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Natural Justice, The Green Connection, and the Aukotowa Primary Fishing Cooperative are challenging an Environmental Authorisation granted in 2023 to TotalEnergies EP South Africa S.A.S for ultra deep water exploration drilling in the Deep Water Orange Basin, approximately 200 km off South Africa's west coast. The organisations are asking the Western Cape High Court to set aside the authorisation and the dismissal of internal appeals, with hearings scheduled for 23 and 24 March 2026 in Cape Town.

The study finds that while Ethiopia, Senegal, and South Africa generally maintain cautious, non-aligned international postures, their regional approaches vary significantly. Ethiopia has adopted a highly assertive posture regarding sea access and geostrategic relevance; Senegal demonstrated assertive interventionism during the 2017 Gambian crisis to protect internal security; and South Africa maintains a 'reluctant hegemon' image, experiencing setbacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to military and agency constraints.

In 2025, African nations faced a fragmented global order characterized by US strategic retrenchment and intensifying competition over critical minerals. The year was marked by the first G20 summit on African soil in South Africa, which pushed for reforms in sovereign credit rating practices and international financial support. While some states like Nigeria and Kenya increased domestic resource mobilization to counter US aid cuts, others in the Horn of Africa became focal points for geopolitical rivalry involving Israel and Gulf Arab states. Additionally, the Lobito Corridor emerged as a key site for US and EU efforts to counter Chinese dominance in critical mineral supply chains, though this development is accompanied by governance risks in the DRC and Zambia.

In 2025, African states navigated a multipolar landscape marked by a transactional US approach under the second Trump administration, which led to aid cuts and a push for domestic resource mobilisation in countries like Nigeria and Kenya. The AU-EU partnership faced skepticism over the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), while South Africa's hosting of the G20 Summit resulted in the G20 Africa Engagement Framework and proposals to reform sovereign credit rating practices. Geopolitical competition intensified in the Horn of Africa, exacerbated by Israel's recognition of Somaliland, and along the Lobito Corridor, where the US and EU compete with China to secure critical mineral supply chains and midstream processing capacity.

Reclaim Finance and co-signatories argue that TotalEnergies has failed to adequately address concerns regarding the Papua LNG project, citing lack of transparency in climate and human rights assessments, failures in obtaining Free, Prior and Informed Consent from Indigenous Peoples, and insufficient evaluation of biodiversity and cumulative impacts.

A coalition of NGOs, including Reclaim Finance, asserts that TotalEnergies' response to their complaint about the Papua LNG project is insufficient. They highlight critical gaps in transparency regarding climate risk assessments, human rights impacts, and biodiversity studies. The authors argue that the project risks emitting 220 million tonnes of CO2, threatening endangered species and indigenous rights, while failing to provide clear information to local communities or adhere to the Equator Principles and IFC standards.

The Just Transition in the Food System network supports the SAHRC's inquiry into South Africa's food system but raises concerns regarding the absence of corporate testimony and the lack of provincial or local hearings to ensure the participation of those most affected by hunger.

The report examines Africa's green technology transition in 2025, highlighting how tightening global trade rules, such as the EU's CBAM and the uncertainty surrounding AGOA, alongside the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, have created economic pressures. It details multilateral outcomes from COP30, including the Belém Package's goal to triple adaptation finance by 2035, and continental efforts like the African Single Electricity Market and the goal to mobilise $50 billion annually for climate solutions. The text emphasizes the critical need for affordable decarbonisation finance and measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) capacity to prevent the marginalisation of African firms.

The report examines Africa's green tech transition in 2025, highlighting the challenges posed by the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and the expiration of AGOA. It details continental efforts to mobilize $50 billion annually for climate solutions and the progress toward an African Single Electricity Market, while noting the emerging role of AI in climate action and the need for a just transition to prevent the marginalization of smaller firms.

As part of the SUNCASA project, AVEGA Agahozo implemented a childcare program at tree nurseries in Kigali, Rwanda, for children aged 9 to 35 months. The initiative addresses barriers to women's participation in nature-based solutions (NbS) by providing safe, on-site care through a rotation of parents and caregivers. The program includes early childhood development training for parents and the creation of toys from recycled materials, aiming to increase the productivity of mothers and ensure the safety and development of their children.

