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The European Union has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia to secure critical raw materials (CRM) essential for green and digital transitions. These agreements aim to reduce the EU's heavy reliance on imports from quasi-monopolistic suppliers, particularly China. However, the paper identifies significant obstacles, including the DRC and Zambia's lack of comprehensive national CRM policies, high levels of corruption and political instability, and the continued dominance of Chinese mining interests in both countries. The author argues that for these partnerships to succeed, the EU must prioritize industrial and economic alignment over geopolitical security agendas and find ways to de-risk investments for the European private sector, potentially by strengthening state-owned mining companies in the partner countries.

The report examines how developing countries can capture a fair share of financial benefits from critical minerals, highlighting risks such as price volatility, oversupply, and opaque markets. It suggests opportunities for these nations to increase state participation, develop downstream processing capabilities, and reform fiscal incentives to maximize economic gains from the energy transition.

The report analyzes the fiscal risks and opportunities for developing countries producing critical minerals essential for the energy transition. It highlights the potential for significant additional revenues—estimated up to USD 25 billion annually in taxes and royalties by 2040—while warning of risks such as price volatility, lack of transparency in markets like cobalt and lithium, and the potential for oversupply due to substitutes. The document argues that producer countries can increase their economic benefits by enhancing domestic processing (adding value), re-evaluating state participation, and reforming overly generous tax incentives. It also addresses the impact of alternative financing like 'metal streaming' and the potential costs associated with carbon pricing mechanisms such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

The report analyzes how developing countries can maximize financial gains from critical minerals during the energy transition. It identifies risks such as price volatility, opaque markets, and the impact of alternative financing like metal streaming. Opportunities include increasing state participation, developing downstream processing to add value, and reforming tax incentives. The document emphasizes that while significant additional revenues are possible—potentially between 98 billion and 259 billion USD annually by 2040—the window of opportunity is limited by potential oversupply and the development of substitute materials.

The document provides a preliminary legal mapping of the procedural and substantive requirements for a delictual claim against Carbon Majors in South Africa. It examines jurisdictional hurdles, such as the need to attach assets for foreign defendants, and the potential for state immunity defenses for state-owned companies. Substantively, it analyzes the elements of delictual liability—wrongfulness, fault, and causation—suggesting that South African courts' flexible approach to factual causation and the use of attribution science could support such claims. It also discusses parent company liability and the possibility of holding a select group of joint wrongdoers severally liable for the full extent of damages.

The document outlines strategic priorities to combat youth unemployment in Uganda, emphasizing the need for anti-corruption measures, investment in agribusiness infrastructure, and the alignment of education curricula with 21st-century labour market demands.

The Lobito Corridor is a 1,300 km railway line in Angola, extending into the DRC, designed to transport minerals to the EU and US. While several MoUs have been signed to secure critical raw materials (CRMs) and EV battery value chains, the author argues the project faces significant risks due to China's established supply chains, the TAZARA railway alternative, and the EU and US's lag in EV technology. The paper suggests that the EU and US should move beyond raw material extraction to support comprehensive industrialization across Africa.

The document outlines a roadmap for Malawi's future prosperity by focusing on youth-centric policies. It advocates for the integration of youth voices in national planning, the creation of a transformative education investment plan, the incorporation of mental health services into primary healthcare, and a shift toward community-based disaster risk reduction. These recommendations stem from a participatory research project using foresight methodologies like Futures Literacy Labs and the Three Horizons Framework, highlighting the urgent need for resilience following events such as Cyclone Freddy.

The document outlines a framework for empowering Tanzanian youth through three strategic priorities: accelerating technological advancement with gender-inclusive training, ensuring unrestricted access to information via digital literacy and connectivity, and reforming employment policies to create inclusive economic growth. Based on youth-led participatory research using foresight methodologies, it identifies critical gaps in education, mental health support, and youth representation in decision-making, while calling for public-private partnerships to modernize vocational training and digitize government services.

The document outlines a strategic framework to harness the potential of Zambia's youth population, which comprises over 70% of the population under age 30. Based on participatory research using Futures Literacy Labs and the Three Horizon Framework, it identifies critical gaps in political representation, education, and technology. The brief proposes four strategic priorities: mandating youth quotas in decision-making bodies, fast-tracking the Climate Change Bill of 2022 to support agri-tech innovation, reforming curricula to emphasize practical skills for employment, and implementing a National Internet Connectivity Plan to bridge the digital divide.

