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This report summarizes progress toward Goal 9 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which focuses on rewarding countries and jurisdictions that reduce forest emissions through public policies, results-based payments, and private-sector commodity sourcing.

This executive summary from Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) analyzes finance commitments for electricity and clean cooking access in 20 high-impact developing countries, comparing the 2015-16 period to 2013-14. While electrification finance increased, it remains insufficient to meet 2030 goals, and clean cooking finance has declined. The report highlights a significant geographical imbalance, with Sub-Saharan Africa falling behind and a heavy reliance on a few Asian countries for total finance flows.

The 2018 Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE) report provides a global inventory of policies and regulations supporting Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), focusing on electricity access, clean cooking, energy efficiency, and renewable energy across 133 economies from 2010 to 2017.

The 2018 Energy Progress Report, a joint publication by five custodian agencies, evaluates global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). It concludes that the world is not on track to achieve universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030, as current progress falls short across all four SDG7 targets: electricity access, clean cooking, energy efficiency, and the share of renewable energy.

This policy brief examines the role of off-grid solar energy in Ethiopia's rural electrification efforts under the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II). While solar adoption has grown, the document identifies significant policy, financial, and administrative barriers that hinder private sector investment and the availability of high-quality equipment.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies provides a comprehensive overview of the legal and policy frameworks governing migration in Africa. It details the roles of the African Union (AU), various Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and partnerships with the European Union (EU) in managing refugees, internally displaced persons, labour migration, and the fight against human trafficking and smuggling.

The report by NewClimate Institute, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, and IIASA analyzes greenhouse gas emission projections for 25 major emitting countries and regions up to 2030. It assesses whether current policies are sufficient to meet their intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) and nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The paper analyzes the G20's role in supporting sustainable development in Africa, highlighting a growing alignment between G20 initiatives, the UN's 2030 Agenda, and the AU's Agenda 2063. While acknowledging progress in areas like infrastructure and industrialization, it criticizes the lack of African consultation in key initiatives like the Compact with Africa and the absence of a G20 focus on regional economic integration. It recommends that South Africa and other African representatives push for better resourcing of the AU and NEPAD within the G20 and advocate for a more integrated, multi-stakeholder approach to SDG implementation.

This policy brief analyzes the evolving migration relations between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) leading up to the November 2017 AU-EU Summit in Abidjan. It highlights a fundamental mismatch in priorities: the EU focuses on stemming irregular migration and border control, while African nations prioritize development, employment, and the management of remittances. The author critiques the EU's use of aid conditionality through the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) and notes the lack of a unified African position on migration, which weakens the continent's leverage in bilateral and international negotiations.

This research paper examines mechanisms for decentralizing climate finance to local levels, specifically analyzing the Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) facility in Ethiopia and the County Climate Change Funds (CCCFs) in Kenya to evaluate how local community priorities are balanced with national policies.

This case study by the Green Economy Coalition examines the impact of drought on rural livelihoods in Ethiopia and evaluates the effectiveness of traditional humanitarian aid versus market-based resilience strategies implemented by Mercy Corps.

This guide by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) provides six recommendations for funders and technical assistance practitioners on delivering effective country programmes to support climate compatible development in developing countries, based on CDKN's experience in 12 priority countries and the Caribbean.

This research paper explores the collaboration between Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and national entities in South Africa and Ethiopia regarding environmental and social (E&S) safeguards for infrastructure. It analyzes the transition toward 'country ownership' of these safeguards, highlighting the tension between MDB standards and national sovereignty. Using the Medupi Power Station in South Africa and infrastructure projects in Ethiopia as case studies, the paper identifies gaps in capacity building and accountability. It recommends the creation of country-specific E&S plans, enhanced regional capacity building based on the Asian Development Bank model, and a stronger role for national Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to ensure sustainable infrastructure development.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the emergence of agricultural growth poles (agropoles) and corridors in Africa. It describes these as coordinated investments in infrastructure and industry designed to transition African agriculture from subsistence to commercial systems. The document outlines the operational challenges facing these projects, the necessity of robust legal frameworks to avoid creating 'enclaves', and a three-step model (vision, design, and implementation) for ensuring responsible and sustainable development.

This research paper examines whether climate change-related expenditures are appearing in the national budgets of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda to support the implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The author finds that while some budget projections show increasing resources for key ministries, there is a significant discrepancy between these estimates and actual spending, and many NDC-related projects remain heavily dependent on international donor support.

This guidebook provides a framework and practical options for countries to conduct self-reviews and peer reviews of fossil fuel subsidies (FFSs). It aims to increase transparency and accountability to support the phase-out of inefficient subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, aligning with commitments made by the G7, G20, EU, and APEC.

This executive summary describes a guidebook designed to help countries conduct self- and peer reviews of fossil fuel subsidies (FFS). It outlines the purpose of these reviews as tools for transparency, accountability, and peer learning to support the phase-out of inefficient subsidies. The document details the 'building blocks' of a review—scope, definition, measurement, evaluation, and next steps—and provides practical recommendations based on the experiences of countries such as China, Finland, New Zealand, Peru, and Sweden.

This research paper examines how voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) act as both barriers and enablers for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) attempting to enter global value chains (GVCs) coordinated by multinational corporations (MNCs), with a specific focus on South Africa and Kenya as regional economic gateways.

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) analyzes South Africa's immigration regime and its impact on African economic migrants. It examines the tension between the government's desire to attract highly skilled talent and its efforts to deter irregular, semi-skilled migration. The paper evaluates the 2016 Green Paper on International Migration, noting its potential to streamline some processes while criticizing its regressive proposals for asylum seekers. It also compares South African policies with those of the European Union and discusses the role of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in regional migration governance.

This factsheet from the Raising Risk Awareness initiative analyzes the 2015-16 drought in Ethiopia, noting that the event's extreme rarity and severity—influenced by El Niño—strained the capacity of existing national and international preparedness and response systems.