The IEJ argues that the 2026 Budget fails to reverse a decade of austerity, instead implementing further cuts to non-interest spending and underinvesting in infrastructure and social services. The report criticizes the National Treasury's reliance on private sector investment and 'trickle-down economics,' noting that projected growth of 1.8% is insufficient to keep pace with labour force growth. The IEJ proposes increasing revenue through a net wealth tax and redirecting tax breaks for high-income earners, while calling for the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to provide concessional debt for strategic industries, including green industrialisation. Additionally, the document critiques the Targeted and Responsible Savings (TARS) initiative and the Gender Budget Statement for failing to address structural inequalities and food insecurity.

The IEJ criticizes the 2026 draft SRD grant regulations for ignoring long-standing systemic flaws, such as the inadequate grant value of R370 and restrictive online-only applications. While welcoming the extension of the grant to March 2027, the IEJ warns that this period expires before the planned introduction of the Basic Income Support (BIS) policy in March 2027. The submission advocates for a transition to a universal basic income, the use of self-declarations over inaccurate database verifications, and an increase in the grant value to meet the food poverty line of R855.

This factsheet provides an introduction to South Africa's draft National Norms and Standards for the recognition of Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), which outline the process for recognizing biodiversity conservation in areas outside of formal protected areas.

The Universal Basic Income Coalition (UBIC) argues that the 2026 Budget prioritises the wealthy and middle class over the vulnerable, leaving critical social grants like the Child Support Grant (CSG) and the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant below the food poverty line. The coalition specifically warns that National Treasury's Targeted and Responsible Savings (TARS) programme, which aims for R3 billion in savings through intensified grant reviews, is based on flawed assumptions about beneficiary fraud and risks excluding millions of eligible people due to SASSA's capacity constraints.

The briefing examines the limitations of North-South Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), specifically regarding funding, local ownership, and equity. It proposes South-South cooperation as a complementary approach that leverages peer learning and context-specific solutions to integrate local development needs like energy access and job creation. Using the experiences of South Africa and Colombia, the text identifies specific areas for collaboration, including mine closures and green industrialization, while noting that institutional support and inclusive participation are necessary to achieve transformative development goals.

The briefing identifies a significant gap in global efforts to reduce agricultural methane, noting that only 4% of NDCs include specific targets for the sector. It argues that current policies rely too heavily on technical 'end of pipe' solutions like biogas and feed additives, while failing to address systemic issues such as overconsumption of animal protein and the need for dietary shifts. The document highlights 'agricultural exceptionalism' as a barrier in high-livestock producing countries and warns that some nations, such as Aotearoa (New Zealand), are weakening their targets. It recommends that NDCs implement mandatory reduction targets aligned with a 1.5°C trajectory and prioritize sustainable diets and agroecology.

The 12th Meeting of the San Giorgio Group (SGG12) focused on moving climate finance from ideas to large-scale delivery, emphasizing system coherence and country-level impact. The group highlighted that annual climate finance now exceeds USD 2 trillion, driven by renewable energy and transport electrification. Key priorities include reforming Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), scaling guarantees and catalytic equity, and addressing the high cost of capital in developing countries. The agenda also calls for 'radical localism' to center people in the climate narrative and suggests leveraging artificial intelligence and underutilized public financing institutions, such as export credit agencies, to accelerate the energy transition.

The document establishes a 'pathways'-based framework to track capital mobilization, distinguishing between direct and indirect flows. It defines mobilization as capital deployed following CPI support to early-stage vehicles and identifies four specific pathways: direct capitalization, vehicle replication, investment unlocked by risk-sharing/asset platforms, and additional capital raised by end investees. The brief also clarifies how this tracking differs from the Global Landscape of Climate Finance (GLCF) by including intermediary capital flows that the GLCF typically excludes.

The report examines how Africa is trapped in a cycle of debt and fossil fuel dependency, which disproportionately harms women and girls. It argues that the global financial architecture forces African nations into austerity and resource extraction, leading to 'petro-masculinity' and systemic gender-based violence. The authors advocate for a 'feminist decolonial green economy' and a Fossil Fuel Treaty to enable a just transition through debt cancellation and redistributive finance.

The report identifies a significant gap in climate finance reaching South African local governments, noting that less than 10% of international public climate finance flows directly to them. Municipalities face technical capacity limitations, low creditworthiness, and rigid donor requirements, which prevent them from leveraging private debt or concessional loans. While frameworks like the Climate Change Act (2024) and the National Green Finance Taxonomy (2022) provide a basis for engagement, the report argues that a lack of bankable projects and misalignment between national policies and local capabilities stall progress. It recommends structured capacity-building, improved tracking of climate finance flows, and the development of cost-reflective tariff structures to improve municipal creditworthiness and attract private investment.