Search Climate Insights Directory

The Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of MACUA and MEJCON-SA and jointly with Natural Justice, submitted formal objections to the Motuoane Exploration Right 386 application. The submission argues that the project's scoping report is deficient in its assessment of climate change, air quality, and groundwater impacts, and that the public participation process was exclusionary and legally inadequate.

A community guide regarding a gas exploration application by Motuoane Energy (Pty) Ltd in the Free State province of South Africa.

The document argues that current development and climate finance is insufficient to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, noting a $4 trillion annual investment gap for SDG implementation in developing countries. It promotes the work of the Global Solidarity Levy Task Force (GSLTF), which has proposed 16 levy options targeting undertaxed sectors responsible for carbon emissions, including aviation, fossil fuels, and financial transactions. The GSLTF estimates that these levies could potentially generate over $500 billion in annual revenue, with specific examples such as a 0.1% levy on trading stocks and bonds potentially raising $418 billion. The brief calls for developing countries to engage in the design and assessment of these levies to ensure equitable access to funds, as the recovery of these taxes generally occurs through individual national tax systems, leaving the allocation of grants to developing countries to the discretion of developed nations.

The Universal Basic Income Coalition (UBIC) warns that National Treasury's new conditions for SASSA—including bank account surveillance, database cross-checks, and biometric verification—will erroneously exclude up to half of rightful beneficiaries of the child support, older persons, disability, and care dependency grants. Drawing on evidence from the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, where 90% of exclusions are estimated to be erroneous, the briefing argues that these measures prioritise fiscal savings over constitutional rights to social assistance and basic nutrition.

Nigeria faces a substantial annual climate financing gap of $15.8 billion, with tracked inflows of $1.9 billion remaining low relative to its economy. The document argues for a Country Platform for Climate Action (CPCA) to coordinate government, private sector, and international efforts, citing the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) in South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Senegal as models. While JETPs have mobilized $46.5 billion across four countries, they are criticized for narrow focuses on energy systems and inadequate local engagement. A proposed Nigerian CPCA would expand this scope to include resilience, industrial growth, and social equity, while balancing geopolitical relationships with the EU, US, China, and India to meet a $1.9 trillion energy transition target by 2060.

South Africa has committed to an ambitious plan of action to prevent and respond to violence against children by 2027, including implementing parenting programmes in 52 districts and strengthening school safety via the 2024 Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. However, the authors contend that these goals are jeopardized by the Social Development Department's failure to pay NGO service providers in provinces like Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, as well as a lack of operational competence and clean audits at the national level. The document emphasizes that because NGOs deliver most services, the state must implement the Sector Funding Policy and adopt a holistic approach to family services to succeed.

The briefing note critiques the OECD's two-pillar solution for its lack of transparency and failure to recover the $400 billion lost annually to tax abuse, noting that high-income countries benefit most. It advocates for the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation as a democratic alternative for all 193 UN member states. The document urges South Africa, during its 2025 G20 presidency, to champion global minimum standards for taxing the super-rich and build consensus for the UN Convention to support sustainable development and the SDGs.

The report examines the integration of finance within National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) across 59 developing countries. It finds that while most NAPs include dedicated finance sections and rely heavily on international public funding, there is a significant gap in detailed costing and the mobilization of private-sector finance. The authors recommend that countries move toward more investment-oriented NAP documents, implement climate-resilient fiscal planning, and adopt tailored financing strategies—particularly for Least Developed Countries (LDCs)—to bridge the adaptation finance gap.

The report argues that South Africa's current free basic services (FBS) for electricity and water are insufficient to lift households out of poverty, providing only 'survival access' rather than 'developmental access'. It finds that for 40% of the population living below the lower-bound poverty line, current tariffs are unaffordable, often forcing a trade-off between paying for utilities and purchasing adequate nutrition. The document identifies 'adverse inclusion'—where physical connection to a grid exists but the terms of use are restrictive or unaffordable—as a primary barrier to socioeconomic development. It recommends increasing free electricity from 50kWh to 150kWh and water from 6kl to 8kl per month for the poorest 7.5 million households, while replacing municipal discretion in indigent registration with a national policy.

