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This policy note examines the Compact with Africa (CwA), an initiative launched in 2017 to increase private investment and infrastructure in African countries through coordinated reform agendas and stakeholder cooperation.

The G20 Compact with Africa (CwA), initiated in 2017, aims to boost private investment and infrastructure in Africa through reform agendas in macroeconomic, business, and financing frameworks. While CwA countries often show stronger growth and trade performance, a direct causal link to investment flows remains unproven, and foreign direct investment to Africa rose only by $4.5 billion between 2017 and 2023. To enhance the initiative, the author recommends that South Africa's G20 presidency facilitate the admission of interested countries such as Angola, Kenya, and Zambia, and elevate the African Advisory Group (AAG) to a permanent G20 working group. Additionally, the note suggests spotlighting critical minerals and energy investment, improving investment grades to reduce Africa's $75 billion risk premium, and implementing 'country platforms' to increase private sector engagement in reform agendas.

The document examines the tension between mineral-exporting and importing nations, noting that traditional trade and investment agreements often prioritize importer access over exporter development. It highlights the limitations of current Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and voluntary ESG provisions, recommending that exporting countries reform 'old-generation' investment agreements and that importing countries support local value addition to build more resilient and responsible supply chains.

The document examines the consequences of the US aid freeze and the shutdown of USAID for Nigeria, specifically focusing on the risks to public health and poverty levels. Using International Futures (IFs) modelling, it predicts that the reduction in aid could push 700,000 additional Nigerians into extreme poverty by 2030 and shrink the economy by US$237 million. The health sector is identified as the most vulnerable area, particularly the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. The author argues that while the abrupt cut is harmful to the destitute, it serves as a necessary wake-up call for the Tinubu administration to increase domestic funding for essential services, noting that other bilateral donors are unlikely to fill the gap due to their own budget cuts for defence.

The document examines the evolution of stabilization clauses in the mining sector, arguing that traditional 'freezing' and 'economic equilibrium' clauses often constrain a state's right to regulate. It promotes the 2020 OECD Guiding Principles, which delegitimize non-fiscal stabilization and advocate for a targeted, commercially justified approach to fiscal stabilization. The guide introduces the concept of 'revenue certainty' for governments and provides specific model clauses for laws and contracts to ensure that investors' needs for predictability are balanced against the state's public interest objectives and the need to prevent tax base erosion.

The document examines the evolution of stabilization clauses in the extractive sector, arguing for a shift away from 'freeze' and 'economic equilibrium' clauses toward a model based on the 2021 OECD Guiding Principles. It distinguishes between non-fiscal stabilization, which it argues should be abandoned to protect the state's right to regulate for the public interest, and fiscal stabilization, which should be limited to specific, time-bound commercial needs. The guide provides detailed model language for laws and contracts to ensure revenue certainty for governments and predictability for investors, while explicitly excluding the use of stabilization to protect against anti-tax avoidance measures or climate-related regulations.

Egypt's Fourth National Communication details the country's climate vulnerabilities, particularly regarding water scarcity and sea-level rise, and outlines a strategic framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 24% by 2030 compared to business-as-usual levels. The report emphasizes a transition toward a green economy through the Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy 2035, aiming for a 42% share of renewables by 2035, and the implementation of extensive adaptation measures in agriculture, coastal zones, and public health. It also highlights the critical impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on water security and the need for enhanced international climate finance and technology transfer.

The statement by Friends of the Earth International criticizes current biodiversity financing mechanisms as unjust and insufficient, highlighting how the global financial sector drives nature loss through credits to extractive industries and debt cycles in developing nations. It rejects market-based solutions like biodiversity offsets and green bonds as 'greenwashing' and calls for direct financial support for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs).

The statement critiques current biodiversity financing mechanisms as unjust and insufficient, highlighting how the global financial sector drives biodiversity loss through credits to extractive industries and predatory debt cycles. It argues that 'false solutions' like biodiversity offsets and green bonds often facilitate greenwashing or profit from destruction. The document calls for a system change that prioritizes direct funding for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), who are identified as the most effective conservation actors but the least funded.

The document critiques the current financial mechanisms of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, highlighting how the Global Environment Facility and private finance models perpetuate biodiversity loss. It identifies the role of banks in funding extractive industries and the 'predatory debt' cycles that force developing nations into nature-destroying exports. The author rejects biodiversity offsets and green bonds as 'false solutions' and calls for direct funding mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs).

