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This briefing by the Centre for Environmental Rights evaluates Eskom's November 2024 request for Minimum Emission Standards (MES) exemptions for eight power stations. The authors argue that Eskom's cost-benefit analysis is fundamentally flawed, systematically underestimating the health benefits of compliance while prioritizing financial savings over public health and international air quality standards.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) provides a guide for developing financial instruments for climate adaptation, drawing on a decade of experience from the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (The Lab). It identifies key barriers to adaptation finance—such as high perceived risk, limited investor awareness, and a lack of bankable pipelines—and outlines a five-step framework for structuring successful instruments: defining a resilience thesis, building robust pipelines, strategic funder engagement, cultivating collaborations, and measuring impact.

This special edition of the Peace & Security Council Report focuses on the 2025 African Union (AU) senior leadership election process, detailing the procedural rules, the candidates for the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson positions, and the institutional challenges facing the incoming leadership.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's remarks at the G20 Closing and Handover Ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024, marking South Africa's assumption of the G20 Presidency. He outlines the theme and priorities for the upcoming year, emphasizing the first time an African country will lead the group.

This policy brief examines the foreign and development relations between Africa, the European Union (EU), and Germany, arguing that these relationships are still characterized by 'coloniality'—the persistence of unequal power dynamics and colonial logic. The author analyzes how EU and German policies in security, raw material acquisition, and development aid often marginalize African agency, prioritize European economic interests, and employ 'saviourism' through top-down interventions. The document provides specific case studies from Mauritania, Mali, South Sudan, Namibia, and Zambia to illustrate these dynamics and concludes with recommendations for genuine decolonization, including respecting African demands on trade and resource beneficiation.

This research paper examines the strategic importance of South Africa's G20 presidency, which begins on 1 December 2024. The author argues that South Africa is uniquely positioned to advocate for the reform of global debt governance and the integration of sustainable finance to address Africa's severe sovereign debt crisis and climate vulnerabilities.

This fact sheet from RMI explains the role of supply-side policies in driving investment and production of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles, across eight key global markets.

This research paper evaluates the alignment between the New Development Bank's (NDB) strategic goals and its actual lending practices from 2016 to 2023. It finds that while the NDB has expanded its mandate to support climate action and sustainable development, it struggles to meet its targets for local currency financing and non-sovereign lending.

This fact sheet from the Institute for Economic Justice argues that a Universal Basic Income Guarantee (UBIG) is a critical tool for South Africa to ensure a Just Energy Transition (JET), providing a financial safety net for workers and communities displaced by the shift from coal to renewable energy.

A report by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and the Social Policy Initiative (SPI) analyzing the debate over social assistance for working-age adults in South Africa, specifically the transition of the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant into a permanent, universal basic income system.

This fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) examines the mechanisms and consequences of exclusion from South Africa's COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. Through a mixed-methods study, the IEJ finds that narrow poverty targeting and flawed automated verification systems lead to high rates of erroneous exclusion, disproportionately affecting the most marginalized populations, including women, rural dwellers, and those with limited digital or financial access.

This research paper examines the governance challenges of solar radiation modification (SRM), arguing that the current fragmented landscape risks unilateral deployment and the marginalization of the Global South. The authors advocate for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to formally integrate SRM into its agenda, specifically suggesting COP29 in Baku as a starting point to ensure that ethical, social, and justice-based considerations guide the technology's development.

This research paper by the Africa Policy Research Institute examines how green technologies in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management, and green construction can address youth unemployment in Africa. It identifies significant job creation potential but highlights critical barriers including financing gaps, infrastructure deficits, and policy implementation failures.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the financial and technical viability of phasing out coal-powered electricity in Asia. It argues that prioritizing the cessation of new coal projects is critical, as most existing plants will have recouped their investment costs by 2040. The document critiques co-firing as an expensive and inefficient alternative to retirement and highlights innovative financing models—such as renewables bundling and PPA replacements—that can make early retirement financially attractive. It emphasizes the need for concessional financing from developed nations to ensure a just transition for coal-dependent communities.

This briefing examines the implementation of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAMs), focusing on the European Union's pioneering system and its global repercussions. It analyzes the limited impact of CBAMs on overall emissions reductions compared to domestic carbon pricing, the significant economic risks posed to developing nations, and the resulting fragmented landscape of international trade and climate policy.

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is a financial market infrastructure led by Afreximbank and supported by the AfCFTA Secretariat to enable instant cross-border payments across Africa using local currencies. It aims to reduce reliance on foreign currencies, lower transaction costs, and increase financial inclusion, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. While it has gained support from 13 African central banks and over 115 commercial banks as of May 2024, its widespread adoption is hindered by low awareness, fragmented regulatory frameworks, and inadequate digital infrastructure.

The ninth FOCAC Beijing Summit (2024) marked a re-calibration of China-Africa relations, with China pledging USD 50.7 billion over three years. African leaders demonstrated increased agency, shifting focus from raw aid to value-added trade, technological transfer, and green energy. Key outcomes include a USD 1 billion deal to rehabilitate the Tazara railway and a strategic increase in Chinese security assistance via the Global Security Initiative. The summit highlights a growing ideological and geopolitical divide, as China offers an alternative governance model to Western liberal democracy and aggressively pursues the African EV and digital markets.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) submitted a critique of the Revised Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals presented on 30 October 2024, arguing that the framework's focus on austerity and debt stabilisation undermines inclusive growth and poverty reduction in South Africa.

The November 2024 Peace & Security Council Report examines the African Union's (AU) efforts to integrate climate change into security frameworks, the strategic direction of Africa's foreign policy, the outcomes of the AU's first G20 Summit, and the coordination between the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) and the UN Security Council (UNSC).

This policy brief examines the intersection of municipal and traditional authority land management in South Africa, specifically focusing on case studies from the Vhembe District Municipality in Limpopo Province. It analyzes the hierarchical structures of traditional councils, the complex process of land development applications, and proposes innovations like the RECA model to mitigate land invasions and improve cooperative governance.