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The report evaluates the African Union's (AU) first two decades, highlighting a significant gap between the creation of ambitious normative and institutional frameworks and their actual implementation. While the AU has succeeded in establishing a continental legal order and promoting multi-party democracy, it struggles with institutional incapacity, over-reliance on external funding, and a lack of political will among member states to cede sovereignty. Key areas of analysis include the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the role of women and youth in governance. The authors argue that for the AU to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063, it must shift from a state-centric model to a people-driven organization, enhance its self-reliance, and translate its existing norms into tangible outcomes.

The document examines the 'regionalisation' of peacekeeping in Africa, noting that troops from countries bordering crisis zones now constitute a significant portion of UN and AU missions. While these countries possess local knowledge, the authors argue that their involvement often prioritises national interests and 'collective defence'—the alliance against identified enemies—over the 'collective security' goal of addressing root causes. This shift is characterised by extreme militarisation and a lack of political strategy, which the authors suggest erodes the principles of impartiality and neutrality in peacekeeping.

The document outlines how to integrate conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding into the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process, emphasizing the mutual reinforcement of climate resilience and peace. It identifies six enabling factors—leadership, data, financing, institutional arrangements, stakeholder engagement, and capacity development—and provides specific entry points across the planning, implementation, and monitoring phases to ensure adaptation actions do not exacerbate tensions and instead contribute to sustainable peace.

The document argues that climate change and conflict are mutually reinforcing, and that adaptation planning can break this cycle if it is conflict-sensitive. It outlines six enabling factors—leadership, data, finance, institutional arrangements, stakeholder engagement, and capacity building—necessary for successful NAPs in fragile states. The guide provides a detailed framework for integrating conflict analysis into the three main phases of the NAP process: planning, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL).

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the African Union's (AU) role in supporting security sector reform (SSR) across its member states. It identifies critical gaps in coordination between the AU and other international partners, as well as internal resource constraints, and proposes strategies to enhance political buy-in, civil society engagement, and institutional alignment to ensure SSR processes are sustainable and reflect national priorities.

In 2022, 1.2 billion rural and urban poor were at high risk due to lack of cooling access, an increase of 28 million from 2021. An additional 2.47 billion lower-middle-income people are at medium risk, while 1.36 billion middle-income people are at low risk. The report highlights that while electricity access has improved, income and urbanization trends drive cooling demand, with significant risks concentrated in Africa and the 'Critical 9' countries.

The document details the qualitative data collection for the MIGNEX project (2018–2023), which involved 104 focus group discussions, 516 key informant interviews, and extensive field observations and photography across 10 countries. It outlines the research ethics, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on fieldwork, the process of creating an anonymized open data set for focus group transcripts, and the use of NVivo for coding and analysis. The text reflects on the co-production of knowledge, the role of local research assistants, and the challenges of maintaining transparency and equity in large-scale international collaborative research.

The report examines how the rise of the Indo-Pacific strategic framework and intensifying competition between traditional powers (US, UK, France) and emerging powers (China, India) affect African maritime security and development. It highlights the critical importance of Indian Ocean trade routes, the proliferation of foreign military bases in the region, and the risk of African states being drawn into proxy wars. The author emphasizes that while great power competition is a long-term risk, immediate threats include piracy, illegal fishing, and climate change. The paper recommends that African states and the African Union develop a unified conception of their maritime interests and leverage multilateral organizations to protect their sovereignty and blue economy goals.

The paper examines the 'digital Grand Canyon' in Africa, identifying infrastructural, financial, and regulatory barriers to internet connectivity. It highlights the disproportionate impact of the digital divide on women and youth and proposes a combination of top-down government strategies and bottom-up market initiatives to foster inclusion. The authors argue that the AfCFTA framework should be used to harmonise digital trade rules, encourage diverse infrastructure financing, and implement comprehensive digital upskilling to ensure the continent's participation in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The report finds a massive gap between Africa's annual climate finance needs (USD 277 billion) and actual flows (USD 29.5 billion). While international public finance dominates, private sector contribution is low at 14%. Finance is heavily concentrated in a few countries and sectors, with energy receiving the most investment, while agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) remains underfunded. The report recommends scaling up concessional finance, improving data tracking, and catalyzing private investment to meet 2030 goals.

