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The document warns that a record-breaking El Niño event is being leveraged by disinformation campaigns to attribute extreme weather to natural cycles rather than fossil fuel emissions. It highlights the resulting food insecurity risks in Central America, Southern Africa, and South Asia, while arguing that the most effective defense against climate denial is not fact-checking, but the support of community-led information networks in places like Colombia, Nepal, and Nigeria.

The brief argues that Southern Africa can leverage geopolitical instability in the Middle East by establishing a 'Cape Corridor Assurance Framework'. This framework would integrate regional maritime coordination and national Vessel Traffic Services to provide risk bulletins and performance KPIs for insurers. Key recommendations include a 'Clean-Corridor Compliance Code' to deter shadow-fleet activity, protecting subsea cable infrastructure, and enhancing green-fuel bunkering at specific ports to ensure the route is visible, managed, and insurable.

The document evaluates the impact of different policy interventions on Mozambique's future. It finds that while individual sectoral scenarios like Large Infrastructure and Agriculture boost GDP per capita, a 'Combined scenario' integrating multiple sectors offers the most significant gains, potentially reducing extreme poverty from 65.1% to 40% by 2043. However, this accelerated growth is projected to increase carbon emissions to 47.6 million tons by 2043. The energy sector, dominated by gas, is expected to become the primary economic driver under the Combined scenario.

The report analyzes Africa's progress toward a demographic dividend, noting that most of the continent is in the early stages of this transition. While 11 countries have already entered a demographic window of opportunity, most others will do so much later, with some regions not reaching the critical 1.7:1 worker-to-dependant ratio until the mid-21st century. The author argues that realizing this dividend requires simultaneous improvements in fertility rates, health, education, and employment systems.

The document explains that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a natural cycle of water temperature in the equatorial Pacific that drives global temperature and precipitation trends. It warns that a strong El Niño is likely by mid-summer 2026, which may boost global temperatures already elevated by human-caused climate change. The guide advises reporters to avoid storm-related terminology, consult local experts to understand regional 'teleconnections', and recognize that climate change is making ENSO swings more pronounced while ENSO simultaneously amplifies climate impacts like flooding and drought.

The report highlights the economic disparity for African producers of raw commodities like cocoa and cashew nuts, who export most products without value addition. It details regional agricultural growth forecasts and warns of a widening gap between crop production and demand, which is expected to increase food imports and vulnerability to international price fluctuations by 2043.

The Agriculture scenario projects a significant increase in Africa's agricultural production, reducing food import dependence and extreme poverty while boosting GDP. By 2043, production could reach 2,167 million metric tons, with Nigeria emerging as the most significant producer. The scenario is expected to reduce the number of extremely poor Africans to 339 million and increase the total economy by US$354 billion compared to the Current Path. However, these gains depend on water availability, climate-driven carbon fertilisation, and the adoption of temperature-tolerant cultivars.

The document analyzes gender gaps in education across Africa, noting that while parity has improved, sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag behind North Africa and other global regions. It highlights a widening gap as students progress to higher education levels, particularly in Central Africa, and forecasts that sub-Saharan Africa will not reach the 2019 global mean length of adult female education (8.4 years) until the second half of the 21st century without aggressive intervention.

The research finds that an aggressive reduction in gender inequality would significantly increase Africa's GDP, GDP per capita, and human development indices by 2043. The most substantial economic gains are projected in the service sector and in regions with currently high gender gaps, such as North and West Africa. Socially, the Gender scenario is forecast to lift millions out of extreme poverty and reduce the number of stunted children by 6 million compared to the Current Path.

The document forecasts that achieving full gender equality by 2043 would significantly boost Africa's economy, increasing GDP by US$1 trillion compared to the current path and lifting 80 million more people out of extreme poverty. The most substantial gains are projected for North Africa and specific countries like Egypt and Nigeria, though the extent of the benefit depends on a country's economic structure and population growth.

