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The report identifies Africa as a net energy exporter, though it forecasts that total energy demand will exceed production by 2039. While a small group of countries like Algeria, Nigeria, and Angola maintain high export values, a significant number of African nations remain heavily dependent on energy imports, a group expected to expand by 2043.

The report argues that nature-based solutions (NBS) and carbon offset schemes often serve as 'escapes' for major polluters to continue emitting greenhouse gases while facilitating land grabbing and violating human rights. It provides numerous case studies across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, highlighting systemic issues such as inflated carbon baselines, lack of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and the failure of projects to deliver promised carbon reductions or community benefits. Specific examples include REDD+ projects in Gabon and Zimbabwe, soil carbon initiatives in Kenya and the US, and cookstove offsets in India.

The document analyzes the 'epidemic' of military takeovers in Africa, identifying governance dysfunction, democratic decline, civil-military tensions, and Islamist insurgencies as primary drivers. It argues that the African Union (AU) and regional economic communities (RECs) have relied on reactive, inconsistent, and ineffective blanket sanctions that fail to deter coup plotters. The author recommends a shift toward prevention, targeted sanctions, and the strengthening of civil-military relations and democratic legitimacy.

The research paper examines the role of the Wagner Group and other private military contractors (PMCs) in Africa, highlighting their involvement in human rights abuses, the smuggling of mineral resources to fund the Russian state, and the use of disinformation campaigns to undermine democratic processes and Western influence. It notes that PMCs provide 'plausible deniability' for states to conduct criminal warfare and argues that the African Union's failure to implement existing anti-mercenary frameworks hampers regional peace and security.

The document evaluates the state of governance in Africa using indices such as the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG). It finds that while some progress has been made in 'voice and accountability', overall governance trends have remained static or declined since 1996. The analysis suggests that while APRM members are statistically more likely to show governance improvement than non-members, the number of reviews undergone does not definitively correlate with better scores. The author argues that both the APRM and the AGR suffer from a lack of implementation of their recommendations and that the AGR risks duplicating the APRM's efforts.

The report examines Australia's exposure to illegally harvested timber, focusing on high-risk supply chains from East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. It highlights the role of China and Vietnam as processing hubs that obscure the origin of timber from high-risk regions like the Congo Basin. The authors argue that current enforcement of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act (ILPA) is limited and recommend increased transparency, scientific species testing, and a shift toward tracing timber back to the country of harvest rather than the country of export.

The report examines the current state of mining taxation and proposes ten innovative policy ideas to increase government revenue. It highlights the shift toward critical minerals for the energy transition and the risks posed by automation and profit shifting. The proposed ideas include minimum profit sharing, production sharing contracts, state equity, state-owned enterprises, variable royalties, the 'Sixth Method' for transfer pricing, carbon pricing, development taxes for communities, competitive bidding for licenses, and remote monitoring for quarries. It also provides a framework for evaluating these reforms and discusses the legal challenges associated with fiscal stabilization clauses and international investment treaties.

The guide examines the current state of mining taxation, highlighting challenges such as base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), and proposes ten innovative policy ideas to improve revenue mobilization. These include minimum profit shares, production sharing contracts, variable royalties, and the 'Sixth Method' for transfer pricing. It also addresses the impact of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and suggests the implementation of domestic carbon pricing and remote monitoring technologies for industrial minerals. The document emphasizes the need for transparent governance, professional board management for state-owned enterprises, and a balanced approach to fiscal stability clauses to ensure sustainable development.

The GCF has become the largest multilateral climate finance contributor to African states, but its portfolio is heavily weighted toward mitigation (59%) over adaptation (41%), despite urgent regional needs. While the fund has successfully leveraged co-financing, particularly from Multilateral Development Banks, it faces significant efficiency challenges, including cumbersome accreditation and approval processes, language barriers for non-Anglophone states, and a paucity of Direct Access Entities (DAEs). The report recommends a strategic shift toward adaptation, streamlining access for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Fragile, Conflict and Violence (FCV) states, and increasing regional presence in Africa.

The document evaluates the impact of AU governance tools, finding that while APRM members are statistically more likely to show governance improvements than non-members, neither the APRM nor the AGR has fundamentally reversed a general trend of stagnation or decline in African governance since 1996. It highlights a lack of resilience in governance scores following shocks and argues that the focus of these mechanisms must shift from providing recommendations to ensuring their implementation.

The report analyzes the intersection of climate-resilient infrastructure and gender disparities in 19 African countries. It identifies how climate change disproportionately affects women—increasing labor burdens for food, water, and energy—and how inadequate infrastructure exacerbates these vulnerabilities. The document provides detailed socioeconomic profiles for several countries, including Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Nigeria, highlighting gaps in education, financial inclusion, and political representation. To mitigate these risks, the ICRF proposes a three-component strategy involving blended finance, capacity building, and policy interventions, with specific entry points for gender mainstreaming such as prioritizing women-led companies in procurement and collecting sex-disaggregated data.

