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The policy brief argues that while crop insurance can enhance climate resilience and food security by protecting livelihoods and encouraging investment, adoption in Africa remains low due to design flaws and affordability. It reviews lessons from multi-peril and index-based insurance, highlighting the need to reduce basis risk through AI and digital innovations. The authors recommend that South Africa's G20 presidency promote high-quality, inclusive insurance products, integrate them into holistic risk management strategies alongside social protection, and develop 'smart subsidy' approaches tailored to different farmer profiles.

The policy brief examines the role of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)—comprising digital identity, payments, and data-sharing systems—in addressing the shadow economy in Africa, which is estimated by the IMF to represent roughly 35% of GDP (approximately $1–1.2 trillion). It distinguishes between the general informal economy and the 'shadow economy,' focusing on high-value transactions deliberately structured to evade taxes. The document highlights that cash transactions enable this opacity, while digitalisation can increase visibility and audit trails. Drawing on lessons from South Korea's Tax Incentive for Electronically Traceable Payments (TIETP) and India's 'India Stack' and demonetisation, the brief suggests that incentivising consumers to use digital payments is more effective than solely targeting sellers. It notes that while Uganda has used DPI to register over 350,000 informal participants, revenue gains were limited by weak enforcement and data-sharing obstacles. The brief recommends that South Africa, during its 2025 G20 presidency, advocate for an 'Africa Stack' of open APIs and modular technology to spur private sector innovation and improve tax administration across the continent.

The workshop, held in September 2025, focused on linking local leadership with global climate frameworks. Through case studies from India, South Africa, and Ethiopia, participants identified the necessity of community ownership, political will at the national level, and the use of the COP30 Action Agenda to scale locally-led solutions. The event concluded that a global Just Transition must be grounded in local realities and supported by international mechanisms for finance and knowledge sharing.

The report finds that while 100% of reviewed NAP documents acknowledge the importance of MEL, significant gaps remain in institutional capacity and financial resources. Only 18% of countries have dedicated MEL units and 29% mention dedicated financing. While output-level indicators are common (55%), impact-level indicators are used by only 31% of countries. The report also highlights a lack of structured implementation, with only 39% of documents including a roadmap or timeline for MEL rollout. Integration of gender-responsive indicators is emerging (45%), but disaggregation by age, disability, and geography remains low.

The paper examines bioeconomy implementation in Colombia, Thailand, and East Africa, highlighting a common gap between high-level strategies and ground-level execution. In Colombia, the focus is on territorial strategies and balancing biodiversity conservation with sustainable use. Thailand emphasizes a Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) model driven by Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), though it faces challenges in including artisanal bioeconomy and smallholder farmers. East Africa utilizes a regional strategy (2022–2032) focusing on circularity and value addition, but struggles with infrastructure and funding. Cross-regional findings suggest that successful implementation requires robust monitoring, tailored capacity building, diverse financial support, and inclusive governance.

The report identifies a significant 'take-off' in solar panel imports to Africa, with imports from China rising 60% to 15,032 MW in the 12 months to June 2025. This growth is widespread, with 20 countries setting new import records and 25 countries importing at least 100 MW. The report suggests this surge may be driven by distributed solar, potentially replacing expensive diesel generation and significantly increasing electricity supply in several countries, such as Sierra Leone and Chad.

The report examines the role of intellectual property rights (IPR) in accelerating the adoption and development of green technologies across Africa. It highlights that while patents are often prohibitively expensive for African innovators, non-patent mechanisms like utility models, trademarks, and geographical indications (GIs) offer more accessible pathways for incremental innovation and market growth. The document analyzes the IPR landscapes of Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria, noting that while these countries are emerging as greentech hubs, their legal frameworks often lack explicit provisions for green technology. It further discusses the influence of global agreements like the Paris Agreement and TRIPS, and regional initiatives such as the AfCFTA, arguing that harmonizing IPR systems and reducing registration costs are critical to unlocking Africa's potential in the global green economy.

This fact sheet from the Institute for Economic Justice examines the structural causes of the African debt crisis, the impact of high interest rates on public services, and the limitations of G20 initiatives. It argues that the crisis is rooted in a 'rigged global system' and calls for systemic reform and debt cancellation through movements like Jubilee 2025.

The document argues that G20 climate finance often prioritizes private profit over public welfare, trapping vulnerable nations in debt through loan-based funding and 'de-risking' strategies. It calls for a shift toward grant-based funding and public investment based on the 'polluter pays' principle to ensure a just energy transition.

The assessment finds that while Somalia is modernizing its legal framework through the 2019 National Minerals Resources Policy and new environmental laws, its mining sector remains predominantly informal and artisanal. Key strengths include a clear fiscal regime for extractives and strong political will to align with international standards. However, significant gaps persist, including an outdated 1984 Mining Code, a lack of a comprehensive mining cadaster, unknown levels of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activity, and the cultural exclusion of women from the sector. The report recommends enacting a new Mining Bill, establishing a robust mining inspectorate, and developing a formalization roadmap for ASM.

