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The Just Transition Planning Masterclass provided a platform for stakeholders from Kenya, Ghana, Namibia, and Uganda to explore how to manage the socio-economic disruptions of sustainable development transitions. The program combined webinars and an in-person workshop in Nairobi to discuss the definition of a 'just transition', the role of standalone frameworks versus integrated policies, and the impact of colonial resource extraction on current fiscal and governance capacities. Key findings highlight significant barriers to implementation, including a lack of disaggregated data for impact analysis, difficulties in accounting for the informal economy, and limited funding for the social components of transition, such as stakeholder dialogue and re-skilling. The report concludes with a set of best practices for developing holistic impact understandings, enabling participatory decision-making, and ensuring policy cohesion through co-created justice indicators.

The document describes a project to bridge the gap in the practical application of just transition concepts within developing countries. By analyzing South America, Southeast Asia, and West Africa—with case studies on Colombia, Indonesia, and Ghana—the project identifies that these nations often lack the regulatory and institutional capacity to support just transitions. Key findings highlight a high prevalence of informal labor markets (often 50% to 80% of the workforce) that are currently overlooked in climate and pandemic responses. The project seeks to develop recommendations for revised NDCs ahead of COP26 and facilitate links between governments, investors, and donors to provide the necessary technical and financial support.

Ghana is navigating a contradictory energy landscape where the government pursues both petroleum exploration and a net-zero target by 2070. While the National Energy Transition Framework (2022-2070) outlines a path toward decarbonization, the country's energy mix remains heavily dependent on oil and gas, which provided 64.1% of the energy supply as of April 2024. The transition is complicated by a top-down technocratic approach that has led to public resistance against policies like the ban on salvaged vehicles and carbon levies on petrol and diesel cars. Furthermore, there is a tension between domestic desires to utilize all available fossil resources for economic growth and global donor-driven pressures to accelerate the phase-out of hydrocarbons. The document recommends operationalizing a National Energy Transition Fund, improving procedural justice through public engagement, and harmonizing donor engagement to ensure a more equitable transition.

The document argues for a broad interpretation of Just Transitions that encompasses procedural and distributional justice across multiple sectors, moving beyond a narrow focus on the energy workforce. It provides six practical recommendations for operationalisation, including the need for reliable data, stakeholder forums, and place-based solutions. The submission highlights specific challenges in the Global South, such as high employment informality and unequal energy access, and suggests that the JTWP can enhance ambition by integrating Just Transitions into NDCs and fostering high-level political buy-in. It includes case studies from various countries to illustrate different transition pathways and the importance of coordinating top-down and bottom-up approaches.

Ghana faces a significant climate finance gap, with an annual average of USD 830 million tracked in 2019 and 2020, representing only 5-9% of its estimated needs of USD 9.3-15.5 billion. Public finance dominates at 87% of total flows, while private finance accounts for only 13%, heavily concentrated in energy systems. Funding is split nearly equally between adaptation (49%) and mitigation (47%), with the agriculture, forestry, and land use (AFOLU) and energy sectors receiving the most investment. The brief recommends implementing a national climate finance taxonomy, deploying innovative instruments like green bonds and blended finance, and improving the granularity of tracking to attract more private capital.

The document outlines how grants function as direct fund transfers to support climate projects with low commercial potential, acting as a tool to de-risk investments and build institutional capacity. It categorizes grants into development, technical assistance, and project preparation facilities, and identifies key providers ranging from philanthropic foundations and multilateral development banks to vertical climate funds like the Green Climate Fund. The guide details the capacity requirements for recipients, the pathways for financial market readiness across shallow, emerging, and mature markets, and the specific challenges—such as complex reporting and donor fragmentation—that hinder effective uptake.

Carbon Market Watch argues for stringent rules to prevent double counting, 'hot air' credits, and the inclusion of REDD-plus in carbon markets. It advocates for a 'net atmospheric benefit' through discounting, the establishment of a share of proceeds for adaptation and loss and damage, and the integration of a human rights-based approach into the core agreement to protect vulnerable populations.

The document is an open letter addressed to ministers and UNFCCC representatives during COP-19. Signed by 33 civil society networks and individuals from 87 countries, it argues that carbon markets must not compromise the ambition of climate mitigation efforts. The authors call for a comprehensive climate agreement by 2015, specifically demanding the rejection of pilot phase trading under the Diversified Framework Approach (FVA), the removal of non-additional projects and coal power from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and the establishment of international verification to prevent double counting.

The document argues that expanding fossil gas production in Africa is a 'fallacy' that risks creating stranded assets, increasing national debt, and exacerbating climate vulnerability. It highlights that gas reserves are concentrated in a few nations, meaning expansion will not benefit the continent broadly. Furthermore, it asserts that fossil gas infrastructure often involves high foreign ownership and poor contractual terms, pulling wealth out of Africa. The report contrasts this with the potential of renewables, noting that Africa possesses vast solar and wind resources that could provide cheaper, more accessible energy and more sustainable jobs. Environmental risks cited include the destruction of biodiversity hotspots, such as mangroves and coral reefs, and the health impacts of gas flaring and fracking. The briefing concludes that Africa should leapfrog extractive energy systems in favor of a clean, distributed energy future supported by international climate finance.

