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The report identifies a significant climate finance gap in the SADC region, estimating cumulative adaptation and mitigation needs at USD 200 billion for 2020-2030. While South Africa dominates the current market, the study finds that corporate issuers remain inactive compared to banks and sovereigns. Key barriers include a lack of bankable projects, limited institutional capacity, and shallow domestic capital markets in most member states. The report recommends strengthening the expertise of regulators and stock exchanges, establishing national champions, and incentivizing banks to develop eligible project portfolios.

The report argues that African states must transition from being 'junior partners' in global cyber diplomacy to active participants by developing common continental positions and leveraging their demographic position as a future technology market. It highlights the risks of 'norm colonisation' from cyber superpowers and the vulnerability of fragile democracies to information warfare. The author recommends that the African Union recruit 'cyber champions' from digitally mature states and uncouple trade negotiations from cyber diplomacy to ensure a unified approach to digital governance and security.

The document examines the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa, highlighting a tension between the continent's role as a provider of raw materials and labour and its dependence on foreign AI technologies from the Global North and China. It identifies significant risks associated with AI adoption, including the misuse of biometric digital IDs in Namibia and South Africa, the deployment of facial recognition for surveillance in Uganda and South Africa, and the exploitation of vulnerable populations through 'click work' in Kenyan refugee camps. The author analyses emerging national AI strategies in Egypt, Mauritius, and Rwanda, as well as the SMARTAfrica Blueprint, noting that while these frameworks address infrastructure and talent, they often overlook the labour rights of gig workers and the specific impact of automation on women. The brief evaluates the potential for policy transfer from the EU, specifically the AI Act and GDPR, warning that such frameworks may not account for African socio-economic rights or the technical constraints of local start-ups. It concludes by recommending that African policymakers focus on building inclusive digital infrastructure, fostering regional cooperation for data sharing, and implementing beneficiation frameworks to ensure local communities profit from the data used to train AI systems.

FSD Africa's 2022 Impact Report highlights the organization's shift toward green financing, with a goal of 70% of its portfolio being green. Key achievements include facilitating green bonds in 20 African countries, investing $0.25bn via the African Local Currency Bond Fund to support renewable energy, and launching the African Natural Capital Alliance to manage nature-related financial risks. The organization has increased its green financing commitment from £23 million in 2020 to approximately £52 million in 2022, with a target of over £122 million by 2025.

The project, funded by the European Union under the GCCA+ Programme, aims to strengthen the use of marine and coastal ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in Southern Africa. It focuses on improving national climate policies, promoting community participation, and establishing a regional Community of Practice to enhance the resilience of coastal communities against climate risks such as sea level rise and tropical storms.

The report finds that while updated NDCs show increased ambition and better alignment with national planning, a massive gap remains between current commitments and the emissions reductions needed to limit warming to 1.5°C. Mitigation efforts have improved in scope and transparency, but many sectoral measures remain vague. Adaptation components are more prevalent in developing countries and show increased focus on equity and critical systems, though implementation details like timeframes and indicators are often missing. Climate finance requirements reported in NDCs total $4.282 trillion, highlighting a significant need for increased international support.

The AfCFTA has the potential to generate USD 3.4 trillion in GDP and lift over 100 million people out of poverty by 2040, with primary gains expected in manufacturing and services. However, significant disparities in factor markets—including labour skills, technology adoption, and financial capacity—exist across the continent, with Eastern and Southern Africa generally possessing higher capacities than Central and Western Africa. The document highlights risks associated with heavy reliance on non-African financing, such as the EU-funded Africa Trade Observatory, and urges member states to leverage domestic capital markets and sovereign wealth funds. It further emphasizes that political stability and the empowerment of regional bodies are essential to protect private sector investment in cross-border infrastructure, which the World Bank estimates requires USD 47.6 billion annually.

The policy brief examines the severe fiscal constraints facing African countries during COVID-19 recovery, noting that while advanced economies mobilised about 6% of GDP, African countries mobilised barely 1%. It highlights the inadequacy of current debt relief mechanisms like the DSSI and the Common Framework, and the high cost of borrowing from international capital markets due to unfair credit ratings. The author proposes five policy priorities: establishing national donor coordination frameworks, reallocating public investment to de-risk private projects, extending the DSSI for two years with partial debt cancellation, creating a transparent multilateral framework for debt resolution involving commercial creditors, and exploring the establishment of independent, publicly owned credit rating agencies.

The document reviews the history of ocean dumping regulations, focusing on the London Convention and Protocol, and examines the challenges of enforcing these rules against radioactive waste and emerging climate mitigation technologies.

The statement criticizes the imposition of travel bans on Southern African countries, asserting that such measures are ineffective at stopping mutations and cause significant economic damage. It highlights the disparity in vaccination rates between Africa and advanced economies, calling for the decentralization of vaccine manufacturing, the implementation of a WTO intellectual property rights waiver, and a shift from unilateralism to collective global action to ensure equitable vaccine distribution.

