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The African Climate Foundation (ACF) Strategy 2026–2030 outlines a shift from a 'proof of concept' to a continental platform focused on ensuring Africa's climate transition is shaped by African agency. The strategy prioritizes three core areas—energy access, climate resilience, and green industrialisation—supported by cross-cutting enablers in sustainable finance and international partnerships. ACF operates as a support institution rather than a direct implementer, utilizing strategic grantmaking, fiscal hosting, and incubation to strengthen the capacity of African governments, coalitions, and communities.

The African Climate Foundation (ACF) outlines its 2026–2030 strategy to shift from a phase of expansion to one of systemic integration. The foundation aims to ensure Africa's climate transition is driven from within by supporting local institutions, coalitions, and governments through strategic grants, financial hosting, and incubation. Its framework focuses on three priority areas—energy access, climate resilience, and green industrialization—supported by cross-cutting levers in sustainable finance and international partnerships.

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), supported by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and Promethium Carbon, has designed two financial instruments—a carbon credit-backed bond and a carbon repo facility—to address the supply-demand imbalance and liquidity challenges in South Africa's voluntary carbon market (VCM). These instruments aim to transform carbon credits into investable assets to mobilize private capital for climate mitigation projects.

This end-of-year commentary by Ember synthesises key findings from 2025 regarding the global energy transition, highlighting how solar and wind power have begun to outpace global electricity demand growth and reshape energy dynamics through the rise of "electrotech" and battery storage.

This research paper examines the increasing flow of foreign direct investment from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—specifically the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar—into Africa. It details how these states are leveraging Africa's renewable energy potential and mineral resources to diversify their own hydrocarbon-dependent economies and secure food supply chains, while providing Africa with an alternative to Western and Chinese financing to address its infrastructure gap.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs argues that democracy in Africa often exists as a procedural ritual that masks enduring colonial socio-economic structures and elite control. Using foresight methods and a case study of the South African National Dialogue, the document proposes a shift toward 'transformative solidarity economics' and structural reforms in education, governance, and constitutional frameworks to move from procedural survival to substantive democratic resilience.

This report by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) examines the state of democratic governance in Southern Africa, focusing on the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in countering democratic backsliding. Drawing on youth consultations and a comparative analysis of West African civil society networks, the report argues that cross-border solidarity and regional networks are essential for strengthening accountability and protecting human rights in the SADC region.

This report by Ember analyses Chinese customs data to demonstrate a significant increase in solar panel imports into Africa in the 12 months leading up to June 2025. The analysis suggests a structural trend toward increased solar adoption across the continent, potentially driven by distributed solar, which could significantly expand electricity supply and reduce reliance on imported diesel.

This report by the African Future Policies Hub analyzes whether carbon credits generated under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement should be eligible for deduction from liabilities under the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). It argues that allowing such credits would mitigate the negative economic impact of the CBAM on African exporters, retain climate finance within African borders, and provide policy flexibility to host governments, while proposing specific design measures to prevent carbon leakage and ensure credit integrity.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) evaluates the first 18 updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted by non-Annex I parties by May 31, 2025. It assesses whether these 'NDC 3.0' documents are evolving into 'investment-ready' prospectuses by analyzing three dimensions: the quantification of financial needs, the design of mobilization strategies, and the credibility of implementation plans.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs argues for the 'ring-fencing' of development expenditures in Africa to protect long-term investments from short-term fiscal and political pressures. It identifies a 'perfect storm' of challenges—including trade fragmentation, the 'securitisation' of economic policy, high debt burdens, and technological disruption—that threaten development financing. The document proposes five specific policy mechanisms to institutionalise this protection and suggests that development finance should be framed as complementary to security priorities to leverage international funding.

This briefing by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute describes the critical mineral supply chain and the United States' efforts to secure domestic sources for its clean energy transition. It details the stages of the supply chain, the U.S.'s high reliance on imports, the environmental and social impacts of mining, and the legislative and executive actions taken to promote onshoring and secondary recovery.

This policy brief analyzes the political instability in Mozambique following the October 2024 general elections, which saw the ruling Frelimo party maintain power amid allegations of fraud and widespread popular unrest. The author argues that Frelimo's reliance on repression and institutional capture to maintain legitimacy threatens not only domestic stability but also regional trade and the political stability of other former liberation movements in Southern Africa.

This research paper examines the potential for trilateral cooperation between the European Union (EU), China, and African nations within critical raw material (CRM) supply chains. It argues that while the EU seeks to reduce its dependence on China, the deep integration of Chinese firms in midstream and downstream processing, combined with African demands for local value addition, makes a cooperative approach more viable than immediate decoupling. The author proposes a specific model for trilateral cooperation in the Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt sector to balance the strategic interests of all three parties.

This policy brief argues that South Africa should leverage international interest in green hydrogen to catalyze local socio-economic development and regional integration. It recommends prioritizing trade-focused investments in physical, institutional, and social enablers—specifically port infrastructure, domestic manufacturing of electrolysers, and community-centric social strategies—to ensure the sector benefits the domestic population rather than serving only as an export mechanism.

The FSD Network Conference, held on February 19–20, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya, focused on learnings from the Gender Collaborative Programme. The event brought together financial leaders and policymakers to discuss gender-responsive financial systems, the use of alternative data for credit scoring, the impact of societal norms on women's financial autonomy, and the role of digital public infrastructure and AI in advancing financial inclusion for women across Africa.

This research paper by Kholofelo Kugler and Tani Washington analyzes the impact of the Trump administration's 2025 tariff policies on African nations. It details the structure of the new tariffs, the specific vulnerabilities of countries like Lesotho and Madagascar, the potential advantages for Egypt and Kenya, and the precarious future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

This policy brief examines the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol, focusing on overcoming digital exclusion and harmonising regulations to boost intra-African digital trade. It provides specific recommendations for member states across regulatory reform, digital public infrastructure, and human capital development to bridge the digital divide and create a predictable business environment for digital services.

This policy brief examines the foreign and development relations between Africa, the European Union (EU), and Germany, arguing that these relationships are still characterized by 'coloniality'—the persistence of unequal power dynamics and colonial logic. The author analyzes how EU and German policies in security, raw material acquisition, and development aid often marginalize African agency, prioritize European economic interests, and employ 'saviourism' through top-down interventions. The document provides specific case studies from Mauritania, Mali, South Sudan, Namibia, and Zambia to illustrate these dynamics and concludes with recommendations for genuine decolonization, including respecting African demands on trade and resource beneficiation.

This research paper examines the governance and security challenges in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, specifically analyzing the impact of the withdrawal of the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) in July 2024. The author argues that the mission's exit, driven by financial constraints and poor coordination, may have created a security void during a period of increasing insurgent activity.