The report analyzes the intersection of traditional and municipal land governance in Limpopo's Vhembe District, focusing on the Rambuda, Tshivhase, and Masia traditional councils. It finds that while legislative frameworks like SPLUMA (2013) allow for traditional council participation, these bodies often lack voting power in municipal planning tribunals, leading to poor integration and friction. The study highlights a 'land development value chain' where traditional authorities issue Permissions to Occupy (PTO) and manage communal land, but often operate through informal or semi-formal systems. Case studies reveal challenges such as land invasions in the Homu Traditional Area and the successful implementation of professional planning standards for the Tshakhuma Shopping Mall. The report recommends digitalizing land records, enhancing the role of traditional leaders in municipal tribunals, and adopting the 'Record, Engage, Collaborate and Avoid' (RECA) model to manage land disputes.

Following the October 2024 elections, Mozambique has faced significant instability characterized by alleged vote rigging and a violent state crackdown. The ruling Frelimo party has maintained power through the suppression of dissent, including the killing of opposition members and journalists, and the strategic appointment of 'secretaries of state' to bypass decentralization. This domestic crisis has disrupted critical regional trade corridors, specifically the Maputo and Beira ports, affecting landlocked neighbors like Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia. The document argues that Frelimo's loss of legitimacy mirrors a broader trend across Southern Africa where former liberation movements are facing declining public support.

The document examines the critical role of African IFIs in bridging the continent's infrastructure gap to enable the AfCFTA. It highlights a significant annual financing need of $130–$170 billion, with transport being the most deficient sector. While IFIs like the AfDB, AFC, and Afreximbank have invested billions, the author argues that financing still relies too heavily on governments with limited fiscal space. The brief recommends establishing a results-oriented coordination model and a dedicated agency to improve project bankability to better attract private institutional investors.

The document outlines a framework for 'country platforms'—mechanisms to align public and private finance behind country-led plans. It identifies six elements of effective platforms, including strong political leadership and integrated planning, and details the specific contributions of domestic institutions, international public institutions, and private finance providers.

The study analyzes 320 adaptation investments totaling $133 billion across 12 countries, finding an average economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of 26.7%. Using the Triple Dividend of Resilience (TDR) framework, the authors demonstrate that benefits from induced economic development and social/environmental gains often double the value of avoided losses, meaning many investments are viable regardless of whether a climate disaster occurs. The paper highlights significant synergies between adaptation and mitigation, noting that nearly half of the evaluated projects yield GHG emission reductions. It recommends that multilateral development banks and governments adopt common reporting frameworks and disaggregate benefits to attract private capital.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) has submitted recommendations to Parliament’s Joint Constitutional Review Committee to expand the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB) mandate. The IEJ argues that the current focus on inflation targeting through high interest rates hinders sustainable growth and fails to address external inflation drivers like climate change. The submission advocates for a dual mandate balancing price stability with developmental outcomes, including employment and green structural transformation, and calls for stronger coordination between the SARB and the Minister of Finance to align monetary and fiscal policies for a just transition to a low-carbon economy.

The IEJ argues that the current debt-reduction strategy is ineffective and suppresses economic growth. It recommends rejecting regressive taxes, such as VAT increases and the freeze on personal income tax brackets, while proposing progressive alternatives like wealth taxes and reinstating the corporate income tax rate to fund social protection and infrastructure.

The IEJ argues that South Africa's 2025 budget continues a pattern of fiscal consolidation and austerity that stifles economic growth and fails to meet constitutional obligations. The document criticizes the use of regressive tax measures, such as the general fuel levy increase and frozen personal income tax brackets, and highlights insufficient spending on healthcare, education, and social grants. It specifically calls for the expansion of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and a shift away from Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure. The IEJ proposes alternative revenue sources, including increasing the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate to 28% and utilizing the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account (GFECRA), while recommending a more aggressive approach to debt management and wealth taxation.

The document analyzes the interdependencies between the EU, China, and Africa regarding critical raw materials (CRMs). While the EU seeks to reduce its reliance on China through initiatives like the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Global Gateway, the paper argues that complete decoupling is unfeasible due to China's dominance in midstream processing and the high costs of establishing independent European supply chains. It highlights that African nations, particularly the DRC and Zimbabwe, are increasingly pushing for local value addition and processing rather than mere extraction. The author proposes a trilateral cooperation model, using a hypothetical cobalt project in the DRC, where the EU provides technical training and financing, China provides refining technology and market access, and the DRC ensures resource ownership and local industrial development.

The Universal Basic Income Coalition (UBIC) warns that National Treasury's new budget conditions for the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) will lead to the wrongful exclusion of millions of vulnerable people from social grants, including older persons, disability, child support, and care dependency grants.

The document argues that European banks continue to support Glencore's coal expansion through general-purpose bond issuances, enabled by inadequate exclusion thresholds and policy loopholes regarding metallurgical coal and corporate-level financing.