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The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted a legal argument to the High Court of South Africa stating that, as a registered and accredited law clinic that provides free legal services and does not handle client funds or property, it is legally entitled to litigate without a fidelity fund certificate or a trust account.

The document argues that Indigenous and local knowledge holders have been historically marginalised in South African ocean governance and proposes a framework for their inclusion in marine spatial planning. Key recommendations include the early co-development of marine area plans, increasing transparency through two-way communication, improving the accessibility of socio-cultural data in decision tools, and designating specific coastal zones for cultural practices. It specifically suggests strengthening the legal and institutional links between the Marine Spatial Planning Act and the Indigenous Knowledge Act by involving the National Indigenous Knowledge Systems Office in national working groups.

President Sauli Niinistö emphasizes that the world is facing a series of interlocking crises—including climate change, food insecurity, and the war in Ukraine—that cannot be solved by any single nation. He highlights the disproportionate impact of climate change on African countries and commits Finland to increasing international climate finance for developing nations. Niinistö also discusses Finland's decision to join NATO as a security measure in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, while advocating for a just peace for Ukraine and the importance of African leadership in global governance.

The Gauteng High Court dismissed a review application by Industrial Zone (Pty) Ltd, upholding the MEC's decision to require a stream to remain in its natural course rather than being diverted for a light industrial development. The court found the Department's decision to be rational and reasonable under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA), while noting that the landowner maintains a duty to rehabilitate the stream.

The submission argues that several proposed amendments to the Public Service Regulations undermine accountability and the fight against corruption. Key objections include the withdrawal of prohibitions on public servants doing business with the state and the removal of reporting obligations for executive authorities. The authors propose strengthening oversight by requiring the publication of organizational structures and human resource plans on department websites, increasing prohibition periods for employees dismissed for misconduct, and ensuring the Auditor-General is notified of law enforcement referrals.

In 2022, solar and wind power continued their rapid growth, with solar being the fastest-growing source and wind recording the largest absolute increase. Conversely, nuclear power saw a significant decline, primarily driven by outages in France and Germany. Coal generation reached an all-time record high of 10,186 TWh, although its overall share of the global electricity mix slightly decreased. Hydro power rebounded after a poor 2021 but remains below 2020 levels due to droughts in Europe. Fossil gas generation remained relatively stable despite supply chain disruptions. To align with the IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario by 2030, the report argues that solar and wind must sustain high annual growth rates, coal and unabated gas must be phased out, and nuclear power must grow more rapidly than its recent historical average.

The Universal Basic Income Coalition criticizes the South African government for extending the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to March 2024 without increasing the payment amount or removing restrictive eligibility criteria. The Coalition highlights a massive rate of exclusion, noting that while 13.5 million people applied by January 2023, only 7.48 million were approved. They advocate for increasing the grant from R350 to at least the Food Poverty Line of R663 and eventually to the Upper Bound Poverty Line of R1417, while calling for the removal of barriers such as English-only online platforms and flawed verification databases.

The paper examines the transformation of German-African energy relations, moving from a focus on energy poverty and development aid to a complex mix of energy diplomacy, strategic resource interests, and hydrogen technology. It highlights a tension between 'green objectives' (renewables) and 'fossilist objectives' (LNG imports), while warning against 'energy colonialism' in large-scale projects. The author advocates for a transition toward 'energy justice' and a value-chain approach to hydrogen to ensure equitable benefits for African nations.

The Life after Coal Campaign and the Fair Finance Coalition Southern Africa argue that the JET-IP is heavily skewed toward private sector interests and large-scale infrastructure, specifically green hydrogen, at the expense of community-led renewable energy and social investment. They highlight critical gaps in policy alignment, the lack of transparency regarding debt and loan agreements, and the failure to adequately address the health impacts of air pollution at the Medupi and Kusile power stations. The authors call for a reprioritization of funding toward transmission grid strengthening and socially owned energy models, while warning that the current approach to decommissioning coal plants, as seen at Komati, lacks the necessary community participation to be considered 'just'.

The document evaluates the consequences of bypassing Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) systems at the Kusile power station. It projects a six-fold increase in SO2 emissions and a 40% increase in mercury emissions, leading to an estimated 670 excess deaths and R16.8 billion in societal costs.

