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This guide, produced by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and SouthSouthNorth (SSN), distils the 2019 IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate specifically for African decision-makers. It details how human-induced warming is altering ocean chemistry and temperature, accelerating sea level rise, and melting high mountain frozen lands, all of which threaten African ecosystems, food security, and coastal livelihoods.

This fact sheet examines the role of insurance and alternative risk financing in building financial resilience against climate change. It details the growing 'protection gap'—the difference between total economic losses and insured losses—and explores emerging tools such as catastrophe bonds, microinsurance, and sovereign risk pools designed to manage the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters.

This research paper analyzes the USD 18-36 trillion climate investment gap in developing countries and identifies key barriers to scaling finance, such as access to capital and investor skill gaps. It evaluates the roles of various public finance actors—including MDBs, bilateral DFIs, and National Development Banks—highlighting that while NDBs provide the largest flows, they often lack risk mitigation tools. The authors recommend that public actors adopt more flexible capital strategies, harmonize standards, and shift from project-specific finance to broader financial system development to better leverage private investment.

This research paper examines the history and systemic challenges of sexual abuse and exploitation perpetrated by United Nations peacekeepers. It details the 'food-for-sex' scandals, the legal hurdles preventing the UN from prosecuting troops due to national jurisdiction, and the policy responses implemented to combat these crimes, including Resolution 2272.

This research paper evaluates the effectiveness of woodfuel carbon-offset projects in reducing deforestation and emissions, finding that actual emission reductions are significantly lower than project expectations.

This policy briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the opportunities and constraints of transitioning to low-carbon energy in Africa, focusing on West Africa and Nigeria. It argues that while the continent has vast renewable potential, progress is hindered by fragmented governance, inadequate investment, and a lack of coordination between niche projects and national grids.

This report documents a national stakeholder meeting held in Cotonou, Benin, on February 16, 2017, hosted by the SEEP Network and FSD Africa. The meeting brought together 39 participants from 26 organizations—including government ministries, NGOs, and financial service providers—to explore how Savings Groups (SGs) serve as agents for broader social and economic development in Benin, specifically within the sectors of agriculture, health, and formal financial inclusion.

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies examines the gap between Africa's formal legal frameworks for freedom of movement and their actual implementation. While the African Union and various Regional Economic Communities have established treaties to leverage migration for development, national interests and securitized approaches often hinder progress, with West Africa currently serving as the continent's best practice model.

This research paper examines the challenges facing Nigeria's foreign policy since its return to electoral democracy in 1999, arguing that domestic instability and leadership failures have undermined its regional and global influence.

This policy brief describes the outcomes of two workshops held during the 2016 SIPRI Forum on Security and Development. The workshops used two contrasting climate scenarios—Radical Emissions Reduction (RER) and High-end Climate Change (HCC)—to analyze risks to security, development, and the implementation of four specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): food security (SDG 2), gender equality (SDG 5), clean energy (SDG 7), and inequality (SDG 10).

The SEI Initiative on Low Emission Development Pathways (LED-P) provides tools and research to help governments, particularly in developing countries, integrate the mitigation of greenhouse gases, air pollution, and short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). Central to this is the LEAP-Integrated Benefits Calculator (LEAP-IBC), which quantifies the health, agricultural, and climate benefits of specific pollution-reduction measures. The initiative works closely with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to support national action plans in 16 countries and conducts research on the transferability of environmental impacts and the socio-economic barriers to low-emission transitions.

This technical annex evaluates progress toward Goal 3 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which targets the reduction of deforestation from non-agricultural sectors. It identifies infrastructure, human settlements, and mining as the primary non-agricultural drivers, with logging as the main cause of forest degradation. The report highlights a significant lack of disaggregated data, making it impossible to establish quantitative indicators for progress. It reviews public policy tools such as import bans on illegal timber in the US, EU, and Australia, and the use of Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments (SEA) by the World Bank. Private sector efforts include FSC and PEFC certifications, though certified forest land has plateaued at 10% since 2008, and emerging responsible mining initiatives like the Oro Verde program in Colombia.

A fact sheet by Friends of the Earth detailing how climate change and extreme weather patterns threaten the production of common Valentine's Day gifts, including chocolate, coffee, wine, flowers, and other agricultural products.

This research paper examines the capacity of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to implement post-conflict reconstruction and development (PCRD) and explores how South Africa can leverage its membership to strengthen these activities. The author argues that SADC is currently constrained by a state-centric approach to security, structural silos, and a lack of institutional capacity, leaving PCRD responsibilities to individual member states. By comparing SADC with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the paper suggests that SADC needs to adopt a more holistic, human-security-based approach and improve its coordination with the African Union (AU) and international donors.

This report, published by the South African Institute of International Affairs in 2015, examines the state of governance and accountability in Africa. It analyzes both continental frameworks, such as the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the African Peer Review Mechanism, and domestic institutions, including parliaments, courts, and ombudsman offices, to identify the drivers of democratic progress and the persistence of authoritarian tendencies.

This 2015 report by Sustainable Energy for All, commissioned by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), analyzes the intersection of energy access and gender inequality across the 15 ECOWAS Member States. It identifies systemic barriers that prevent women from participating equally in the energy sector and highlights how energy poverty disproportionately affects women and girls due to socially determined gender roles. The document serves as the foundational analysis for the development of the ECOWAS Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access, aiming for universal energy access by 2030.

The briefing examines the political vacuum created by the downfall of Burkina Faso's former president Blaise Compaoré in West Africa. Compaoré acted as both a regional peacemaker and a source of instability, playing critical roles in the political crises of Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mali, as well as in Western hostage negotiations in the Sahel. The document suggests that while his personal networks are irreplaceable, his departure provides an opportunity for ECOWAS to strengthen its institutional role in conflict resolution.

This policy brief analyzes the differing health diplomacy approaches of China and the West during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. It contrasts 'vertical' interventions, which target specific diseases, with 'horizontal' systems that build general healthcare infrastructure, arguing that a combination of both is necessary for long-term pandemic prevention.

This policy briefing analyzes the efforts of Côte d’Ivoire to regain its regional leadership position in West Africa following two decades of political instability. It examines the country's diplomatic assets, the challenges it faces in internal stability and institutional capacity, and its alignment with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Vision 2020 goals.

This policy briefing analyzes the decline of Nigeria's regional and continental diplomatic influence, arguing that a 'perverse hiatus' between its domestic instability and its foreign policy goals has led the country to punch below its weight despite being Africa's nominally largest economy as of May 2014.