In February 2025, M23 rebels captured Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province in the eastern DRC, following the previous seizure of Goma. The document argues that Rwanda's support for M23 is driven by a combination of national security concerns—specifically the threat posed by the Democratic Forces of the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)—and economic interests related to minerals like gold, tin, and tantalum. It further notes that rivalry with Uganda and a perceived weakness in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have emboldened Rwanda's actions. Despite calls from the US, France, the UK, and China for Rwandan forces to withdraw, the international response remains tepid, with few concrete sanctions or aid cuts implemented.

The briefing argues that South Africa's economic growth is contingent upon strengthening political institutions, professionalising the public service, and enhancing electoral accountability. It calls for a cohesive foreign policy to restore regional leadership within SADC and the AfCFTA, a decisive plan to combat corruption and gender-based violence, and the effective operationalisation of the Climate Change Act through local government reform and private-public partnerships.

The report argues that South Africa's economic growth is contingent upon strengthening political institutions and accountability. It recommends a ten-point plan focusing on electoral reform, the professionalization of the public service, and the governance redesign of state-owned enterprises like Eskom and Transnet. Regionally, it urges a more proactive role in SADC to defend electoral integrity and improve security mechanisms. On climate, it advocates for the operationalization of the Climate Change Act and a just energy transition through public-private partnerships.

The document contains technical appendices for a report on reforming environmentally harmful subsidies (EHS). It introduces a 'Fiscal Pressure' indicator to identify countries where high debt and deficits create strong incentives for subsidy reform, and provides a stakeholder analysis mapping the influence and attitudes of businesses, governments, consumers, and civil society toward EHS reform.

The report argues that Africa remains hindered by colonial legacies, financial dependency, and weak institutional leadership. It highlights critical crises in food security, youth unemployment, and rising conflict, while critiquing the AU's leadership selection process and its focus on reparations over immediate structural reforms. The document recommends a more proactive AU Commission, a reformed Peace and Security Architecture, and a unified foreign policy to transition Africa from a passive observer to a powerful global actor.

The document examines systemic barriers in Africa's mining sector, including tax avoidance, high borrowing costs, and technological monopolies. It proposes a 'resource leverage strategy' to exchange mineral access for technology transfer and local beneficiation, while advocating for the adoption of African-led financial frameworks like the African Continental Ratings Agency (AfCRA) and AMREC-PARC to foster economic independence.

The report maps nearly one hundred agreements on critical minerals between African states and global actors, highlighting the strategic competition for resources. It identifies a lack of transparency in these deals and notes that while China and Russia are prominent, other actors like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are expanding their footprints. The analysis emphasizes that these partnerships often reflect broader geopolitical and historical ties rather than just economic needs.

The document reports on interviews with 1,500 farmers in ten African mountain regions, identifying increased temperatures, reduced fog, and erratic rainfall as primary climatic changes. These changes have led to lower yields for maize, cassava, and coffee, as well as reduced milk production and increased soil erosion. Farmers are adapting through on-farm strategies like changing planting dates and adopting new crop varieties, though wealth and conflict significantly influence the capacity to adapt. The brief recommends improving access to credit and markets, enhancing knowledge exchange, and accounting for the impacts of violent conflict in adaptation planning.

The report examines four case studies to illustrate strategies for integrating gender perspectives into mining operations. In the DRC, Kamoa Copper SA uses a tiered educational and training pipeline to increase female employment. In South Africa, Ivanplats leverages intersectional legislative frameworks to foster partnerships between national contractors and Black women-owned businesses. In Mauritania, Kinross Gold Corporation supports a women's sewing cooperative to diversify local income. In Chile, SQM co-established the Atacameña Women’s Alliance (AMA) to provide health and financial support through a participatory governance model. The document argues that combining direct employment, inclusive procurement, and community-led benefit agreements can transform mining's social impact and enhance the economic empowerment of marginalized women.

The document argues that Africa's rapid urban growth necessitates immediate investment in food environments to prevent unhealthy path dependencies. It identifies a funding gap of US$100 million over the next five years across four key initiatives: AfriFOODlinks, the Africa Food Environment Research Network (FERN), the Living Off-Grid Food & Infrastructure Collaboration (LOGIC), and the Resilient Municipal Market Fund (ReMark). The brief emphasizes that urban food environments are shaped by physical, economic, social, and infrastructural factors, and suggests aligning these with agroecological principles to improve resilience, equity, and resource efficiency.