The document argues that digital public infrastructure (DPI)—comprising digital identity, payments, and data-sharing systems—can increase the visibility of economic activities in Africa's shadow economy, which accounts for roughly 35% of GDP. It contrasts the approach of some African nations, which tax digital financial services (DFS) transactions directly, with the strategies of South Korea and India, which used digital systems to create audit trails and improve broader tax compliance. The brief recommends that African governments adopt a multi-layered DPI ecosystem, prioritize strategic compliance targeting of high-value non-compliant actors, and leverage South Africa's 2025 G20 presidency to foster an 'Africa stack' for scalable deployment.

The document analyzes the institutional strain on BRICS caused by its expansion, noting that while the bloc's global influence has grown, its consensus-based governance struggles with divergent member interests. It evaluates Brazil's 2025 presidency, which attempted to prioritize institutional development but saw most structural reforms deferred in the Rio Declaration. The authors contrast the informal nature of the broader bloc with the formal success of the New Development Bank (NDB) and propose six targeted, low-bureaucracy improvements—including a shared document repository and standardized onboarding—to improve operational effectiveness without sacrificing the group's flexible identity.

The document analyzes the effects of Executive Order 14257, which introduced a 10% universal tariff and higher country-specific tariffs (11% to 50%) on imports to the U.S. While mineral-exporting nations may find relief through exemptions for critical minerals, countries like Lesotho and Madagascar face severe economic risks, particularly in textiles. The authors discuss the precarious future of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and advocate for a coordinated continental strategy via the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area to mitigate these trade disruptions.

The document examines the threats to Africa's development financing, including trade fragmentation, the 'securitisation' of economic policy, and high debt burdens. It proposes five ring-fencing mechanisms—public expenditure reviews, medium-term expenditure frameworks, independent funds, statutory protections, and debt-relief linkages—to ensure continuity in funding for education, infrastructure, and climate resilience. It further suggests that African governments frame development as complementary to security to leverage international financing and calls for reforms in the international financial architecture to support these protections.

BRICS nations now generate over half of the world's solar power, driven primarily by China, India, and Brazil. In 2024, these countries accounted for 51% of global solar electricity generation, with China alone contributing 39%. Solar power met 37% of the total increase in electricity generation across BRICS members in 2024, contributing to a total clean energy share of 70% for new generation growth. While China, India, and Brazil show strong continued growth in 2025, other members like Russia, Indonesia, and Egypt lag in solar deployment or remain dependent on fossil fuels.

The BRICS bloc generated over half of the world's electricity in 2024, with China dominating renewable energy production. While solar and wind capacity have grown exponentially in China, India, and Brazil since 2015, progress has stalled in Russia and South Africa. Hydropower's share of BRICS renewable generation fell from 82% in 2015 to 45% in 2023 as solar and wind expanded. China leads the bloc in total renewable energy jobs, though Brazil has the highest proportion of such jobs relative to its population.

The document examines the evolution of humanitarian communication, focusing on the tension between emotional storytelling and technical data. It analyzes the impact of generative AI on the authenticity of testimonies and images, the risks of 'infoglut' and fake news in conflict zones, and the intersectional vulnerabilities of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals facing climate change, specifically in Kenya.

The document examines the intersection of trade and the bioeconomy, arguing that while international trade can exacerbate biodiversity loss, it can also be leveraged through price-based, support, and regulatory measures to promote sustainability. It highlights the economic significance of biodiversity-based trade and calls for enhanced international cooperation, particularly through the G20, to align policies, remove harmful subsidies, and support low- and middle-income countries in their transition.

The report analyzes the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of climate-vulnerable countries—specifically the Maldives, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Saint Lucia—to provide a blueprint for G20 nations. It highlights best practices such as integrating mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage into single strategies, and prioritizing climate-resilient development over short-term fossil fuel gains. The document urges G20 members to submit updated NDCs by September 2025 that target at least a 43% emissions reduction by 2030 and 60% by 2035, while scaling up financial support to close a $5.8–5.9 trillion financing gap for developing countries.

The document argues that while Africa possesses immense renewable energy potential, over 600 million people lack electricity, and only 2% of global renewable energy investments in the last two decades have gone to the continent. It identifies critical barriers to private sector engagement, including currency mismatch, regulatory instability, and inadequate grid infrastructure. Using Nigeria as a case study, the report highlights the success of off-grid solar solutions compared to the struggling privatised on-grid sector. It recommends institutionalising predictable policies, expanding innovative finance like green bonds and blended finance, and investing in grid-compatible infrastructure and local technical capacity to accelerate the energy transition.