The report critiques the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), funded by the Rockefeller and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations, as a vehicle for corporate dominance in African agriculture. The author contends that AGRA promotes a 'technology push' involving GMOs, hybrid seeds, and chemical inputs that benefit agribusiness giants like Monsanto while undermining indigenous knowledge and sustainable agro-ecological practices. The text highlights failed attempts to introduce GM cassava in Nigeria and argues that food insecurity should be addressed through eco-farming and the implementation of the IAASTD review rather than industrial models.

The statement by Friends of the Earth International and partner organizations denounces the RAI framework as a tool to legitimize land grabbing. It argues that large-scale land acquisitions are driven by financial speculation and result in human rights violations, environmental degradation, and threats to food security. The authors demand the cancellation of existing land grab agreements and the adoption of food sovereignty and agroecological models based on small-scale farming.

The document critiques the 'new' Green Revolution in Africa, which it describes as a corporate takeover driven by multinational agribusinesses and philanthropic foundations. It highlights the risks of genetically modified (GM) crops and synthetic fertilisers, contrasting these with the benefits of agroecology. The report argues that small-scale farmers, who produce 80% of the food consumed in Africa, are the key to food security and should be supported through policy reforms that prioritise public goods and ecological sustainability over private corporate profit.

The report examines seven key credit innovations—scoretechs, invoicetechs, lending aggregators, telco-based lenders, pay-as-you-go (PAYG), peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, and edufintech—across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. It finds that while digital metamorphosis is improving financial inclusion, credit access remains low, with domestic credit in sub-Saharan Africa at 39% of GDP. Telco-based lending is the most successful model in East Africa, while South Africa leads in MSME financing innovations. However, many models face challenges including high non-performing loans (NPLs), high cost of capital, and a lack of patient capital, particularly in education finance. The report recommends transitioning to hybrid customer acquisition models, leveraging blockchain to reduce fraud, and establishing more supportive regulatory sandboxes.

FSD Africa is partnering with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) from 2022 to 2024, with £200,000 in FCDO funding, to implement a regulatory innovation sandbox. Following a 2021 feasibility assessment by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, the project provides technical assistance and capacity building to the BoG to help fintechs test and scale innovations, address regulatory barriers, and inform regulatory framework reforms.

The report identifies that while insurance innovation exists across Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, it is not yet leveraged to reach underserved segments like MSMEs and rural inhabitants at scale. Key constraints include high mobile data costs, low consumer trust, a significant STEM skills gap, and risk-averse corporate boards. Regulatory frameworks are generally not seen as major barriers, but gaps remain in digital onboarding clarity and license categories for insurtechs. The document recommends that regulators move beyond formal regulation to use proactive market engagement, streamlined supervisory processes, and upgraded digital monitoring systems to foster inclusive insurance growth.

The Africa Pensions Supervisors’ Network Programme (October 2021 – September 2025) addresses the fact that Africa’s pension assets are less than 1% of global assets and coverage is only 9.6%. The programme aims to encourage long-term retirement savings and create a regulatory environment that supports the investment of pension assets into the real sector to promote economic development and poverty reduction. Key activities include convening pension sector actors and supporting the annual Africa Pensions Supervisors Forum (APSF), including a 2022 event in Kigali and a subsequent Memorandum of Understanding between FSD Africa and APSF.

The document provides a statistical overview of remittances from the UK to Africa, detailing the cost as a percentage of the amount sent, the size of the diaspora population in the UK, and the total annual amount of money sent for 16 African nations. Nigeria is the largest recipient by volume, with £2,363 million sent annually, while Tanzania has the highest cost of sending at 14%.

The document details the impact of FSD Africa's BimaLab accelerator on Soso Care in Nigeria. Soso Care provides health micro-insurance to low-income earners who pay premiums using recyclable waste. Through BimaLab's non-monetary support, Soso Care optimized operations and formed strategic partnerships with entities such as AXA, AIICO, Wema Bank, and the Port Harcourt Municipal Government. The initiative also emphasizes gender equality, with women making up 70-80% of Soso Care's 600+ agents and supporting 7,000 women through income-generating opportunities.

SolarTaxi is a Ghanaian electric vehicle manufacturer founded in 2018 that designs, assembles, and leases low-cost solar-powered two-wheel and four-wheel vehicles. By utilizing an assembly plant in Accra with a mix of imported and local components, the company has achieved a 40% cost reduction, making its vehicles price-competitive with used foreign imports. The business has created over 100 full-time jobs and maintains a workforce where 70% are engineers, 90% of whom are women. SolarTaxi provides training through a driver academy and has secured contracts to supply solar electric buses to Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. Its vehicles are currently used for deliveries by companies such as Jumia and Bolt in Accra.

The FSD Africa and FSDAi venture finance portfolio consists of numerous funds and platforms targeting climate action, gender-lens investing, and financial inclusion across the African continent. Key climate-focused initiatives include Africa Climate Ventures, which aims to reduce 100 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030, and the Catalyst Fund, which targets 40 pre-seed climate resilience start-ups. Gender-focused funds such as Aruwa Capital and RiTA Fund I specifically address capital imbalances for female-led businesses. The portfolio also includes sector-specific vehicles for fintech (First Circle Capital), insurance (Inclusive Insurance Investment Fund), and renewable energy (Nithio, Spark Energy), utilizing a mix of equity, grants, and debt to catalyze private investment and drive sustainable economic growth.