Search Climate Insights Directory

The 'Jeug GIDS VIR NOODGEREEDHEID' is a guide developed by children and young people aged 13-25 across South Africa, in partnership between UNICEF and Youth@SAIIA. It provides a foundation for young citizens to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies, focusing on building social resilience and community capacity rather than professional first-responder training.

This guide, developed by children and youth aged 13 to 25 in South Africa in collaboration with UNICEF and Youth@SAIIA, provides a framework for young people to prepare for and respond to emergencies. It focuses on building community resilience through risk identification, early warning systems, and the development of personal and community emergency plans.

The Youth Emergency Guide is a resource co-developed by young people aged 13-25 in South Africa, in partnership with UNICEF and the South African Institute of International Affairs (Youth@SAIIA). It provides a framework for children and youth to identify risks, develop emergency plans, and build social resilience to better respond to and prevent disasters, specifically focusing on climate-related hazards, health crises, and civil unrest.

This guide, developed by UNICEF and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) in collaboration with South African youth aged 13 to 25, provides a framework for young people to prepare for and respond to emergency situations. It focuses on building community resilience, identifying hazards, creating emergency plans, and navigating the recovery process following disasters such as floods, fires, and civil unrest.

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) introduces two new indices—the Climate Change and Economic Vulnerability Index (CEVI) and the Climate Change and Economic Resilience Index (CERI)—to provide a quantitative basis for the allocation of climate finance. The author argues that current climate finance, particularly OECD adaptation funding, is misaligned with the actual vulnerability and resilience of recipient countries, often favoring middle-income nations over the most vulnerable low-income economies, particularly in Africa.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs outlines Africa's priorities and demands for COP28, emphasizing the need for a fundamental overhaul of the global financial architecture to ensure equitable climate finance, accelerated adaptation funding, and the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) outlines a strategic roadmap for implementing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) withinS within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The authors argue that while SADC has strong foundational payment systems, it faces systemic risks due to policy fragmentation and a lack of regulatory harmonisation, specifically regarding the AU Malabo Convention. The document proposes a 'Triple-A' agenda—accelerate, anchor, and assert—to drive inclusive digital transformation, leveraging lessons from India's 'security-by-design' and Brazil's 'brownfield' approach to digital sovereignty.

This policy note, published by the South African Institute of International Affairs in October 2025, advocates for a shift from incremental to transformational climate adaptation in Africa. It outlines the conceptual differences between these approaches, identifies systemic barriers to implementation across the continent, and provides strategic recommendations for South Africa's G20 presidency to champion scalable, just, and context-specific adaptation frameworks.

This policy brief by the Brookings Institution, published via the South African Institute of International Affairs, argues for strengthening the G20 Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) to address unsustainable debt in the Global South. The authors propose reforming the Common Framework for Debt Treatments (CF), integrating climate financing into debt management, and addressing the systemic drivers of high debt service costs, particularly for African nations.

This policy brief by Jayati Ghosh for the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the drivers of global food insecurity, specifically the 'ratchet effect' where domestic food prices in low- and middle-income countries remain high even after global prices fall. The author argues that recent price spikes were driven by financial speculation and agribusiness profiteering rather than supply shortages, and proposes a series of strategic interventions including public buffer stocks, financial regulation of commodity markets, and capital flow management to protect vulnerable economies.

This report analyzes the state of the South African mining industry following the August 2012 Marikana massacre. It argues that the tragedy was a symptom of deeper structural issues, including poor living conditions for mine workers, a failing Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) framework, and a volatile regulatory environment. The author calls for a 'new social contract' involving community development agreements and a shift toward broad-based empowerment to ensure sustainable growth and prevent further violence.

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) examines the proposed preferential trade agreement (PTA) between the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and India. It details the economic rationale, negotiating interests, and potential challenges of the deal, while considering its place within the broader IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) Dialogue and the possibility of a future trilateral free trade agreement.

This research paper examines the inclusion of women in the renewable energy (RE) value chains of Rwanda and South Africa. It identifies systemic barriers—including limited access to STEM education, a lack of gender-responsive financing, and a disconnect between policy and implementation—that prevent women from moving beyond passive roles as energy consumers into technical, managerial, and entrepreneurial positions. The document provides a three-tier gender mainstreaming toolkit to help policymakers, donors, and the private sector foster a more inclusive energy sector in Africa.

This research paper examines the potential for establishing a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) hybrid Centre of Specialisation (CoS) to support South Africa's Green Hydrogen Economy (GHE). It analyzes systemic failures in the current vocational skills development system—including declining enrolments, poor throughput rates, and a disconnect between curricula and industry needs—and evaluates the existing CoS model and pilot programs (Bambili and NBI) to provide recommendations for a demand-led, flexible skills strategy for the green transition.

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) proposes a strategic framework to transition Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) skills toward a green hydrogen economy in South Africa by 2050. Using foresight tools like the Three Horizons framework and scenario planning, the document identifies systemic failures in the current TVET system and outlines a vision for a 'just and inclusive' ecosystem that prioritizes economic wellbeing and ecological resilience over a narrow focus on job placement.

The Reimagine our Future Declaration is a statement by over 150 South African children and youth (aged 14-24) outlining their vision for a future characterized by climate resilience, social equality, and active youth participation in governance. The document identifies systemic failures in economic support, environmental management, and social services, while providing specific recommendations for government and private sector action to ensure a just transition and inclusive development.

This report details a Civil Society APRM Sensitisation Workshop held on February 26, 2021, as part of the second phase of the Zimbabwe APRM Popular Sensitisation (ZAPS) Project. The event, hosted by the SIVIO Institute and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), brought together representatives from the Zimbabwean government, the APRM Secretariat, and civil society organisations (CSOs) from Zimbabwe and other SADC countries to discuss the role of CSOs in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process.

This report by Sustainable Energy for All examines the critical role of cold chain logistics and reliable electricity access in the global rollout of vaccines, specifically highlighting how infrastructure gaps in low-income regions and Sub-Saharan Africa hinder the achievement of herd immunity.

This fact sheet by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) outlines various donor-funded financing programs available for renewable energy manufacturing and clean energy innovation, primarily targeting Africa and other developing regions.

The G20 Energy Access Action Plan is a multi-phase voluntary collaboration framework designed to strengthen G20 member cooperation on energy access. The first phase specifically targets improving electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa through six strategic pillars: policy and regulatory environments, technology deployment, investment and finance, capacity building, regional integration, and coordination. The plan emphasizes sharing knowledge and good practices while respecting the sovereign right of nations to determine their own energy mix.