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The research examines the fragmented nature of migration regulation across three African regional economic communities (RECs)—SADC, EAC, and Comesa—and their integration into the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA). While the EAC has made significant progress in ratifying and implementing protocols for the free movement of labour and persons, SADC and Comesa suffer from low ratification rates and a tendency to treat economic migration as a national security threat. The document highlights that the TFTA, which covers 26 states with a combined GDP of $1.2 trillion, requires the removal of migration barriers to achieve its market integration goals. Case studies of Tanzania and Rwanda illustrate the tension between regional liberalisation and domestic protectionism, as well as the benefits of an economically driven migration policy. The authors argue that for the TFTA to succeed, RECs must move beyond a security-centric approach and link migration policies to economic imperatives.

The Green Economy Barometer 2017 reports a dichotomy in the global sustainability transition. While electric vehicle sales grew 42% in 2016 and lithium-ion battery prices fell 75% since 2011, fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) continued to provide approximately 86% of the world's energy. The report notes a disconnect between high-level geopolitical commitments and 'on the ground' realities, where rural economies and smallholder farmers lack investment, and automation threatens low-skilled workers. While countries like Peru, Uganda, the UK, and India have introduced green growth strategies or targets, the report warns that nature protections are being dismantled in some regions, such as India and South Africa.

The report identifies Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia as high-impact regions for clean energy investment, with a subset of eight countries offering over USD 360bn in potential by 2030. It argues that while clean energy costs are falling, private investment is hindered by off-taker, currency, and policy risks. The authors recommend shifting blended finance from covering viability gaps to providing risk-mitigation instruments like guarantees and local currency hedging, and creating liquid, tradable assets through securitization to attract institutional investors.

The document outlines a methodology for identifying high-impact clean energy markets in developing economies based on private sector attractiveness, energy access, and climate relevance. It identifies Tier 1 countries—including India, South Africa, Kenya, and Rwanda—and analyzes their specific investment barriers, such as off-taker risk in India and currency volatility in South Africa. Additionally, it provides case studies on blended finance structures, ranging from project-level interventions like the Lake Turkana Wind Farm to fund-of-funds like GEEREF, illustrating how concessional capital and guarantees are used to leverage private investment.

The African Borrowing Charter provides a framework for African states to balance public debt with the need for inclusive growth and public service delivery. It emphasizes transparency, parliamentary oversight, and the establishment of robust legal frameworks to prevent a recurrence of the debt crises seen in the 1970s-1990s. The Charter advocates for the creation of Public Debt Management Offices and the enactment of Fiscal Responsibility Acts to maintain macroeconomic stability and protect future generations from unsustainable debt burdens.

The report highlights a critical lack of aggregate global data to measure progress in reducing deforestation caused by basic needs. It uses the distribution of clean cookstoves and related funding as proxy indicators, noting that while annual distributions reached approximately 20 million, the number of stoves meeting clean and efficient standards declined from nearly 15 million in 2014 to 13 million in 2015. Financial support also showed a downward trend between 2012 and 2015, with Official Development Assistance (ODA) for fuelwood dropping from USD 81 million to USD 3.2 million and carbon offset transactions falling from USD 65 million to USD 15 million.

The report evaluates global forest landscape restoration (FLR) ambitions by tracking pledges under the Bonn Challenge and commitments within Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC. While the 150 million hectare milestone for 2020 was surpassed in May 2017, actual implementation data remains scarce, with reported achievements representing less than 10 percent of the 2020 goal. The document also highlights the role of regional initiatives and new data tools like the Bonn Challenge Barometer and ROAM in improving monitoring and planning.

The document analyzes Tanzania's struggle to develop a National System of Innovation (NSI) and horizontal linkages due to low industrial capacity and skill shortages. It focuses on the Central Development Corridor (CDC), a logistics system connecting Dar es Salaam to the Great Lakes hinterland, highlighting how coordination failures, private sector concession collapses, and fluctuating mineral prices have delayed infrastructure progress. While recent improvements in port efficiency and border services have occurred, the study concludes that government-led investment, rather than reliance on mining firms, is essential for multipurpose infrastructure.

The document examines the pervasive impact of corruption on African youth, who are identified as both primary victims and increasingly as perpetrators. It highlights how corruption fuels instability, conflict, and migration, while arguing that current youth engagement in anti-corruption efforts is superficial. The brief recommends structural changes, including amending the AU Advisory Board on Corruption's membership and implementing access to information laws, to ensure youth are active partners in designing and driving anti-corruption initiatives.

The report analyzes electricity access in 20 high-deficit countries by comparing government reports, utility data, household surveys, and solar sales. It consistently finds that household consumption (wealth) is a stronger driver of access disparity than gender, although specific national patterns vary. In many cases, significant gaps exist between formal utility connection rates and household survey results, often attributed to off-grid solutions, informal connections, or self-supply methods like diesel generators.