The GCF is the largest multilateral climate finance contributor to African states, but its portfolio is heavily weighted toward mitigation (59%) over adaptation (41%), despite urgent regional needs. While the GCF has effectively leveraged co-financing, particularly through Multilateral Development Banks, it faces significant challenges in direct access, with only 18 Direct Access Entities (DAEs) accredited across 13 countries. The evaluation highlights cumbersome and rigid procedural barriers, including an English-only policy and high transaction costs, which hinder access for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Fragile, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) states. Gender-related co-benefits are growing, but engagement with indigenous peoples remains limited. The report recommends shifting the portfolio toward adaptation, streamlining accreditation and fee structures, and increasing regional presence in Africa.

The report argues that nature-based solutions (NbS) and carbon offsetting schemes often serve as a facade for corporate polluters to continue emitting while facilitating land grabbing and violating human rights. It provides numerous case studies across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, highlighting systemic issues such as inflated carbon baselines, lack of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and the failure of projects to deliver promised climate or social benefits. The document specifically critiques REDD+ projects, industrial tree plantations, and soil carbon programs for their lack of 'additionality' and their role in undermining food sovereignty and indigenous land rights.

The document argues that nature-based solutions (NBS) and carbon offsets often serve as a distraction for 'Big Polluters' to continue emitting while facilitating land grabs and violating Indigenous rights. It provides detailed evidence of inflated carbon baselines, lack of additionality, and social harms across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Key examples include REDD+ projects in Zimbabwe and Gabon that overestimated carbon savings, and soil carbon initiatives in the US and Kenya that threaten food sovereignty and traditional livelihoods. The report also critiques improved cookstove offsets for using flawed accounting to generate 'fake emission cuts'.

The document analyzes the gap between the formal legal recognition of climate justice and its practical application in Africa's mining and petroleum sectors. It highlights systemic failures in enforcement, the limitations of current judicial and administrative sanctions, and the marginalization of local communities. The report advocates for a shift toward 'active' judiciaries, the adoption of specific climate laws, and the strengthening of corporate due diligence to protect vulnerable populations from the environmental and social impacts of extractive activities.

The report argues that trade policy can either exacerbate or support biodiversity conservation. It identifies specific entry points within the WTO—including existing rules on subsidies and intellectual property, and new member-led initiatives—that can be aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The document proposes a 'nature-positive trade' approach involving the promotion of environmental goods and services, sustainable supply chain drivers, and the reform of harmful subsidies.

The 2023 Forest Pathways Report by WWF International highlights that the world is off track to meet 2030 goals to halt deforestation, with a 21% divergence from targets in 2022. It identifies a massive funding gap, where approximately US$2.2 billion in annual public forest-positive finance is dwarfed by up to US$1 trillion in environmentally harmful subsidies. The report emphasizes the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, noting that their territories often have lower deforestation rates. It advocates for a shift from single-value carbon offsets to a 'contributions approach' and the repurposing of agricultural subsidies. Case studies from Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, and Australia illustrate specific challenges and successful interventions in forest conservation and restoration.

Analysis of social media data from thirteen African countries indicates that the general public is either indifferent or negative toward Russia, with the Russia-Ukraine war serving as a primary driver of anti-Russia sentiment. While some positivity exists regarding Russia-Africa relations, particularly in South Africa and Mali, there is often a divide between government elites and citizens. The report highlights that even when users are suspicious of Western influence, negative attitudes toward Russia remain dominant, and evidence of bot activity was found in pro-Russia sentiment across all surveyed countries.

The E4N partnership, a collaboration between the Green Economy Coalition, Capitals Coalition, Green Growth Knowledge Partnership, and WWF France, worked to make 'natural capital-based green economies' a global best practice. The partnership focused on creating tools for measuring nature's value, convening multistakeholder networks, and advocating for the inclusion of nature in economic decision-making. Key achievements include the development of the Green Economy Tracker, the establishment of Business for Nature, and the integration of natural capital into the EU Green Deal and African development finance. While the report notes a shift toward 'nature-positive economies,' it highlights persistent challenges in data quality and capacity, as well as a gap between government rhetoric and actual policy implementation during COVID-19 green recovery efforts.

The document argues that 'net zero' targets are a 'smoke screen' allowing corporations to maintain fossil fuel and industrial agriculture business models. It specifically critiques 'nature-based solutions' (NbS) and carbon offsets as mechanisms that lead to land grabbing, the displacement of Indigenous and peasant communities, and the co-optation of agroecology. The report highlights the technical failures of carbon offsets, the volatility of biological carbon storage compared to fossil carbon, and the risks of 'digital soil carbon' platforms that allow agribusinesses to control farmer data and land use.