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The Forest Territories Facility (FTF) is a proposed USD 160 million programme targeting 15 countries in Central Africa and the Gulf of Guinea. Managed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the facility aims to maintain the extent and functionality of tropical forests through four paradigm-shift pathways: protecting biodiversity, promoting inclusive sustainable forest management, intensifying agriculture to achieve 'zero deforestation', and stabilizing land use. The programme employs a programmatic approach, combining national-level regulatory support with local landscape-based pilot projects. Funding is requested primarily from the Green Climate Fund (USD 120 million), utilizing a mix of grants and senior loans over a 20-year lifespan.

The report analyzes the global cotton industry, highlighting the growth of sustainable cotton produced under voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) and the challenges posed by climate change and market volatility. It examines the disparity in value distribution across the textile supply chain, where smallholder farmers receive a minimal fraction of retail prices. While VSS like Better Cotton and Organic can improve yields and incomes, the report notes that many sustainable products are sold at conventional prices. It recommends improving contract transparency, internalizing external costs, and developing regional value chains, particularly in West Africa, to enhance resilience and farmer income.

The report finds that majorities in all 73 surveyed low-emission areas have experienced extreme weather, with unusually hot weather being the most common hazard. Most respondents attribute these events to climate change, yet significant gaps in individual and household preparedness exist, particularly in South America and Europe. Recovery times vary widely, with some populations in Central Asia and the Balkans expecting recovery to take a year or more.

The document examines the 'third generation' DDRRR processes used in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to manage exits from Boko Haram. It argues that effective disengagement requires understanding individual motivations to create tailored incentives, implementing gender-sensitive screening to distinguish between victims and active combatants, and ensuring regional coordination to prevent isolated national approaches. The brief highlights the need for predictable legal frameworks and active community engagement to prevent the perception of blanket amnesties and reduce social tension during reintegration.

The 2023 Annual Monitoring Review marks the conclusion of SEforALL's 2021-2023 Business Plan, reporting the overachievement of cross-organizational KPIs. Key results include the mobilization of over USD 8 billion towards energy access and clean energy transitions, the facilitation of 26,669 new energy access connections, and the support of 31 countries in 2023. The report details achievements across four thematic areas: Energy Diplomacy and Advocacy, Energy Access and Closing the Gap, Energy Transitions and Climate, and the Intersection with other SDGs. Notable outcomes include the spearheading of UN Energy Compacts with USD 1.3 trillion in commitments and the deployment of the Universal Energy Facility (UEF) in five countries.

The report highlights that community-held lands, covering approximately 50% of the world's land, often exhibit higher species richness and lower deforestation rates than state-managed protected areas (PAs). It argues that tenure security is fundamental to these positive outcomes, citing significant reductions in forest clearing in the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazons following land titling. Despite this, the document notes a severe funding gap, with only a small fraction of global biodiversity finance reaching community organizations. It also warns that 'fortress conservation' has led to mass evictions and human rights violations, calling for a shift toward rights-based conservation and the use of Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to meet global targets like the 30x30 goal.

The 2022 rainy season in West Africa saw above-average rainfall and devastating floods, particularly in Nigeria and Niger, where fatalities reached at least 612 and 195 respectively. An attribution study found that climate change made the seasonal rainfall over the Lake Chad region approximately 80 times more likely and 20% more intense, while the 7-day maximum rainfall over the lower Niger Basin became about twice as likely and 5% more intense. Beyond climate change, the flooding was driven by the release of the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon and exacerbated by high poverty rates, political instability, and the location of infrastructure and settlements on flood plains.

By 30 September 2022, cumulative global GSS+ debt topped USD3.5 trillion, with green bonds surpassing the USD2 trillion milestone. While Q3 2022 saw a decline in issuance volumes due to geopolitical and macroeconomic factors, the market remains dominated by EUR, USD, and CNY denominations. In the Middle East and Africa (MEA), the GSS+ market has reached USD33.2 billion, characterized by a high proportion of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) compared to the global average, reflecting the region's concentration of hard-to-abate sectors.

In 2022, 1.2 billion rural and urban poor were at high risk due to lack of cooling access, an increase of 28 million from 2021. An additional 2.47 billion lower-middle-income people are at medium risk, while 1.36 billion middle-income people are at low risk. The report highlights that while electricity access has improved, income and urbanization trends drive cooling demand, with significant risks concentrated in Africa and the 'Critical 9' countries.

The document examines the gap between scientific recognition of transboundary climate risks and the current local focus of multilateral adaptation finance. It proposes a shift toward 'systemic resilience' to address risks that cross borders via shared ecosystems, trade, and financial flows.

