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The document argues that public funds alone cannot meet Africa's growing energy demands, which require an estimated $120 billion annual investment until 2040. It advocates for 'green financing'—blending public and private capital—to overcome high infrastructure costs and investment risks. Using Kenya's experience, the brief details how instruments like Partial Risk Guarantees, concessional loans, and Feed-in Tariffs have attracted private investment for wind, solar, and geothermal projects. It specifically recommends that the EU and development partners provide technical assistance and risk-mitigation products to create enabling environments for private sector energy investments across the continent.

The document argues for a comprehensive AU-EU partnership that integrates the green transition with Africa's broader developmental goals, such as industrialisation and employment. It highlights the critical gap in energy access—with 600 million Africans lacking electricity as of 2018—and the underutilisation of Africa's solar resources. The authors recommend using public finance to de-risk private investment in renewables and addressing 'nexus issues' linking energy to agriculture, the digital economy, and trade. It also notes the tension in countries like Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mozambique, which are pursuing renewable energy while continuing to develop fossil fuel reserves.

The document analyzes energy transition policies in 34 African countries, categorizing them as direct, integrative, or enabling. It identifies a trend toward market-oriented regimes using auction instruments and de-risking tools, while highlighting that only a few countries—including South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Egypt—effectively integrate energy justice (distributive, recognitional, and procedural) into their frameworks. The authors warn against over-reliance on market forces and recommend that AU-EU cooperation prioritize energy justice criteria, capacity building, and regional partnerships to ensure a just transition.

The policy brief examines the opportunities and challenges of a sustainable energy transition partnership between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU). It highlights Africa's vast renewable energy potential and the possibility of energy trade via Power-to-X technologies, while cautioning that the EU must avoid post-colonial rhetoric and provide tailor-made incentives for fossil-fuel-dependent African nations. The authors recommend joint vision formulation, large-scale green infrastructure investment through blended finance, and a focus on job creation and education to ensure a just transition.

The report inventories organic waste in Naivasha, Kenya, identifying significant potential for resource recovery from wastewater, faecal sludge, municipal solid waste, and agro-industrial residues. It highlights existing initiatives such as biogas production at Gorge Farm Energy Park and briquette manufacturing by Sanivation, while noting critical data gaps and stakeholder conflicts in waste collection.

The document analyzes the 'digital divide' in Africa, where limited access to ICT infrastructure and digital literacy exacerbates social and economic inequalities. It critiques the 'information technology for development' (IT4D) approach when it treats technology as a panacea rather than a delivery mechanism. The author argues that successful interventions, such as M-Pesa, focus on solving fundamental problems (e.g., financial agency) rather than the technology itself. The briefing recommends that governments shift toward problem-driven approaches, focusing on user co-creation and institutional barriers to ensure technology promotes genuine inclusion and equity.

The document examines the state of regional integration in Africa and Southern Africa, specifically within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies significant gaps in infrastructure and productive integration, noting that while South Africa is the continent's most integrated country, the region as a whole struggles with poverty, unemployment, and poor governance. The author proposes seven dynamic opportunities for recovery: reshaping manufacturing for self-reliance, sustaining pan-African cooperation, closing the digital skills gap, addressing and financing infrastructure deficiencies, establishing infrastructure management systems, and enhancing integrated decision-making through potential supranational organisation. The paper concludes that South Africa must lead these efforts to reclaim regional agency and advance the African Union's Agenda 2063.

The document advocates for a circular economy to replace the linear "take-make-waste" model, which currently results in over 60% of the 100 billion tons of resources flowing into the economy annually ending up as waste or emissions. It proposes three pathways for transition: consuming less, consuming better through sustainable choices and sharing platforms, and implementing systemic changes such as designing products for longevity and introducing policy incentives for recycled materials. The guide highlights that circularity in five key sectors could reduce CO2 emissions by 3.7 billion tons by 2050 and presents a $4.5 trillion economic opportunity.

The report examines the impact of COVID-19 on insurance regulators across sub-Saharan Africa, noting a shift toward remote supervision and a balancing act between providing regulatory relief and maintaining prudential soundness. It highlights that while the pandemic disrupted operations and exacerbated existing market vulnerabilities—such as high expense ratios and fragmented competition—it also created opportunities for digitalisation, the adoption of regtech and suptech, and responsible market consolidation to enhance long-term efficiency and consumer protection.