The document outlines a simulated agricultural revolution in Africa based on eight interventions: increasing crop yields, expanding irrigation, increasing water withdrawal, protecting forests, improving supply chains, enhancing rural road access, and increasing per capita calories. The scenario predicts that by 2043, average crop yields will reach 7 tons per hectare (a 37% increase over the 'Current Path') and irrigated land will grow to 17.4 million hectares. It emphasizes the role of these interventions in reducing food loss and waste—projected to drop to 19.4% by 2033—and improving rural accessibility to 69%. The model balances agricultural expansion with forest protection, aiming to save 30 million hectares of forest land by 2043 compared to the Current Path forecast.

The report examines education spending in Africa, noting that while many countries exceed the African Union's 20% budget allocation target, funding remains inadequate due to inefficiencies and declining international aid. It highlights significant regional disparities in per-student spending and a critical disconnect between high expenditure and educational performance, largely because budgets are dominated by recurrent costs like salaries rather than capital investments.

The document describes El Niño as a natural climate phenomenon characterized by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. It argues that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme El Niño events, particularly Central-Pacific (CP) events, and complicating their prediction. For 2026, there is a 61% chance of an El Niño emerging between May and July, with some models suggesting it could be the strongest in 140 years. The briefing details global teleconnections, noting that El Niño typically causes droughts in southern Africa, Australia, and India, while increasing flood risks in East Africa and the Americas. These shifts significantly impact global agriculture, reducing yields for maize, rice, and wheat while often increasing soybean yields. Regional analysis highlights specific risks, such as increased cholera in East Africa, hydropower reductions at Kariba Dam in Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the Amazon becoming a net carbon source during Eastern-Pacific (EP) events.

The document highlights that waste sector methane emissions are rising rapidly and will outpace fossil fuel and agriculture sector increases by 2050. It argues that national governments must move beyond treating waste as a local sanitation issue to establish national standards and financing. Finally, it asserts that regulatory frameworks must be complemented by public education and incentives to ensure compliance and reduce organic waste at the source.

The document synthesises projections from AFREXIMBANK, UNCTAD, UNDESA, IMF, the Pardee Centre, and the World Bank on the AfCFTA's potential to increase intra-African trade, boost GDP growth, reduce poverty, and raise wages, particularly for women and skilled workers.

The document reports that 2024 was the warmest year on record, marking the first calendar year where global surface air temperatures exceeded pre-industrial levels by 1.5°C. It details a surge in weather-related disasters, with 62% of all such events since 1984 occurring after 2004, and notes that over 240 million internal displacements occurred between 2013 and 2023 due to natural disasters. The text emphasizes that atmospheric CO2 concentrations reached record highs in 2024, hitting 426.7 ppm in May, which underscores the failure of current global policies to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement targets.

The report details the disproportionate burden of climate change on Africa, noting that since 1984, the continent has faced 1,865 climate-related disasters resulting in US$53 billion in losses. It highlights a critical lack of financial protection, with only 9% of disaster losses insured. Regional analysis shows water-related disasters as the primary threat, with severe flooding in East Africa and historic droughts in Southern Africa and the Horn of Africa. The document also links climate change to the spread of diseases like cholera and malaria, and the risk of desertification in the Sahel and West Africa.

The research paper projects that a 'Combined scenario'—integrating policy coherence, governance, and strategic investment—would significantly increase Africa's GDP to US$8.9 trillion by 2043 and reduce extreme poverty to 242 million people. It highlights that while low-income countries like the DR Congo and Mozambique would see the fastest growth, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and governance reforms are the most effective drivers of per capita income and poverty reduction across the continent.

The report finds that while the percentage of Africans living in extreme poverty has declined since the 1990s, the absolute number of poor people continues to rise due to rapid population growth. Africa is projected to miss the 2030 SDG goal of eliminating extreme poverty, with several countries likely to maintain poverty rates above 50% by that date. The document attributes these challenges to high inequality, over-reliance on natural resources, and bad governance, noting that Sub-Saharan Africa carries the largest global burden of extreme poverty.

The report outlines six key takeaways from participatory climate vulnerability assessments conducted in nearly 100 communities across Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe between 2024 and 2025. It emphasizes the need to integrate community knowledge with scientific data, involve local governments to institutionalize adaptation, and manage expectations during overlapping crises. The document argues that these assessments are foundational for locally led adaptation by linking local insights with climate projections to understand risks across diverse social groups and ecosystems.