The report identifies a significant gap between the climate goals of WAEMU member states and their financial capacity to implement them. While there is interest in green bonds, the market is hindered by underdeveloped regional financial infrastructure, a lack of technical expertise in green eligibility and reporting, and a dominance of sovereign debt that crowds out corporate issuers. The document recommends strengthening regulatory frameworks, providing technical assistance for project pipeline development, and utilizing risk-mitigation tools like guarantees to attract a more diverse investor base beyond commercial banks.

The report finds that while there is interest in Green Bonds in the WAEMU region, the market is in a nascent stage due to underdeveloped financial infrastructure, a lack of government focus on climate regulatory frameworks, and limited technical capacity among stakeholders. It identifies energy, agriculture, and clean transportation as priority sectors and recommends sustained capacity building, the development of regional guidelines, and the use of technical assistance and risk-transfer instruments to attract investors.

The report analyzes how the informality of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger facilitates illicit financial flows (IFFs) and fuels regional conflict. It examines the legal frameworks, the scale of gold smuggling—particularly to the UAE—and the ways non-state armed groups exploit mining sites for funding and recruitment. The document highlights a 'vicious circle' where state absence and corruption drive miners toward informal or militant-controlled sites, while recommending simplified formalization, tax harmonization, and multi-level governance to stabilize the sector.

The Ouémé Basin Climate-Resilience Initiative (OCRI) is a six-year project in Benin designed to reduce climate vulnerability for 330,000 direct beneficiaries and 6 million indirect beneficiaries. The initiative focuses on the Upper and Middle Ouémé Basin, implementing a mix of hard infrastructure (micro-dams, water harvesting) and soft measures (climate-resilient agriculture, agroforestry) across 95,000 hectares. It targets key value chains including maize, cashew, shea, and mango to diversify income and reduce poverty. The project also establishes a multi-stakeholder platform to institutionalize integrated basin management and strengthens the financial capacity of the Fonds National pour l’Environnement (FNEC) to provide long-term climate finance.

GDS International is implementing a solar mini-grid project in Benin with a capacity of 1.7 to 3 MW to address rural energy poverty. The project, costing less than 10 million EUR and partially funded by the Off-Grid Clean Energy Facility (OCEF), aims to serve up to 6,000 households and 2,400 productive activities over 20 years while promoting local economic development and gender-inclusive employment.

The Russia-Ukraine war has worsened systemic weaknesses in the international food system, disproportionately affecting African countries due to their high reliance on food, fuel, and fertiliser imports from Russia and Ukraine. This vulnerability is compounded by climate-induced weather events, internal conflicts, and structural infrastructure deficits. The report highlights that food price shocks have already triggered protests in countries like Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, and Sudan. To mitigate these risks, the authors recommend that private companies support the diversification of food sources and local agribusiness capacity, while African governments should reduce regulation and leverage regional integration platforms like the AfCFTA.

The report reviews 24 financing strategies from developing countries, categorizing them into discrete adaptation strategies and general climate action strategies. It finds that while these documents help communicate priorities and attract international grants, there is a significant gap in strategic analysis regarding how to leverage public finance to attract private investment. The report emphasizes the need for stronger engagement from ministries of finance and planning, as well as improved country-level tracking of climate finance to measure the actual impact of these strategies.

The document explores the evolving relationship between Korea and Africa, focusing on how Korea's carbon-neutrality goals and technological expertise can support Africa's climate resilience. It identifies key areas for partnership, including renewable energy, green minerals for batteries, smart city development, and climate-resilient agriculture, while emphasizing the need for these initiatives to be African-led and aligned with the AU's strategic framework.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) highlights the need for integrated planning to manage synergies and trade-offs between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The briefing presents the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) as a unique open-access, quantitative, and prospective tool capable of analyzing both Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and SDGs. SEI's Initiative on Integrated Climate and Development Planning has expanded LEAP with extensions for macroeconomic impacts, health, agriculture, and land use, which have been applied in 16 countries to quantify the co-benefits of climate action.

The document details the re-accreditation reviews for three international entities: the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). All three entities are recommended for re-accreditation without conditions. ADB and EBRD are recommended for 'large' project sizes and 'high risk' (Category A/I-1) environmental and social (E&S) risk categories. UNEP is recommended for an upgrade to 'medium' project size and maintains a 'medium risk' (Category B/I-2) E&S category. The assessments cover fiduciary standards, E&S safeguards, gender policies, and the entities' overall climate portfolios, noting that all three have aligned their strategies with the Paris Agreement and GCF's 2020–2023 Strategic Plan.