Search Climate Insights Directory

The report analyzes the value chain of wind and solar projects to identify which components are suitable for local production versus global sourcing. It argues that while highly centralized components like solar modules and wind turbines are best imported to keep costs low, significant economic opportunities exist in localizing structures, towers, and electrical subsystems. Through case studies of countries like Mauritius, Namibia, Cambodia, and the Philippines, the report demonstrates how different tariff strategies—ranging from revenue generation to industry protection—impact renewable energy deployment and suggests that international cooperation to reduce trade barriers on environmental goods can accelerate the energy transition.

The document contends that Africa's historical 'jobless growth' is due to a dependence on primary commodities and a lack of structural transformation. It proposes a shift from 'stabilization' to 'transformation' by coordinating fiscal and monetary policies with sectoral and labour market interventions. Key recommendations include increasing public investment in the care economy and infrastructure, implementing expenditure-switching methods to reduce import reliance, adopting progressive taxation, and establishing national minimum wages to boost domestic demand and productivity.

The document analyzes the 'arduous' journey of Zambian civil society in the APRM process, highlighting the establishment of a dedicated CSO APRM Secretariat in 2007 and its eventual closure in 2011. It details how the process was hindered by resource constraints, political instability following the death of President Levy Mwanawasa, and overlaps with a contentious national constitutional review. Key achievements include the production of an independent CSO thematic report that influenced the Country Self-Assessment Report and the Country Review Report. The author argues that the lack of a plan to monitor the National Programme of Action (NPoA) after the Secretariat's closure was a fundamental flaw, and emphasizes the need for long-term funding and collective capacity building for effective governance oversight.

The document examines South Africa's service sector, which contributes approximately 61% to national GDP and employs over 5.5 million workers. While the sector is large, the authors argue that growth must shift toward exports, particularly within Africa, as the domestic market is overdeveloped. The brief concludes that the AfCFTA is unlikely to provide a short-term boost due to a lack of specific service sector commitments and persistent regulatory hurdles, such as visa restrictions and inadequate ICT infrastructure. It recommends establishing a unified coalition of service providers and updating digital infrastructure to enhance South Africa's role as a regional gateway.

The document examines the state of agricultural value chains in the SADC region, noting that while the sector was minimally affected by COVID-19 compared to others, the pandemic exacerbated existing vulnerabilities. Key challenges identified include a heavy reliance on subsistence farming, food insecurity, and the impact of climate change. The brief argues for a 'dual approach' that supports both small-scale and large-scale commercial farming, the adoption of climate-smart technologies, digitalization of value chains, and the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to enhance regional trade and food security.

The GCF and GEF have established a Long-Term Vision (LTV) to move beyond their Pilot Coordinated Engagement (launched in 2018) toward a structured partnership. The LTV focuses on three pillars: collaborative programming for major initiatives (such as the Great Green Wall and Amazon initiatives), sharing knowledge and methodologies to maximize climate impact, and improving joint communication. The funds aim to leverage their unique strengths—GEF's focus on upstream enabling environments and multi-convention synergies, and GCF's ability to mobilize large-scale blended finance for climate-specific benefits—to reduce duplication and streamline support for developing countries.

The document examines the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural value chains within the SADC region, noting that while the sector was less affected than others, the pandemic intensified existing vulnerabilities. Key challenges identified include a heavy reliance on subsistence farming, food insecurity, and the effects of climate change. The authors argue for a 'dual approach' that supports both small-scale and large-scale commercial farming, the adoption of climate-smart technologies, and the digitalisation of value chains. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is highlighted as a critical mechanism for enhancing regional trade and protecting small-scale farmers.

The document argues for a shift toward anticipatory governance in SADC to manage 'wicked' problems like climate change and pandemics. It identifies systemic failures in the region's response to COVID-19 and cyclones, advocating for a holistic, cross-sectoral approach to disaster risk reduction (DRR) based on foresight, networked systems, and feedback loops.

SADC member states generally struggle to meet the 2001 Abuja Declaration pledge to allocate 15% of national budgets to healthcare, with an average annual allocation of 5.3%. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted critical gaps in healthcare infrastructure, drug supplies, and professional staffing, while simultaneously straining regional economies. To bridge funding gaps amidst declining GDP and high external debt, the paper recommends establishing a SADC regional healthcare fund backed by the African Union, forming public-private partnerships, improving domestic tax compliance, and involving civil society organisations to ensure transparency in health financing.

The document examines the existential threats faced by small island developing states (SIDS), highlighting their extreme vulnerability to sea-level rise and economic shocks despite contributing less than 1% of global carbon emissions. It advocates for a transition from seeing themselves as 'small islands' to 'large ocean states' by leveraging their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) through the 'blue economy.' The brief emphasizes the need for innovative financing, such as blue bonds and debt-for-climate swaps, and the urgent transition to domestic renewable energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports.

