toward general fisheries management and development projects that may inadvertently increase fishing capacity in regions like Africa.

The document examines the current state of compensation in investment treaty disputes, highlighting a trend toward massive awards driven by the 'discounted cash flow' (DCF) method. It argues that current practices often diverge from international law and national legal standards, creating significant financial burdens for host states. The guide analyzes three main valuation categories—market-based, income-based, and asset-based—and evaluates emerging treaty practices from Africa, India, and the Netherlands. It concludes by proposing four reform options: balancing rules, limiting compensation to actual investment amounts, integrating host-state benefit analysis, and applying national laws.

The document analyzes the fragmented, polycentric nature of global sustainable energy governance. It highlights the central role of SDG 7 in integrating energy access, renewable energy, and energy efficiency, while detailing the contributions of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) initiative. Despite progress in multi-stakeholder cooperation, the text notes a significant funding gap and the lack of a single, legally binding international treaty to coordinate the energy transition holistically.

The document examines the coordinated response of African regional bodies and the specific national strategies of South Africa and Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the role of the Africa CDC and AU in fostering continental cooperation, while contrasting the high-testing, strict-lockdown approach of South Africa with Nigeria's reliance on existing polio and Ebola infrastructure. The paper argues that while health measures were often proactive, the socio-economic fallout—including job losses, increased poverty, and human rights violations by security forces—will have a more lasting impact than the virus itself.

The document argues that Latin American countries failed to coordinate their COVID-19 responses, contrasting this with the coordinated efforts seen in Africa. It highlights how the dismantling of regional health mechanisms, political denialism in Brazil and Mexico, and the instrumentalisation of multilateral organisations like PAHO hampered the region's ability to manage the crisis. The author notes that this lack of coordination, combined with underfunded healthcare systems and pre-existing economic vulnerabilities, led to high death rates and severe economic contractions, disproportionately affecting women and those in informal settlements.

The policy brief examines the health diplomacy of the US and China during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically focusing on Africa and Latin America. It argues that while both powers used health aid to gain diplomatic ground, China committed more new resources and employed a multi-actor approach, whereas the US relied heavily on pre-existing frameworks like PEPFAR. The document also analyzes systemic impacts, such as the disruption of global supply chains and the rise of nationalism over multilateralism, and highlights the critical need for health equity and global cooperation to manage future public health crises.

The policy brief argues that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the critical link between ecosystem health and human health, asserting that ecological degradation and wildlife trade are root causes of zoonotic spillover. It proposes a five-part framework for policymakers: halting ecosystem loss, reforming livestock production, regulating commercial wildlife trade, safeguarding existing conservation investments, and implementing cross-cutting 'nature-positive' economic recovery strategies. The authors emphasize that protecting nature is a cost-effective tool for both public health and financial recovery, potentially creating millions of jobs by 2030.

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the critical link between ecosystem health and human health, urging a recovery strategy that prioritizes the protection and restoration of nature to mitigate the risk of future zoonotic diseases.

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the critical link between ecosystem health and human health, urging policymakers to adopt nature-based solutions for both pandemic prevention and economic recovery. It recommends ending ecosystem degradation, reforming livestock production, regulating wildlife trade, and ensuring that economic stimulus packages include green conditionalities to avoid further environmental damage.

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 discusses how the perceived risk of illicit financial flows (IFFs) leads to de-risking in regional economic hubs, which negatively impacts capital flows and developmental outcomes for both hubs and integrated spoke countries. It emphasizes the need for regulatory frameworks that ensure financial integrity without undermining financial inclusion.

The report assesses the nascent green bonds market in Africa, noting that while it is gaining traction as a tool for climate mitigation and adaptation, it remains underdeveloped. The market is currently dominated by a few states and represents less than 1% of global issuance volumes. Key barriers to growth include institutional incapacity, a lack of national frameworks, and low awareness, although prospects for expansion are high as more states plan issuances or develop national guidelines.

The document argues that Wikipedia is a critical tool for communicating climate change information to a wider audience than academic journals, noting that it is often the first port of call for the general public and policymakers. It highlights a 'systemic bias' in Wikipedia's contributor base, which tends to be male and from developed countries, resulting in a lack of content from the Global South, particularly Africa. To address this, the guide provides detailed technical instructions on creating accounts, adding citations, using the Visual and Source editors, and navigating Talk pages. It also outlines the 'five pillars' of Wikipedia editing, emphasizing a neutral point of view and the necessity of verifiable sources. Furthermore, the guide explains how to join WikiProjects, such as WikiProject Climate Change, and provides a step-by-step framework for organizing 'edit-a-thons' to collaboratively improve specific topic areas.

The report presents a synthesis of discussions from a webinar involving Friends of the Earth International, the World March of Women, and the Latin American Network of Women Transforming the Economy. It posits that the COVID-19 pandemic is a symptom of a systemic crisis caused by capitalist accumulation, which also drives climate change and biodiversity loss. The authors advocate for a 'just recovery' centered on the 'sustainability of life,' requiring the decommodification of public services, the redistribution of domestic and care work, and the implementation of food sovereignty and agroecology. It calls for a new internationalism to challenge the power of transnational corporations and the 'ecological debt' owed by the Global North to the Global South.

The report argues that traditional mining taxation, heavily reliant on corporate income tax and royalties, is insufficient for developing countries due to profit shifting and outdated paradigms. It highlights new pressures, including the transition to low-carbon minerals, disruptive automation technologies that reduce local employment and payroll taxes, and the financial burdens of climate change. The document proposes a three-step roadmap—understanding current roles, crowdsourcing innovative ideas, and researching these options—to create a handbook of improved mining revenue collection strategies.