Search Climate Insights Directory

The 2025 City Profiling Report for Cape Town describes a city with strong institutional governance and high service delivery standards relative to other SADC cities, yet one plagued by deep structural inequality and chronic traffic congestion. While the city maintains a clean audit record and high human development indices, it faces significant challenges in youth unemployment, informal settlement growth, and climate vulnerability, particularly regarding water scarcity and fire risk.

The report outlines nine fundamental principles of resilience science designed for decision-makers. It defines resilience as the capacity to cope, adapt, and transform, emphasizing that it is an active process rather than a passive state. Key themes include the necessity of diversity, the role of social and ecological relationships, the importance of managing trade-offs through collaborative governance, and the requirement to address power imbalances to ensure equitable outcomes. The document argues that proactive investment in resilience provides a 'triple dividend' by avoiding losses, stimulating economic growth, and delivering social and environmental benefits.

The report outlines nine 'Must-Knows' of resilience science, defining resilience as the capacity to cope, adapt, and transform. It argues that resilience is a continuous process of learning and innovation, requiring diversity in knowledge and nature, strong social-ecological relationships, and the active management of trade-offs. The document emphasizes that investing in resilience provides a 'triple dividend' by avoiding losses, boosting economies, and strengthening societies, while stressing that equitable resilience requires addressing power imbalances and historical injustices.

The report outlines three primary investment opportunities in the Western Cape's renewable energy sector: embedded solar PV for C&I and agricultural users, large-scale wind and solar projects, and behind-the-meter (BTM) lithium-ion storage. While the market is driven by rising electricity costs, decarbonisation pressures from export markets (such as the EU's CBAM), and a liberalising regulatory framework (Electricity Regulation Amendment Act of 2024), it faces significant barriers. These include severe grid constraints, administrative backlogs in municipalities, a shortage of specialised technical skills, and a high reliance on imported battery components, particularly from China.

The South African EV market is in an early growth phase, with significant investment potential across four key sectors: passenger vehicles, public buses, freight and logistics, and last-mile delivery. While annual passenger EV sales have surpassed 1,000 units for the first time, the market is currently dominated by luxury models. Growth is supported by innovative financing like Electric-Vehicle-as-a-Service (EVaaS), rising fuel costs, and corporate ESG targets. However, adoption is hindered by high import duties, a lack of affordable models, and electricity grid constraints. The government is introducing manufacturing incentives in 2026 to stimulate local production.

The report highlights a growing energy services market in South Africa, shifting from a primary reliance on mitigating loadshedding to goals of cost stability and decarbonisation. Embedded solar PV for the commercial, industrial, and agricultural (CI&A) sectors is projected to grow by 3.8 GW (estimated at R53.2 billion) by 2030. Behind-the-meter (BTM) Li-ion storage is expected to reach 2GWh (estimated at R10 billion) by 2030, driven by value-stacking use cases like peak shaving and tariff arbitrage. Key barriers include ageing municipal distribution infrastructure, administrative capacity constraints in municipalities, and a heavy reliance on imported battery components, particularly from China.

The guide outlines the landscape of renewable energy in South Africa, emphasizing the shift toward private procurement and the dominance of solar PV. It details two primary implementation models—embedded generation and wheeling—and provides a comprehensive breakdown of financing options, including bank-specific instruments and power purchase agreements. The document also highlights the strategic role of backup storage for peak shaving and load shifting, lists available South African tax incentives for energy efficiency and renewable assets, and identifies critical grid and regulatory hurdles businesses may encounter.

The document examines the integration of Alternative Service Delivery (ASD) within South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET) framework. It highlights how decentralised, community-led models can address infrastructure and financial barriers to energy, water, and sanitation access, particularly in coal-dependent regions like Mpumalanga. Using the Nomzamo Agri Village as a case study, the brief demonstrates that ASD promotes decarbonisation and economic empowerment by replacing hazardous energy sources with clean alternatives.

The report outlines a shift in South Africa's renewable energy sector from public procurement to private off-taker agreements, driven by electricity market liberalisation and corporate decarbonisation needs. It estimates a total investment potential of R132 billion for private renewable energy development and R16 billion for local component manufacturing by 2030. Key barriers include severe grid capacity constraints in high-resource provinces and policy uncertainty regarding the future of public procurement programmes.

The report highlights two primary investment areas in the Western Cape's agricultural sector: smart farming, specifically precision-spraying via drones, and undercover farming using shade netting and tunnels. It notes that while the sector grew to R25.6 billion in 2023, producers face pressure from rising input costs and new EU sustainability regulations (CSRD and CS3D). Precision-spraying drones offer a market size of R156 million for grain and R50.9 million for tree crops per season, while undercover farming represents a larger market of R5.4–8.6 billion, driven by water scarcity and the need for climate resilience. The report emphasizes that undercover farming has seen significant growth, with shade netting area increasing 329% between 2018 and 2023, particularly in berries and citrus fruit production.