The report examines the Combined Exclusive Maritime Zone for Africa (CEMZA), a proposed 'maritime space without barriers' intended to enhance geostrategic, economic, and security benefits across the African Maritime Domain. While the author argues that CEMZA is compatible with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) if treated as a framework for cooperative governance rather than a replacement for national sovereignty, significant hurdles remain. These include the fact that less than half of Africa's coastal states have fully utilised UNCLOS to maximise their maritime zones, the existence of unresolved territorial and boundary disputes, and a historical gap between African Union norm-setting and actual treaty implementation. The report suggests that CEMZA should focus on joint enforcement jurisdiction and resource management, drawing on successful bilateral delimitation and joint-development examples from the continent.

The document examines the failure of most SADC member states to adhere to the Abuja Declaration's pledge to allocate 15% of annual budgets to health, noting that by the end of 2018, all member states were struggling to meet this target. It identifies aid dependency and economic decline as primary barriers, while arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic serves as a critical catalyst for overhauling underfunded systems. To bridge funding gaps, the author recommends establishing a SADC regional healthcare fund backed by the African Union, forming public-private partnerships, improving domestic tax compliance, and involving civil society organisations to ensure transparency.

The COP26 Resilience Hub Synthesis Report outlines five core messages for advancing global climate resilience: the necessity of Locally Led Adaptation (LLA), the urgent need for diversified and increased adaptation finance (preferring grants over loans), the bridging of knowledge and implementation gaps, the role of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across urban, coastal, and rural settings, and the requirement to center marginalized groups—including women, youth, and Indigenous peoples—in decision-making. The report details thematic insights across ten areas, including finance, water, food, energy, and health, while emphasizing the need to scale these efforts toward COP27.

The document argues that African nations should leverage the post-COVID-19 recovery to 'build back better' by adopting green finance mechanisms. It identifies green bonds as a primary tool for raising large-scale capital and emphasizes the need for targeted public finance to de-risk investments and attract private capital. The briefing details several pathways for a green transition, including the establishment of environmental funds, the deployment of renewable energy as an economic stimulus, and the implementation of green fiscal reforms such as carbon taxes. It also highlights the critical role of central banks in 'greening' the financial sector through macroprudential regulation and the development of green taxonomies to reduce information asymmetries.

The document examines the two-wave economic impact of COVID-19 in Africa, highlighting the first wave's disruption of trade, commodity prices, and remittances, and the second wave's risk of sovereign credit downgrades and debt defaults. It argues that limited fiscal space and high debt-to-GDP ratios leave many African nations unable to fund recovery, suggesting that central banks use monetised interventions and governments leverage digital technologies to maintain financial stability.

The report highlights a gap between the existing policy frameworks and the actual operational capabilities of countries in the Western Indian Ocean to respond to marine pollution. It uses the 2020 MV Wakashio grounding in Mauritius to demonstrate that national contingency plans alone are insufficient. The author argues that regional cooperation is hindered by limited funding and technical capacity, and recommends the urgent adoption of the draft regional contingency plan and the creation of a Regional Coordination Centre, likely hosted by South Africa, to standardise training and response efforts.

The report examines the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to e-mobility in Southern Africa, identifying key drivers such as rapid urbanisation and falling renewable energy costs. Through four sets of scenarios, it analyses the tensions between inclusive and exclusive transitions and the role of proactive versus reactive government policy. The findings highlight a risk of increased inequality if EVs remain accessible only to the wealthy and warn of a 'brain drain' if the region fails to pivot from protecting the declining ICE manufacturing sector toward developing regional EV value chains and renewable energy infrastructure.

The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab) has supported 49 instruments that mobilized over USD 2.3 billion. This document identifies four critical success factors for scaling these innovations: establishing a track record, building economies of scale, assembling a robust team and governance structure, and securing strategic long-term partnerships. Through case studies of Climate Investor One, Energy Savings Insurance, and Long-Term Foreign Exchange Risk Management, the brief demonstrates how these factors enable instruments to move beyond initial implementation to broader geographic or sectoral replication.

The document outlines a readiness project implemented by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to support 13 accredited and applicant Direct Access Entities (DAEs) within the International Development Finance Club (IDFC). The project aims to remove barriers to GCF accreditation and funding by providing technical assistance for fiduciary, environmental, social, and gender policies, and by developing climate finance tools for risk and impact assessment. Key deliverables include an IDFC-GCF Toolkit, a joint DAE-IDFC Work Program, and the development of multi-country concept notes focusing on climate-resilient recovery post-COVID-19, specifically targeting MSMEs and vulnerable populations in sectors like renewable energy and sustainable land use.

The report highlights the risks posed by the digital transformation of the maritime sector in Africa, noting that while most incidents have occurred elsewhere, the continent's heavy reliance on seaborne trade makes it vulnerable. It identifies a significant gap in Africa-specific research and a slow rate of ratification for the AU Malabo Convention. The author recommends that African Union member states adopt national cyber laws and that the AU integrate cyber security into the African Peace and Security Architecture and the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy.