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The report compiles academic articles, toolkits, and policy documents focusing on the role of women in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). It highlights systemic marginalization, including restricted access to high-paying roles, finance, and land, while noting that ASM often provides a critical source of income and agency for women. The bibliography emphasizes the need for gender-responsive policies and formalization strategies to prevent further marginalization of women.

The document argues that COVID-19 exacerbated pre-existing gender inequalities in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, disproportionately affecting women through job losses, reduced incomes, and increased vulnerability to gender-based violence. Using case studies from Zimbabwe, Peru, and the Philippines, it highlights how women's roles—often considered 'peripheral' or informal—left them without government support and increased their domestic burdens. The brief recommends the adoption of rapid gender analyses, sex-disaggregated data collection, and gender-responsive budgeting to create emergency and long-term structural reforms that protect marginalized women in the mining sector.

The document examines the 'digital divide' and the rise of 'surveillance capitalism,' arguing that digital technologies often reinforce existing social, racial, and gender inequalities. It calls for the creation of 'democratic public communication spaces' that prioritize human dignity over corporate profit and proposes global regulations to ensure digital justice and the protection of communication as a basic human right.

Central Africa has experienced warming between 0.75°C and 1.2°C since 1960, leading to widespread losses in health, food security, and economic growth. Future risks include lethal heat exposure, severe biodiversity loss above 2°C, and significant GDP reductions. Adaptation requires increased finance, nature-based solutions, and improved climate services, though the region faces severe data constraints and funding gaps.

The document details the disproportionate impact of climate change on Central Africa, highlighting significant temperature increases, biodiversity loss, and economic decline. It emphasizes the critical need for transformative adaptation and increased climate finance to mitigate future risks to health, food security, and infrastructure.

The document outlines a comprehensive approach for Chinese financial institutions to manage environmental and social (E&S) risks in BRI projects. It emphasizes that proactive stakeholder engagement—comprising environmental information disclosure, public consultation, and the establishment of grievance mechanisms—reduces the likelihood of project delays and cancellations. The guide details the responsibilities of both financial institutions and their clients across the project lifecycle, from initiation and evaluation to construction and decommissioning. It aligns these practices with international standards such as the Equator Principles and IFC Performance Standards, while also mapping relevant Chinese regulatory requirements from bodies like the PBOC and CBIRC. A significant portion of the text is dedicated to the operationalization of an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) and provides case studies on tailoring engagement to local contexts in the DRC, Russia, and the Philippines.

The report presents survey data from 108,946 Facebook users worldwide, revealing high global levels of worry and belief that climate change is happening, though perceptions of its causes and the responsibility for action vary significantly by region. While there is widespread support for renewable energy and the belief that climate action will not harm economic growth, willingness to engage in organized climate activism remains low in most regions, with a notable exception in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report examines South Africa's transition from an internal combustion engine (ICE) automotive hub to an electric mobility market. It identifies key investment opportunities in public transport electrification, lithium-ion battery (LIB) production, passenger vehicle manufacturing, and industrial EV use in mining and construction. While South Africa has a strong existing automotive manufacturing base and significant mineral reserves for batteries, the EV market is hindered by high import duties, a lack of targeted subsidies, and a skills gap. The report emphasizes the risk of losing export markets as the UK and EU phase out ICE vehicles, while highlighting the Western Cape as an emerging greentech hub.

The document explains the fundamentals of battery cells, focusing on the critical role of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage. It details the mineral requirements for cathodes and anodes, highlighting the high geographic concentration of production for graphite, cobalt, and lithium. The guide also analyzes the battery value chain, noting China's dominance in midstream processing and cell manufacturing, and discusses future technologies like sodium-ion and solid-state batteries.

The document defines 'critical minerals' as raw materials essential for renewable energy and clean technology, noting that criticality is context-specific and varies by country. It identifies two primary perspectives on criticality: security and control of supply (emphasized by the US, EU, and Japan) and value capture (emphasized by China, Australia, and Canada). The guide highlights the role of rare earth elements (REEs) in permanent magnets and lists key demand drivers such as e-mobility and decarbonization. It also discusses supply sources, including the significant role of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) for cobalt and tantalum, and emerging sources like deep-seabed mining. Finally, it outlines the macroeconomic and geopolitical risks associated with mineral dependency, such as 'Dutch disease' and supply chain concentration.

The document provides a comprehensive overview of critical minerals, which are essential for renewable energy and low-carbon technologies. It distinguishes between two primary perspectives on criticality: supply security (emphasized by the US, EU, and Japan) and value capture (emphasized by China, Australia, and Canada). The text details the importance of rare earth elements, the drivers of demand—such as electric mobility and decarbonization—and the role of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). It also highlights the significant increase in mineral requirements for electric vehicles and the global demand projections for 2050, while warning governments about supply risks, macroeconomic volatility, and the 'Dutch disease'.

