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The document explores the transition from electronic money to CBDCs, focusing on China's e-CNY as a tool for renminbi internationalisation and its potential impact on Africa. It details the technical differences between cryptocurrencies and CBDCs, the specific two-tier design of the e-CNY, and the risks associated with privacy and financial disintermediation. For Africa, the paper highlights opportunities for financial inclusion and more efficient remittances, while cautioning against the risks of digital divide and state surveillance. It concludes with recommendations for African civil society and policymakers to engage in the design and standard-setting of digital currency frameworks to maintain monetary autonomy.

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 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 2024 Sustainable Agriculture Market Intelligence Report highlights key investment opportunities for the South African agricultural sector to mitigate risks from loadshedding, climate change, and international trade policies. Primary opportunities include solar PV and solar thermal applications, the electrification of machinery (such as electric tractors), and smart farming tools like remote sensing and AI diagnostics. The report emphasizes the Western Cape's role as a green economy hub and provides a comprehensive overview of the climate finance landscape and regulatory frameworks, including the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which may influence future agricultural exports.

The report examines the energy landscapes of seven southern African states, highlighting a stark divide between vast renewable energy potential and a continued reliance on fossil fuels or traditional biomass. While most surveyed countries have established renewable energy targets and some have liberalized their energy markets, the transition is often hindered by governance challenges, high rural-urban electricity gaps, and the pursuit of new oil and gas reserves. The document advocates for an 'energy justice' framework to ensure that the shift to low-carbon energy is inclusive, transparent, and protects the rights of marginalized communities and future generations.

The report identifies four 'pillars' of protest—demands, strategy, composition, and organization—that influence the size of a movement and the likelihood of regime loyalty shifts. It argues that non-violent, broad-based campaigns demanding regime change are most likely to succeed and lead to democratic consolidation. However, it notes a recent decline in the success rate of such movements and a rise in anti-liberal protests. For international democracy promoters, the report recommends investing in civil society infrastructure during stable periods rather than attempting to instigate regime shifts.

WWF's 2024 review highlights efforts to combat climate change and biodiversity loss through targeted programs. Key achievements include expanding the Food Waste Warriors program to 15 new cities, enrolling 1 million acres in the Ranch Systems and Viability Planning network, and contributing to a global tiger population increase to 5,574. The report also details human-wildlife conflict mitigation in the KAZA region, elephant tracking in India, and the establishment of the Tribal Buffalo Lifeways Collaboration in North America.

The document contends that the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) adopted at COP28 is insufficient because it treats climate reparations as voluntary donations rather than legal obligations. It argues that the fund's governance excludes frontline communities and indigenous peoples, lacks a human rights framework, and ignores the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The authors request that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights clarify that UNFCCC decisions do not limit state obligations to provide full reparation to climate victims.

The document analyzes the increasing debt distress in Africa, noting that public debt reached 65.6% of GDP in 2022. It highlights the shift toward non-concessional debt and the role of private creditors, who now hold over 40% of Africa's total external debt. The brief argues that the G20's Common Framework needs reform to be more inclusive of middle-income countries and private creditors. It advocates for the establishment of an African Credit Rating Agency to counter perceived biases from global agencies and the creation of an African Debt Monitoring Mechanism by June 2024 to improve transparency. Key recommendations include restructuring multilateral development banks, extending debt repayment periods, and increasing IMF Poverty Reduction Growth Trust access limits.

The document examines the disproportionate impact of climate change on African youth and their subsequent rise in activism. It highlights the gap between youth demographics and political leadership in Africa, the specific climate vulnerabilities in countries like Nigeria and Sudan, and the systemic barriers activists face, including financial constraints and state repression. The author calls for the establishment of youth councils, dedicated funding, and protection mechanisms to ensure young people can shape climate-resilient policies.