The report examines the nascent gender bond market, which as of March 2020 consisted of 13 issued bonds. It identifies a lack of universal standards, with most issuers relying on the Social Bond Principles or UN Sustainable Development Goals. The analysis categorises gender bonds into 'corporate behaviour' and 'financial inclusion' types, noting a significant gap in bonds funding products and services that directly benefit women. In sub-Saharan Africa, the report finds that while there is interest in gender lens investing, no gender bonds have been issued. South Africa is identified as the most viable market for commercial issuance due to a receptive investor base, while Kenya and Nigeria face challenges related to conservative institutional investors and debt capital market instability.

The document examines how regional economic hubs in sub-Saharan Africa facilitate capital flows and how the interplay between de-risking and illicit financial flows (IFFs) undermines this process. It argues that de-risking—the termination of business relationships to avoid AML-CFT risks—often drives users toward unregulated shadow banking and informal channels, which in turn exacerbates IFFs. This creates a vicious cycle that reduces legitimate capital inflows, impairs financial inclusion for SMEs and NGOs, and weakens the overall financial integrity of both hub and spoke countries.

The report examines how MSMEs are integrated into regional and multilateral trade frameworks, noting a trend toward more sophisticated but often non-binding 'goodwill' provisions in newer 'next-generation' agreements. It highlights specific areas of support such as trade facilitation, public procurement, and e-commerce, while noting a persistent gap in the explicit integration of gender-specific MSME support.

The report analyzes the proposed Africa-EU strategy ahead of the October 2020 summit, comparing EU priorities with the AU's Agenda 2063. It identifies gaps in the EU's approach, particularly regarding poverty, health, debt cancellation, and infrastructure, and recommends a revamped partnership based on mutual accountability and a people-centred approach.

The document assesses the chronic instability in the Great Lakes region, specifically the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It argues that while governance failures in the DRC are often blamed, the repressive domestic policies and illicit economic interests of Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi are equally significant drivers of conflict. The author suggests that the presidency of Félix Tshisekedi provides an opportunity to shift regional dynamics, provided the international community demands better governance from all regional actors and supports a comprehensive political dialogue rather than purely military solutions.

The policy brief examines how 4IR technologies—specifically biotechnology, precision agriculture, and controlled-environment agriculture—can enhance water-smart farming in Southern Africa. It highlights the potential of CRISPR for drought-resistant crops, the use of remote sensing and AI for small-scale farmer decision-making, and the promise of vertical farming to bypass climatic limitations, while noting challenges related to energy efficiency and regulatory frameworks.

The report analyzes the 2018 HRC records of 13 African states, finding a general unwillingness to defend international human rights and a significant lack of unity in voting. Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Rwanda showed the strongest commitment, while Burundi, Egypt, and Ethiopia were the most opposed. The analysis highlights a discrepancy between domestic freedom ratings and HRC performance, noting that domestic records are weak predictors of how states vote on the Council.

This report examines how disruptive technologies, specifically renewable energy and ICT, can address global food security, environmental degradation, and economic vulnerability in low- and middle-income countries, with a specific case study on solar-powered electric cookers in Kenya.

Natural Justice submitted a series of recommendations to the Kenyan government regarding the Draft Forest Policy 2020. The organization argues that the draft unfairly portrays local communities as the primary drivers of forest degradation while ignoring the impact of multinational corporations and government infrastructure projects. They propose integrating a human-rights based approach, recognizing indigenous land tenure and traditional governance, and ensuring that conservation funding reaches the community level. Additionally, they call for greater transparency in the policy's formulation and the inclusion of independent monitoring to address conflicts of interest within the Kenya Forest Service.

In 2019, wind and solar generated 8.2% of global electricity, with the EU leading at 18%. The report highlights that wind and solar are now the cheapest new generation sources for two-thirds of the global population and that electricity grids remained stable during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns even as renewable shares reached record highs in countries like Denmark (65%), Germany (45%), and Greece (41%). To limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees, the report notes that coal's market share must drop from 35% to 8% by 2030, requiring wind and solar's share to increase to approximately 29%.

Natural Justice opposes proposed amendments in the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2020 that would remove representatives appointed by the Council of Governors from the boards of the Energy Petroleum Regulatory Authority and the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation. The organization argues that energy regulation and planning are shared functions between national and county governments under the Constitution and the Energy Act, necessitating county representation to ensure effective collaboration and the fulfillment of county-specific energy needs.