The document argues that COVID-19 recovery efforts have remained largely piecemeal and short-term, missing the opportunity for deep structural reform. It proposes a nested framework of green structural measures—ranging from green fiscal reform and natural capital investment to green skills and governance—and categorises prioritisation criteria into conventional, advanced, and systemic/political brackets. The authors highlight significant gaps in current recovery agendas, particularly regarding gender integration, nature-based solutions, and the financing challenges faced by the global south.

The document argues that standard tax treaty models (OECD and UN) may lead to significant revenue losses for resource-rich developing countries if not adapted for the mining sector. It identifies three primary risks: the inability to tax offshore indirect transfers of mining assets, subcontractors avoiding a taxable presence (permanent establishment), and the loss of withholding tax on technical and management services. To mitigate these, the guide recommends adopting comprehensive domestic definitions of immovable property, implementing 'Extractives PE' or standalone extractive industry articles in treaties, and utilizing standalone 'fees for technical services' articles. It also warns against the 'locking in' of unsustainable tax benefits through fiscal stabilization clauses in Mining Concession Agreements (MCAs).

The document examines how tax treaties can lead to significant revenue losses for resource-rich developing countries through indirect asset transfers, subcontractor tax avoidance, and the erosion of the tax base via technical service fees. It analyzes 86 sample treaties and provides specific drafting recommendations, such as adopting standalone extractive industry articles, expanding the definition of 'immovable property' in domestic law, and implementing lower time thresholds for permanent establishments to ensure mining revenues are captured effectively.

The document provides a comprehensive overview of nuclear governance across the Southern African Development Community (SADC), categorising member states by their nuclear capacity and identifying gaps in regulatory synchronisation. It highlights the critical need for harmonised policies to manage the transport of uranium ore concentrate (UOC) and radioactive sources across borders. The author proposes leveraging the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the African Association of Competent Authorities (AACA) to create a more integrated regional safety and security architecture.

The paper assesses the synergy between the AfCFTA and the BRI, arguing that targeted, structured cooperation—such as sector-specific preferential trade agreements and the strategic use of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)—is more beneficial for Africa than a status-quo ad hoc approach or a full continent-wide Free Trade Agreement (FTA). It highlights the potential for growth in manufacturing and agriculture while warning against the risks of increased Chinese imports and the complexities of rules of origin.

The document reviews digital policies across Africa, finding that while most countries have strategies focusing on infrastructure, e-government, and cybersecurity, there is a lack of continental harmonization. It highlights the significant role of external actors, noting that China provides much of the physical infrastructure (e.g., 70% of 4G base stations via Huawei) while the EU exerts regulatory influence through development assistance and agreements like the EU-ACP, which incorporates GDPR standards. The authors argue for an Africa-led, harmonized digital strategy to avoid fragmented standards and better leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Climate Investor Two is a fund managed by a consortium including Climate Fund Managers and FMO to deploy EUR 160 million from the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development. It utilizes a three-stage financing structure—development, construction, and re-financing—to target water, oceans, and sanitation subsectors. The fund aims to attract institutional investors and local banks into low- and lower middle-income countries by offering investable securities and building local capacity to manage climate project risks. Success depends on a strong ecosystem of project developers, favorable policy environments, and moderate currency stability in target countries.

The document describes Cooling as a Service (CaaS) as a pay-per-service model that removes upfront costs for customers by having service providers own and maintain energy-efficient cooling equipment. It highlights the role of sale-leaseback arrangements with banks to scale financing and identifies Nigeria's ColdHubs as a practical application for solar-powered cold storage. The text also notes the importance of legal frameworks, national energy efficiency policies, and the potential for CaaS implementation in 21 countries that prioritized urban planning in their NDCs.

The report examines the conflict in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, highlighting that while often framed as a religious war, it is driven by resource exploitation, land grabs, and social injustice. It documents atrocities committed by both insurgents (ASWJ) and government forces (FDS), including the torture of civilians and sexual violence. The document criticises the 'Iraqization' of the region through the deployment of Rwandan and SADC troops to protect LNG infrastructure for companies like Total. It reveals how political elites have profited from mining concessions and oil and gas logistics during the conflict. The report concludes that a purely military approach is insufficient and recommends a political track, increased transparency in land concessions, and urgent humanitarian protections for internally displaced persons, particularly women and girls.

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis share analytical similarities as global shocks that exacerbate existing inequalities. It identifies six key lessons for South Africa: the necessity of accessible social protection, the need to value care work, the requirement for a strong and proactive state, the importance of localising industrial processes, the necessity of international cooperation, and the need to center justice in responses to mitigate worsening inequalities.