The report argues that climate adaptation is now a business imperative due to increasing physical risks and economic losses. It identifies three 'entry points' for private finance: 'Protect' (safeguarding existing assets and supply chains), 'Grow' (investing in early-stage and mature companies developing resilience technologies), and 'Participate' (co-investing in public sector infrastructure projects). The analysis highlights that adaptation investments can yield high benefit-to-cost ratios, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), and that valuation multiples for resilience solution providers are promising, with a median of 9 times revenue.

The document examines the role of urban informality—including unplanned settlements, unregistered economic activities, and unrecognized governance—in the context of rapid urbanization and climate change in southern Africa. It argues that while informality is often invisible or politically challenging, it provides critical services and livelihoods where formal systems fail. The brief recommends that city governments use 'bridging organizations' (such as NGOs and academic institutions) to mediate between formal and informal systems, create inclusive participatory spaces for innovative governance, and address the inequitable distribution of burdens and benefits associated with informal activities. Case studies from Cape Town, Malawi, Harare, and South African waste pickers illustrate how community-led responses and innovative finance can build resilience.

The report argues that while healthcare facilities in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa face severe energy deficits and climate vulnerabilities, there is a strong climate rationale for investing in low-carbon and resilient technologies. It identifies various climate finance sources—including bilateral finance, multilateral funds, private foundations, carbon/REC markets, and green bonds—and analyzes the barriers to accessing these funds, such as high transaction costs for small-scale projects and limited local technical capacity. The document proposes a programmatic approach to aggregate facilities to achieve economies of scale and recommends integrating energy, health, and climate expertise to mobilize the necessary capital.

This briefing, submitted by Natural Justice and the Environmental Lawyers Collective for Africa (E.L.C.A), provides commentary on a zero draft study by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) regarding the impact of climate change on human and people's rights in Africa. The document evaluates the study's identification of vulnerable groups and rights, critiques its approach to corporate accountability and extractive industries, and offers recommendations to strengthen the protection of indigenous peoples, children, and the environment through legal and monitoring frameworks.

The document identifies three priority policy areas for food systems transformation (FST) to enhance food security and climate resilience: reducing post-harvest losses, scaling up biofortification of staple crops, and improving food safety. It argues that while these issues are recognized in national policies across Eastern and Southern Africa, implementation is hindered by limited resources, capacity gaps, and a disproportionate focus on staple crops over high-nutrition crops.

The document argues that the Mozambique LNG project is disastrous, citing fatal human rights failures during the 2021 Palma attack, the displacement of hundreds of families without adequate compensation, and the continued instability in Cabo Delgado. It claims the project offers little economic benefit to Mozambique, utilizes tax avoidance schemes, and threatens local biodiversity and global climate goals by producing billions of tonnes of CO2 equivalent over its lifecycle. The authors call on financing banks and agencies to conduct an independent reassessment and cease support for this and other planned gas projects in Mozambique.

The report forecasts a significant increase in Africa's energy demand due to population growth, projecting that it will overtake the EU27 by 2043. While Africa possesses vast oil, gas, and hydropower reserves, its current energy mix remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels, with 'other renewables' making up only 1.6% of production in 2023. The document highlights a trajectory where Africa will eventually become a major global source of carbon emissions from fossil fuels, overtaking the EU by 2034.

The document lists the top five African countries possessing 90% of Africa's proven coal reserves, with South Africa holding the largest share.

Smallholder farms, particularly those between two and five hectares, produce 46% of the world's food and often exhibit higher land productivity and biodiversity than larger farms. While they are critical for global supply chains of products like coffee, cocoa, and tea, they face a 'yield gap'—ranging from 11% in East Asia to 76% in Sub-Saharan Africa—that could be closed through better access to modern agrifood chains and technology. In Africa, the adoption of climate-smart practices such as agroforestry and organic manure is heavily influenced by the availability of finance and credit. Smallholder agriculture is a primary economic driver in many developing nations, contributing 23% to the GDP of Sub-Saharan Africa.