The document provides a comprehensive overview of critical minerals, which are essential for clean energy technologies and a low-carbon future. It explains that 'criticality' is context-dependent, defined either by supply security (import dependence) or strategic valuation (leveraging abundance). The text highlights the specific role of rare earth elements (REEs), the massive increase in mineral demand for electric vehicles and decarbonization, and the growing importance of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) alongside emerging sources like deep-sea mining and phytomining. It concludes by weighing the economic opportunities of value chain development against risks such as production concentration, price volatility, and the 'Dutch disease'.

The NAP Global Network's 2021-2022 progress report highlights its efforts to accelerate climate adaptation in the Global South through three main pillars: peer learning, technical assistance, and knowledge generation. Key achievements include the expansion of in-country support programs from two to nine, the launch of the NAP Trends platform, and the delivery of gender-responsive and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) focused summits. The Network reports steady progress toward its 2025 strategy targets, including support for least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS), while emphasizing the critical transition from adaptation planning to implementation.

The brief examines gender representation among individuals invited to brief the UN Security Council between 2015 and 2021. While the period remained male-dominated overall, the proportion of male briefers fell from 77% in 2015 to 52% in 2021. Women are more frequently represented when briefing as members of civil society organizations (CSOs) or government institutions, whereas men dominate the UN system and other multilateral organizations. The authors note a positive trend in the consultation of women's CSOs, which have moved from being primarily invited to thematic Women, Peace and Security (WPS) debates to briefing on a wider array of country-specific issues, including Afghanistan, Colombia, the DRC, Libya, and Mali.

The project, funded by the European Union under the GCCA+ Programme, aims to strengthen the use of marine and coastal ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in Southern Africa. It focuses on improving national climate policies, promoting community participation, and establishing a regional Community of Practice to enhance the resilience of coastal communities against climate risks such as sea level rise and tropical storms.

The 2022 SEforALL Forum, held in Kigali, Rwanda, mobilized USD 347 million in new financial commitments to support clean energy transitions and energy access in developing countries. Key outcomes included the Kigali Communique, which outlines seven transformative actions for a just energy transition in Africa, and the launch of several new partnerships and initiatives targeting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean cooking. The event emphasized the integration of youth in energy leadership and provided a platform for ministerial roundtables and B2B investment matchmaking.

The policy brief examines the severe fiscal constraints facing African countries during COVID-19 recovery, noting that while advanced economies mobilised about 6% of GDP, African countries mobilised barely 1%. It highlights the inadequacy of current debt relief mechanisms like the DSSI and the Common Framework, and the high cost of borrowing from international capital markets due to unfair credit ratings. The author proposes five policy priorities: establishing national donor coordination frameworks, reallocating public investment to de-risk private projects, extending the DSSI for two years with partial debt cancellation, creating a transparent multilateral framework for debt resolution involving commercial creditors, and exploring the establishment of independent, publicly owned credit rating agencies.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased food insecurity across Africa, with upper-middle income countries like South Africa experiencing higher vulnerability due to their reliance on formal employment and global supply chains. While agricultural production grew in 2020, protectionist measures such as export bans in Malawi hindered the redistribution of food. The document highlights the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as a critical mechanism to reduce dependence on global imports, lower trade barriers, and improve food resilience through increased intra-continental trade and the legalisation of informal cross-border trade.

The report examines the tension between the adoption of advanced mining technologies by large-scale industrial producers in the DRC and the struggle of local suppliers to capture value from these investments. While projects like the Kibali gold mine and Kamoa-Kakula copper project implement high levels of automation and green technology, the local procurement market remains dominated by foreign firms due to gaps in capital, specialized skills, and infrastructure. The document analyzes the 2018 Mining Code's attempts to mandate local content and identifies systemic barriers—including poor intellectual property enforcement and a weak manufacturing base—that hinder the transfer of technology to Congolese enterprises.

The report examines how the adoption of advanced mining technologies—such as automation and smart sensors—affects local procurement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While industrial projects like the Kibali gold mine and Kamoa-Kakula copper project showcase world-leading innovation, local suppliers struggle to benefit due to gaps in capital, specialized skills, and a weak manufacturing base. The document analyzes the 2018 Mining Code's local content requirements and identifies systemic barriers, including poor infrastructure and an outdated intellectual property framework, that hinder the transition from foreign-dominated supply chains to a robust local industry.