The report finds that while the 'return of coal' did not materialize globally in 2022, the pace of retirements remains insufficient to meet Paris Agreement targets. China is a major outlier, with its coal capacity in development increasing by 38% in 2022, while capacities in the rest of the world decreased by 20%. In the EU and UK, coal use saw a marginal 1% increase due to the gas crisis, but long-term trends remain downward. In Sub-Saharan Africa, coal projects persist despite funding shortages, though some successful just transition initiatives, such as the Komati plant retirement in South Africa, provide a potential model for the region.

The report finds that while global coal phase-out remains possible, the current pace of closures is insufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals. China is a major outlier, accounting for 68% of proposed global coal capacity in 2022, while other regions show a decline in new projects. In South Korea, the report argues that current plans are inconsistent with national climate goals and that the financial risks of coal dependence are evident in the deficits of the Korea Electric Power Corporation.

The report indicates that while the global coal sector is generally declining, China is significantly increasing its coal capacity, contrasting with a sharp drop in new projects elsewhere. Most of the world's operational coal capacity is now within the scope of national neutrality targets, though the current pace of retirement remains insufficient to meet Paris Agreement objectives. In Latin America and the Caribbean, coal development has slowed significantly, with notable retirements in Chile and Peru, though Argentina and Brazil maintain some capacity in development.

The report indicates that while global coal capacity is nearing an end with one-third of the 580 GW fleet having set closure dates, the pace of exit is insufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals. China is a major outlier, with its development-stage capacity increasing by 32% to 366 GW in 2022, while the rest of the world saw a 22% decrease. In the EU and UK, the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine slowed retirements and led to the temporary restart of some units, though coal's share of electricity production only rose by 1%. Turkey ranks third globally in developing coal capacity with approximately 11 GW of announced projects, though many face financing and legal hurdles, and the government plans only 3.2 GW of new coal capacity by 2035.

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was established in 2003 to promote good governance through peer reviews and National Programmes of Action. While it has expanded to 43 member states and seen a leadership-driven turnaround under CEO Prof Eddy Maloka since 2016, the mechanism faces challenges including slow throughput, delayed publication of reports, and a lack of progress in governance outcomes. Data from the Ibrahim Index of African Governance and Afrobarometer suggest that governance on the continent has remained steady or declined despite the APRM's efforts.

The Life After Coal Campaign opposes Eskom's plan to install temporary bypass stacks at the Kusile power station, which would allow unabated SO2 emissions to restore generating capacity. The campaign argues that this proposal poses grave risks to human health, potentially causing up to 1,362 air pollution-related deaths and R25 billion in societal costs over 36 months at high utilization. They challenge the claim that the bypass will restore 2,160 MW, noting the plant's historical 33% capacity performance. Instead of the bypass, the campaign proposes investing the funds into solar PV and wind installations to accelerate the coal phase-out.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) express concern that proposed amendments to the 2022 Regulations for the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant only address the expiry date, failing to resolve issues regarding beneficiary exclusion, the low means test, and the inadequate grant value.

The submission by IEJ and SERI criticizes the South African government's limited amendments to the SRD grant regulations, which only extended the expiry date to March 2024. The authors argue that the R350 grant value is arbitrary and eroded by inflation, and that the means-test threshold of R624 is too low. They highlight systemic exclusions caused by flawed bank and database verification, digital barriers in online-only applications, and a restrictive appeals process. The document recommends transitioning the SRD grant into a permanent Universal Basic Income (UBI) indexed to the upper-bound poverty line (UBPL) of R1417, removing the budget cap, and eliminating work conditionality clauses to ensure the right to social assistance is progressively realized.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticises the 2023 National Budget as 'anti-poor' due to its focus on fiscal consolidation and debt stabilisation over public service provision. The IEJ recommends a new macroeconomic framework targeting unemployment and inequality, unconditional debt relief for Eskom including 'haircuts' for private debt holders, and the implementation of progressive taxation measures such as a wealth tax and returning the corporate income tax rate to 28%.

The Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA) is a plurilateral initiative involving over 110 WTO members aimed at streamlining foreign direct investment (FDI) through transparency and administrative efficiency. While much of the text is 'clean,' key disputes remain regarding the scope of obligations, the implementation of responsible business conduct (RBC) standards, and the legal architecture for integrating the agreement into the WTO framework. The agreement includes special and differential treatment (S&DT) for developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs), modeled after the Trade Facilitation Agreement.