The 2018 Sustainable Energy for All Forum highlighted that while progress is being made on most SDG7 objectives, the world is not on track to achieve universal energy access by 2030. Key discussions centered on the critical need to reform infrastructure finance, the emerging importance of sustainable cooling for survival and health, and the stagnation of clean cooking access, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Forum advocated for a shift toward viewing energy as a set of services rather than just electrons, emphasizing the need for integrated planning and gender-inclusive investing to reach the most vulnerable populations.

The document examines the tension between Rwanda's national development goals—such as becoming a middle-income country by 2020—and the resulting pressure on natural resources at the district level. Focusing on Rutsiro, Bugesera, and Kirehe, it identifies widespread scarcity of woody biomass and clean water, driven by urban demand for charcoal and traditional farming practices. It argues that while national strategies like the Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy exist, there is a gap in translating these into local action, necessitating tailored district-level solutions and national policy incentives to shift urban energy demand away from charcoal.

The document argues that communication and information poverty—characterized by lack of access to platforms, media misrepresentation, and low media literacy—undermines the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It specifically analyzes the intersections between communication rights and SDGs 5, 9, 16, and 17, while providing recommendations for a rights-based approach to communication. The report highlights the need to democratize media systems, increase digital media literacy, and address the specific needs of marginalized groups, particularly Indigenous peoples, which it claims are insufficiently addressed in Agenda 2030.

The report identifies a growing "restoration economy" where businesses generate financial returns by improving the ecological function of degraded landscapes. It categorizes these opportunities into four main investment themes: technology, consumer products, project management, and commercial forestry. Through case studies of 14 companies across eight countries, the authors illustrate how various models—from drone-based reforestation and climate-smart credit for smallholders to sustainable timber and bamboo plantations—can scale. The document highlights that while significant market opportunities exist due to government pledges and rising resource demand, investors face hurdles such as high transaction costs, low liquidity, and insecure land tenure in developing regions.

The document argues that global agricultural production has declined by 1-5% per decade over the last 30 years due to climate change, necessitating an urgent transition to climate-resilient systems. It identifies critical risks, including heat stress, extreme weather, and pests, which disproportionately affect smallholder farmers and women in the tropics. The authors propose a roadmap based on five pillars: promoting resilient and low-emission technologies, expanding digital climate information, mobilizing innovative finance, strengthening farmer organizations, and delivering enabling policies. The paper highlights successful examples of 'no regret' options, such as stress-tolerant crop varieties and sustainable intensification, and emphasizes the need for context-specific, participatory approaches to scale these solutions.

The report examines the deployment of small-scale renewable energy (solar PV, wind, biogas, hydro) in East Africa, highlighting Kenya as the regional leader in market maturity and local content regulation. While off-grid solutions like solar home systems and mini-grids are expanding, the report identifies significant barriers to localisation, including a lack of local manufacturing, inadequate access to seed capital for SMEs, and fragmented institutional coordination. It recommends a regional approach to policy alignment, the development of e-learning platforms for vocational training, and the use of impact investment to build sustainable local value chains.

The document highlights a critical gap between the growing youth population in Africa and the creation of formal jobs, noting that only three million formal jobs are created annually against 10-12 million new entrants. It argues that structural hurdles—including poor education quality, lack of infrastructure for SMEs, and non-recognition of tertiary qualifications across borders—perpetuate youth unemployment and drive irregular migration to Europe. While citing positive regional examples in agro-processing, tourism, and tech hubs, the author calls for long-term sustainable policies and a shift in AU-EU relations toward legal circular migration pathways rather than a primary focus on security.

The document examines Ethiopia's efforts to expand rural energy access through solar technologies under the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II). While solar lantern adoption has grown, the brief identifies significant systemic barriers—including fragmented import processes, foreign exchange shortages, and a lack of clear grid expansion plans—that hinder private sector investment and the deployment of higher-capacity systems like solar home systems and micro-grids. It recommends streamlining customs through 'Green Line' declarations, incentivizing local manufacturing, and promoting affordable financing models such as pay-as-you-go to achieve the target of increasing energy access for up to 4 million households by 2020.

The document reviews 87 cases of agricultural interventions, finding that nearly 70% had a positive impact on food security. It emphasizes that success depends more on local context and implementation—such as addressing wealth inequality and combining interventions—than on the specific type of investment. Key analyzed areas include input subsidies, value chain development, and extension services, with recommendations for using direct food security indicators and rigorous baseline assessments in future planning.

The report analyzes the ramifications of the EU's January 2016 decision to reduce AMISOM peacekeeper allowances by 20%, from US$1,028 to US$822 per month. This move triggered a rift between the African Union (AU), troop-contributing countries (TCCs), and donors, while accelerating the development of a concrete exit strategy for the mission. The EU's decision was driven by donor fatigue, shifting priorities toward the Sahel region, and internal regulations regarding the use of the African Peace Facility. TCCs, particularly Uganda and Kenya, initially threatened withdrawal, though national security interests and the desire for regional stability largely prevailed. The report highlights a critical gap between donor expectations for AMISOM to 'do more' against al-Shabaab and the TCCs' claims of severe under-resourcing and a lack of local Somali security capacity to hold liberated territory.