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This report by Ember analyzes the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) of EU countries to assess the trajectory of the EU power sector toward 2030. It finds that while renewable energy is expected to grow, the EU is not on track to meet the European Commission's recommended 55% emissions reduction target due to slow fossil fuel phase-outs and insufficient wind and solar deployment, particularly in seven specific member states.

This policy brief outlines a framework for strengthening the digital partnership between Africa and Europe. It highlights a significant digital divide, noting that only 28.2% of Africans used the internet in 2019 compared to 82.5% of Europeans. While both regions have strategic goals—such as the AU's Digital Transformation Strategy (2020-2030) and the EU's Digital Europe Programme—progress is hindered by funding gaps, fragmented regulations, and infrastructure deficits. The brief recommends prioritizing 'Digital4Development' (D4D), creating a digital single market in Africa via the AfCFTA, enhancing STEM education, and establishing collaborative frameworks for data sovereignty and taxation.

This methodology note describes the framework used by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and its partners to track and score government support for fossil fuels across G20 countries between 2014 and 2020.

This policy brief, authored by a coalition of 22 non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, argues that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the critical link between ecosystem health and human health. It provides a roadmap for policymakers to integrate nature-based solutions into pandemic response and economic recovery to prevent future zoonotic spillovers and achieve a nature-positive economy.

This policy brief argues that the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the critical link between ecosystem health and human health. It recommends that governments prevent future zoonotic pandemics by stopping the degradation of natural habitats, reforming livestock production, and strictly regulating the wildlife trade. Furthermore, it urges a "nature-positive" economic recovery that protects existing conservation investments, reallocates harmful agricultural subsidies, and integrates nature-based solutions into stimulus packages to create sustainable jobs and long-term economic resilience.

This policy brief, authored by a coalition of 21 non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations, argues that the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the critical link between ecosystem health and human health. It provides a roadmap for policymakers to integrate nature-based solutions into crisis management and economic recovery to prevent future zoonotic pandemics and ensure a sustainable, carbon-neutral future.

This policy brief from the International Institute for Sustainable Development explores the precautionary principle, a guide in international environmental law that advocates for taking protective action even in the absence of full scientific certainty to avoid serious or irreversible damage.

This report by the NewClimate Institute, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, and IIASA provides an update on climate mitigation policies, COVID-19 response measures, and the status of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and Long-Term Strategies (LTS) across 25 countries and regions between July 2019 and August 2020.

This briefing explores the precautionary principle as a guide for decision-makers to protect the environment, public health, and security in the face of scientific uncertainty. It traces the principle's evolution from national laws in Sweden to its integration into major international treaties and the law of the European Union, while discussing the ongoing tension between environmental safeguarding and economic development.

This policy brief examines how the European Union (EU) Green Deal operationalizes the concept of 'just transition' through a territorial approach. It analyzes the use of the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) to engage subnational carbon-intensive regions, aiming to bypass national-level political resistance to carbon neutrality by 2050. The author identifies several risks, including the potential for national governments to block funding, the lack of monitoring for vulnerable groups, and the need for the EU to address the global geopolitical impacts of decarbonization on fossil fuel-producing countries.

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines how regional integration, specifically through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and a strategic partnership with the European Union can accelerate the transition to green energy in Africa. It identifies significant energy deficits and systemic constraints—including finance, technical capacity, and domestic policy—that hinder progress, arguing that a regional approach can overcome the limitations faced by individual nation-states.

This policy brief examines the potential for the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) to collaborate on a circular economy transition in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that the EU's goal to shorten global value chains for food and medical security, combined with Africa's need for sustainable economic growth and job creation, provides a mutually beneficial opportunity to implement green recovery strategies and achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

This policy brief examines the strategic opportunities and challenges for cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Africa following the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It argues that the AfCFTA allows the EU to move beyond traditional development aid toward a political partnership based on equal terms, while highlighting the need for the EU to align its investment and trade support with the AfCFTA's goals to foster African economic resilience and productive capacity.

This briefing by the Climate Action Tracker analyzes COVID-19 recovery packages from five major emitters and updates global temperature projections, concluding that pandemic-related emission dips are not structural and will not significantly lower long-term warming.

This policy brief examines the tension between fossil fuel development and renewable energy transitions in Africa, highlighting the geopolitical competition between China's Belt and Road Initiative and the EU's 'green transitions' strategy. It argues that for the EU to effectively partner with African nations, it must shift its framing from climate change to energy security and economic development, while promoting transparency and social innovation to avoid foreign exploitation and 'debt traps'.

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the necessary adaptations for South Africa's trade policy following the COVID-19 pandemic. It advocates for a revised Trade Policy Strategic Framework that emphasizes regional integration through the AfCFTA and SACU, a strategic redesign of South Africa's role within the WTO, and the diversification of global trading partnerships to ensure economic resilience in the 2020s.

An analysis of the European Investment Bank's (EIB) transport investment portfolio since 2015, proposing alignment criteria and strategic priorities to ensure all finance flows support the Paris Agreement's temperature goals.

This report by Ember analyzes monthly electricity generation data in Europe, noting that EU electricity demand nearly returned to 2019 levels by August 2020, which contributed to a rise in coal generation.

This policy brief examines transboundary climate risks in Europe and discusses how this knowledge can support the development of climate-resilient trade and production for the EU, its Member States, and businesses.

A statement by Ember outlining seven demands for the European Union's Just Transition Mechanism to ensure that funding supports a genuine shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy and climate neutrality.