The report evaluates the impact of FSD Africa's regulatory interventions in African capital markets, highlighting the importance of tailoring international best practices to local contexts and the need for formal implementation support. It identifies capacity constraints at both regulator and market participant levels as significant barriers to the adoption of new frameworks, such as Islamic finance regulations in WAEMU and corporate bond guidelines in Ghana. The document recommends a sequenced and clustered approach to future interventions, with an increasing focus on green and sustainable finance once foundational regulatory structures are established.

The factsheet examines the potential and risks of hydropower, including reservoir-based, run-of-river, and pumped-storage hydropower (PSH). While acknowledging PSH's role in grid stability, it highlights that hydropower is becoming less competitive than wind and solar due to higher costs and long construction timelines. The document details severe negative impacts on biodiversity, human rights, and the climate, specifically noting methane emissions from reservoirs. It concludes that new hydropower projects should be strictly conditioned on robust standards, with a preference for upgrading existing infrastructure over building new dams, particularly in Europe.

The GCF Risk Dashboard for Q4 2024 reports that portfolio concentration risks remain within Board-approved tolerance levels, though 28 projects are under close monitoring due to notable issues or delays. The fund's total committed amount is USD 15.8 billion equivalent, with a geographic distribution led by Africa (37%) and APAC (30%). Financial instruments are primarily split between loans (41%) and grants (39%), while 54% of target areas focus on mitigation and 46% on adaptation. The report also notes one non-performing loan of USD 4.19 million associated with the IDB's Low Emissions and Climate Resilient Agriculture Risk Sharing Facility.

The report identifies a global shift toward embedding social justice in climate action and the rise of green macroeconomic policies like the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU Green Deal. While renewable energy capacity and electric vehicle sales are hitting records, the transition faces significant hurdles, including a 'gold rush' for critical minerals often lacking governance, inadequate private sector investment in nature, and a trust deficit between citizens and institutions. The document argues for a new 'eco-social contract' based on participatory governance and a fundamental reform of the multilateral financial system to support low- and middle-income countries.

The document advocates for a shift from traditional gender mainstreaming to Gender Transformative Approaches (GTAs) in Southern Africa to address the root causes of inequality and improve resilience to climate change and food insecurity. It provides a series of policy recommendations, including the integration of GTAs into national development plans and disaster risk reduction strategies, and highlights existing legal frameworks at global, continental, and regional levels that can enable these shifts.

The Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA), coordinated by the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST) at Stellenbosch University, operated from 2021 to 2023 to shift knowledge leadership toward the Global South. The initiative focused on 'Building equitable resilience in Southern Africa' through eight transdisciplinary working groups comprising academics and practitioners. Key outputs included a special feature in the journal Ecology & Society and various Non-Academic Products (NAPs) such as policy toolkits, guidance notes, and practice briefs. SARA's work spanned diverse sectors, including food systems, urban informality, conservation, and gender transformative approaches, emphasizing the interdependence of equity and resilience.

The document argues that South Africa's domestic renewable energy market is insufficient to support a viable manufacturing sector, which requires a minimum annual demand of 3 GW to 4 GW. It identifies the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) as the most advantageous trade framework, providing preferential access to Namibia, Botswana, eSwatini, and Lesotho. The brief also highlights Zambia as a competitive SADC market due to its specific import tariffs on non-SADC countries. It recommends that manufacturers leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and target off-grid electrification opportunities in countries like Nigeria, Rwanda, and Ghana.

The toolkit outlines a structured, phased approach to integrating MEL into national adaptation planning. It emphasizes the use of logic models, such as Theories of Change, to link adaptation actions to outcomes and impacts. The guide provides detailed methodologies for selecting SMART indicators, collecting diverse qualitative and quantitative data, and conducting evaluations that integrate climate risks. It specifically highlights the necessity of gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) and the importance of deliberate learning to enable adaptive management of climate risks.

The document outlines a structured approach to implementing MEL systems across the iterative cycle of National Adaptation Planning. It emphasizes the need for pragmatic, phased development tailored to national contexts, integrating gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), and utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data to foster adaptive management and transparency.

The document outlines a structured approach to integrating monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) into National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes. It emphasizes a sequential, pragmatic approach to system design, the use of Theory of Change (ToC) models, and the selection of SMART indicators. The guide details how to link MEL with impact, vulnerability, and risk assessments (IVRAs) and provides strategies for data collection, management, and inclusive communication. It specifically highlights the necessity of integrating gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) to ensure equitable adaptation outcomes.