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This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the role of technical assistance and capacity building (TACB) in implementing a potential World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on fisheries subsidies. It identifies critical gaps between the needs of developing countries for compliance—such as subsidy inventory and IUU monitoring—and the actual distribution of official development assistance (ODA), which heavily favors general fisheries development and management over specific subsidy reform.

This report by the NewClimate Institute, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, and IIASA provides an update on climate mitigation policies, COVID-19 response measures, and the status of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and Long-Term Strategies (LTS) across 25 countries and regions between July 2019 and August 2020.

This policy brief argues for a strategic AU-EU partnership to facilitate sustainable energy transitions, emphasizing that such cooperation can provide Africa with increased energy access and jobs while helping the EU meet its carbon neutrality goals. It highlights the need for diplomatic sensitivity, tailored incentives, and a focus on 'just transitions' to ensure that fossil-fuel-dependent African nations are not unfairly penalized by European climate standards.

This policy brief examines the strategic opportunities and challenges for cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Africa following the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It argues that the AfCFTA allows the EU to move beyond traditional development aid toward a political partnership based on equal terms, while highlighting the need for the EU to align its investment and trade support with the AfCFTA's goals to foster African economic resilience and productive capacity.

The September 2020 Peace & Security Council Report examines the African Union's (AU) operational challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the precarious state of peace agreements in Sudan and Libya, the root causes of coups in Africa with a focus on Mali, and the potential for national dialogue in Ethiopia.

This report provides a situational analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic's arrival and early impact in Africa as of July 2020, noting the acceleration of community transmission and the severe social and economic costs of containment measures.

This policy brief examines the current state of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in Africa, highlighting a significant deficit that hinders development. While private sector investment and 'leapfrogging' to fibre-optic systems have driven progress, the continent still lags behind global averages in internet penetration, service quality, and affordability. The document recommends strategic policy interventions to improve rural access, enhance policy capacity, and expand the technical skills base to fully realize the benefits of the digital economy.

This policy brief from the African Center for Economic Transformation outlines ten priority policy areas to support Africa's economic recovery and long-term transformation following the COVID-19 pandemic. The recommendations are categorized into resource mobilization, governance, business environment, and digital innovation.

This report by Global Energy Monitor and partners analyzes global coal-fired power plant trends in 2019, noting a general decline in new project planning and construction, contrasted by a net increase in global capacity driven primarily by China.

This guide by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the increasing trend of states terminating old-generation bilateral investment treaties (BITs) to reform investment regimes. It details the legal mechanisms for termination under international law, analyzes common termination and survival clauses, and provides recommendations for states on how to manage the extinction of these treaties and draft new ones.

This research paper examines the capacity of green bonds to bridge the global adaptation finance gap, specifically focusing on private sector involvement. The author concludes that while green bonds can finance adaptation, they currently do so to a very limited extent and are unlikely to significantly close the finance gap due to geographic mismatches, project scale issues, and a general lack of corporate climate risk awareness.

This report by Ember investigates the phenomenon of 'carbon leakage' where EU countries import electricity from non-EU countries that lack carbon pricing, effectively offshoring emissions to 'offshore carbon havens' like Turkey and Ukraine. The authors argue for the implementation of a Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA) on electricity imports to protect the integrity of EU climate policy and incentivize carbon pricing in neighboring states.

This report by Sandbag analyzes how the disparity in carbon pricing between the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and its non-EU neighbors leads to 'carbon leakage,' where high-carbon electricity, primarily from coal, is imported into the EU. The authors argue that this undermines EU climate goals and incentivizes the continued use of coal in neighboring states. To combat this, the report proposes the implementation of a border carbon adjustment (BCA) specifically for electricity imports.

This policy brief examines the slow adoption of the AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection and suggests that the African Union adopt the 'norm entrepreneur' approach of the European Union. It highlights Mauritius as a regional success story and recommends the AU implement agile governance principles and create a continental cybersecurity agency similar to ENISA to better protect citizens and combat cybercrime.

This fact sheet details the certification of a ZAR 8 billion (USD 540 million) commercial loan issued on July 15, 2019, to refinance the Redstone Solar Thermal Power Plant in South Africa. The project, developed by ACWA Power and SolarReserve, is a 100MW Concentrated Solar Power plant that became operational in late 2018.

The October 2019 Peace & Security Council Report by the Institute for Security Studies examines critical security and governance challenges facing the African Union (AU), focusing on the threat of foreign terrorist fighters, the internationalisation of the Libyan conflict, the implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, and the political crisis in Guinea-Bissau.

This briefing examines the motivations, benefits, and challenges for African nations considering membership in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), noting a significant infrastructure finance gap and differing levels of suitability based on a country's income level.

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative compares the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy with two Chinese frameworks: the NDRC Green Industry Guiding Catalogue and the PBC Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue. It details the EU Taxonomy's structure, its six environmental objectives, and its rigorous screening principles, while highlighting key differences in scope, carbon thresholds, and the treatment of fossil fuels compared to the Chinese catalogues.

This working paper models the impact of removing fossil fuel subsidies across 26 countries and reviews 60 research papers to estimate global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. It finds that subsidy removal alone leads to a national average emission reduction of 6 per cent, which increases to 13.2 per cent when combined with a modest energy tax and investments in renewables and energy efficiency.

This research paper assesses the progress and challenges of the institutional reform process of the African Union (AU) led by Rwanda's President Paul Kagame. Based on the 2017 'Kagame Report', the reforms aim to address inefficient bureaucracy, funding shortages, and overlapping mandates. The paper analyzes specific achievements, such as the reduction of AU commissioners and the restructuring of NEPAD and the APRM, while highlighting significant resistance from member states—particularly within SADC—and the ongoing struggle for financial autonomy through the Kigali Financing Decision.