The document assesses the effects of US Executive Order 14257, which introduced a 10% universal tariff and higher country-specific tariffs (11% to 50%) on imports from 190 countries. While mineral-exporting nations like Angola and South Africa may find relief through exemptions for oil and critical minerals, countries like Lesotho and Madagascar face severe economic risks, particularly in the textile sector. The analysis highlights a strategic divide: some nations seek bilateral deals, others aim for self-sufficiency, and a group of African WTO members are coordinating through the 'Friends of the System'. The authors argue that African nations should negotiate collectively under the African Union to protect regional integration and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as the AGOA program faces expiration on September 30, 2025.

The IGF was established in 2005 as a UN Type II partnership to help resource-rich countries improve mining governance for sustainable development. It is guided by the Mining Policy Framework (MPF), which covers six pillars including environmental management and post-mining transition. Now comprising over 80 member nations, the IGF provides technical assistance and national assessments to align mining laws with sustainable development goals, with its secretariat hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and funded primarily by Canada and the Netherlands.

The iCRA project (January 2025–December 2026) seeks to strengthen the evidence base for intersectional approaches to climate change adaptation. By piloting intersectional climate risk assessments (CRAs) in Nepal and South Africa, the project analyzes how overlapping systems of inequity—such as racism, ableism, and caste-based discrimination—influence vulnerability to climate hazards. The project utilizes knowledge co-production with partners serving marginalized groups to generate recommendations for policy-makers and practitioners.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is identified as one of South Africa's most effective anti-corruption agencies, primarily due to its use of civil law remedies and a culture of integrity. However, it faces significant hurdles, including a cumbersome Presidential proclamation process, a precarious funding model, and a lack of legally binding authority for its recommendations. The document suggests legal amendments to the SIU Act, improved whistleblower protections, and a potential transition into a dedicated Chapter 9 anti-corruption agency.

The policy brief outlines the critical role of maritime transport in Africa's blue economy and the threats posed by climate change, including sea level rise and new global emissions regulations. It advocates for a new continental maritime governance framework to coordinate decarbonisation and resilience efforts. Key recommendations include transforming ports into green logistics hubs, implementing climate risk assessments in infrastructure design, and securing sustainable financing for fleet and port modernisation.

The document examines how African youth are transforming peacebuilding through AI and digital tools, shifting from passive consumers to active knowledge creators. It highlights the decentralisation of early warning systems and the use of digital platforms for peace messaging and mobilisation. However, it warns that digital divides, gender gaps, and linguistic biases—where 88% of African languages are ignored by computational tools—threaten to marginalise rural youth and women. The brief notes a disconnect between the AU's Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security and digital strategies, urging for integrated policies and the institutionalisation of youth roles in AI governance to ensure digital peacebuilding is ethical and inclusive.

The document examines corruption in South Africa as a collective action problem and proposes two primary solutions: anti-corruption collective action and the implementation of effective good faith compliance programmes. It highlights that while corruption may offer short-term gains, long-term costs include decreased productivity and slower financial growth. The brief identifies 'virtuous circles'—such as the corporate renewal of EOH and new legal frameworks like Section 34A of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act—that can shift the private sector toward integrity. It specifically emphasizes the vulnerability of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and recommends tax incentives and capacity building to support their compliance efforts.

The policy brief assesses the failure of the Mozambican government's military-first strategy in Cabo Delgado, noting that despite interventions by Rwanda and SADC, the insurgency persists and has expanded in 2025. It identifies local grievances—including youth unemployment, religious discrimination, and economic displacement—as primary drivers of recruitment. The author advocates for a multi-level dialogue approach involving community leaders and civil society to address these root causes, while critiquing the government's tendency to frame the conflict as 'international terrorism' to avoid negotiation.

The document outlines the South African legal requirement for companies to obtain Environmental Authorisation (EA) through an EIA or ESIA process before starting oil and gas exploration or production. It explains the stages of the assessment—including scoping and impact assessment—and provides a structured set of questions to help community members articulate concerns regarding livelihoods, health, marine access, biodiversity, cultural practices, and climate change.

Natural Justice assesses South Africa's 2025 draft NDC, acknowledging progress in absolute emissions targets but warning that these are undermined by over-reliance on international conditionality and a lack of concrete implementation plans. The submission argues that the draft fails to meet the 'highest possible ambition' standard set by the ICJ, citing gaps in adaptation financing, the exclusion of natural disturbance emissions from accounting, and the absence of a clear fossil fuel phase-out schedule. It recommends integrating a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA), establishing a grant-based Loss and Damage facility funded partly by a tax on fossil fuel profits, and mandating Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for all climate projects.