The briefing examines the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on global food security, noting that the two nations provide 12% of global calories. It highlights how port blockades and fertiliser export suspensions have driven up prices and hunger, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. The document warns that protectionist export bans by countries like India and Argentina are exacerbating the crisis, and argues that increasing cropland to compensate is problematic due to the associated fossil fuel and fertiliser requirements.

The Russia-Ukraine war has worsened systemic weaknesses in the international food system, disproportionately affecting African countries due to their high reliance on food, fuel, and fertiliser imports from Russia and Ukraine. This vulnerability is compounded by climate-induced weather events, internal conflicts, and structural infrastructure deficits. The report highlights that food price shocks have already triggered protests in countries like Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, and Sudan. To mitigate these risks, the authors recommend that private companies support the diversification of food sources and local agribusiness capacity, while African governments should reduce regulation and leverage regional integration platforms like the AfCFTA.

The Somali National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process, led by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, utilizes a participatory and gender-responsive approach aligned with peacebuilding. The process is currently supported by a Green Climate Fund-funded NAP Readiness Project implemented by the UNDP. Key adaptation priorities include sectors such as agriculture, water, health, and coastal zones, addressing impacts like severe droughts, flooding, and sea level rise. Significant milestones between 2018 and 2022 include the launch of the National Disaster Management Policy, the National Climate Change Policy, and the 2021 NAP Framework.

The document introduces a study on the development prospects of the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan) up to 2040. It highlights the region's challenges, including high poverty, poor state capacity, and a heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture in an area where 70% of the land is arid or semi-arid. The report aims to establish a 'Current Path' forecast and develop scenarios for a sustainable and peaceful development trajectory.

The Horn of Africa is characterized by chronic instability, including inter-state wars over territorial disputes and internal ethnic conflicts, which have led to massive displacement. The region's geostrategic importance has attracted significant foreign military presence and economic investment, particularly from Gulf states and Turkey, though these external interests often exacerbate regional rivalries and hinder economic integration.

The report finds that implementing Africa's NDCs will cost approximately USD 2.8 trillion between 2020 and 2030, with a 'climate finance need' of USD 2.5 trillion after accounting for USD 264 billion in domestic public commitments. Current annual flows of USD 30 billion cover only about 12% of the required USD 250 billion per year. Mitigation accounts for 66% of needs, dominated by the transport sector (largely due to South Africa), while adaptation represents 24%, likely underestimated due to data gaps. The report highlights a heavy reliance on public finance (87%) and recommends that the UNFCCC provide standardized guidance and capacity support to improve the robustness of national needs assessments.

The report finds that implementing Africa's NDCs will cost approximately USD 2.8 trillion between 2020 and 2030, with a 'climate finance need' of USD 2.5 trillion after accounting for domestic public commitments. Current annual flows of USD 30 billion cover only about 12% of the required USD 250 billion per year. Mitigation accounts for 66% of needs, heavily skewed toward South Africa's transport sector, while adaptation represents 24%, likely underestimated due to data gaps. The report highlights a significant reliance on public funding (87%) and recommends that the UNFCCC develop standardized guidance and that countries adopt more participatory, bottom-up needs assessments to mobilize private capital.

Africa was instrumental in establishing the deep seabed mining regime under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea but became apathetic following the 1994 Implementation Agreement. Currently, Africa is the only regional group that has not sponsored an entity to explore the international seabed area (the Area). While the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa have integrated DSM into blue economy strategies and roadmaps, implementation has lagged. The report argues that investing in DSM is strategically appropriate for Africa as the global transition to a low-carbon economy may impact terrestrial mining. It recommends that African states consider sponsoring exploration contracts and that the AU adopt the Lomé Annexes and revise its Integrated Maritime Strategy to provide a clear legal and policy framework for DSM.

The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) and partners in The People’s Global Summit express solidarity with populations suffering from armed conflict, specifically highlighting the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The document emphasizes the need for a 'New Eco-Social World' and the pursuit of shared global values to create sustainable communities and environments.

The report examines the drivers of recent coups in West Africa and the need for the AU to strengthen normative frameworks against unconstitutional changes of government. It assesses the shift in EU financing from the Africa Peace Facility (APF) to the European Peace Facility (EPF), warning that this may increase European militarism and reduce AU leadership in peace operations. Additionally, it evaluates the transition from AMISOM to ATMIS in Somalia and the potential for joint AU-UN mediation to resolve the political stalemate in Sudan.