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This research paper examines the strategic role of BRICS+ members, particularly African nations, in the global critical minerals market and their evolving relationships with the European Union. It analyzes how the expansion of BRICS+ enhances the bloc's control over essential resources for the green and digital transitions while highlighting internal geopolitical frictions that prevent a unified minerals strategy.

This policy brief analyzes how African nations can leverage China's dominance in green energy technology and shifting financing models to accelerate electrification. It highlights a 'window of opportunity' created by US-China geopolitical tensions and China's internal focus on national security and environmental sustainability. The author recommends that African governments professionalize project pipelines, adopt innovative financing to reduce sovereign debt, and pursue regional integration—citing examples like the Southern African Power Pool and Kenya's renewables sector—to ensure long-term developmental gains.

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 research paper examines the economic activities and value-addition potential of the Lobito Corridor, a strategic transport route linking the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola to the Copperbelt mining regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia via the Benguela Railway. The author argues that while the corridor is designed to catalyze economic development beyond mineral exports, there is a significant disconnect between the high-efficiency logistics used for raw material exports and the inadequate infrastructure available to local small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The 'Déclaration du Sommet des Peuples vers la COP30' is a statement issued by a gathering of over 70,000 people from diverse social movements in Belém do Pará, Brazil, in November 2025. The document identifies the capitalist mode of production and transnational corporations as the primary drivers of the climate crisis and calls for a systemic transition based on popular sovereignty, feminist ethics, and the protection of common goods.

The 'Final declaration of the Peoples’ Summit towards COP30' is a statement issued by a gathering of over 70,000 people in Belém do Pará, Brazil, in November 2025. The document identifies the capitalist mode of production and transnational corporations as the primary drivers of the climate crisis and calls for a 'just, sovereign and popular transition' based on the recognition of common goods, ancestral knowledge, and feminist justice.

The 'Declaración de la Cumbre de los pueblos hacia la COP30' is a statement issued by the People's Summit, which gathered over 70,000 representatives of diverse social movements in Belém do Pará, Brazil, from November 12 to 16, 2025. The document identifies the capitalist mode of production and transnational corporations as the primary drivers of the climate crisis and calls for a transition based on popular sovereignty, feminist justice, and the protection of common goods rather than market-based solutions.

The 'Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2025' by Sustainable Energy for All provides a comprehensive analysis of global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). The report finds that the world is off-track to achieve universal electricity access, clean cooking, and energy efficiency targets by 2030, with significant regional disparities, particularly in Africa and Asia.

This report, curated by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS), is a compilation of 34 expert views exploring how the international trading system can support the Paris Agreement and climate-resilient development. It identifies critical synergies and tensions at the nexus of trade, climate, and sustainable development, focusing on clean energy transitions, green industrial policies, and the specific vulnerabilities of developing nations.

This research paper examines the intersection of international trade regulations and Africa's ambitions for green technology and industrialisation. It specifically analyzes the potential impacts of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and US tariffs, arguing that while these measures could theoretically drive demand for renewables, they are more likely to create fiscal constraints and hinder the continent's ability to invest in green R&D. The author advocates for a coordinated African response through the UNFCCC, the WTO, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to secure technology transfer and affordable finance.

This policy brief argues that Africa can drive economic transformation and a just transition by leveraging its critical minerals (such as cobalt in the DRC) and renewable energy potential through the development of innovation ecosystems. It highlights existing momentum in tech hubs and universities in countries like Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco as a foundation for developing green technologies for local and global markets.

This research paper argues that African nations must transition from fragmented national negotiations to a coordinated regional approach to trade diplomacy regarding green critical minerals. By leveraging the Africa Green Minerals Strategy (AGMS), the authors suggest that the continent can move beyond raw material extraction toward green industrialization and value addition, utilizing a collective negotiating framework to increase leverage against competing global powers.

This policy brief by the Africa Policy Research Institute examines how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can be leveraged to combat youth unemployment by promoting greentech and Indigenous environmental practices. It argues that shifting from importing green goods to local manufacturing and trading within Africa can create millions of sustainable jobs, particularly in renewable energy, while integrating traditional knowledge to ensure inclusive development.

The report "The Forest-Climate Nexus" by Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-RIO proposes a new financial architecture to transform tropical forests from climate risks into solutions. It analyzes 91 countries, categorizing them by forest cover and deforestation rates, and introduces the Reversing Deforestation Mechanism (RDM) to incentivize large-scale forest restoration through jurisdictional, results-based payments for net carbon removals.

This research paper analyzes the resurgence of 'resources-for-security' deals in Africa, driven by the global demand for critical raw materials (CRMs) for green energy and military technology. It contrasts three primary models: Russia's use of private military companies (PMCs) for mining rights, the US's transactional 'peace-brokering' approach to secure supply chains, and China's 'infrastructure-for-resources' strategy via the Belt and Road Initiative. The paper argues that while these deals offer short-term security or development gains, they often reinforce dependency and authoritarianism, mirroring colonial and Cold War extractive patterns.

This research paper analyzes Nigeria's potential to become a key supplier of critical minerals (such as lithium, cobalt, and copper) for the global energy transition. While Nigeria possesses vast reserves valued at over USD 700 billion, the sector is hindered by severe underinvestment in exploration and a lack of functional processing infrastructure. The report emphasizes a shift toward domestic value addition—rejecting raw ore exports in favor of local battery and component manufacturing—and highlights the influence of foreign investments, particularly from China. It recommends a comprehensive national strategy and massive infrastructure investment to move from raw material extraction to high-value downstream production.

The report proposes the Reversing Deforestation Mechanism (RDM), a results-based payment system designed to scale up tropical forest restoration through jurisdictional agreements. Unlike existing frameworks like JREDD+ and TFFF, which focus on halting deforestation and maintaining standing forests, RDM incentivizes net carbon removal by compensating jurisdictions for carbon captured through restoration minus emissions from deforestation and degradation. The report simulates the potential of RDM to transform tropical forests into high-impact climate assets, highlighting its potential to generate significant revenues and carbon sequestration, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the scale and diversity of the forest-climate nexus across 91 tropical countries. It quantifies forest extent, carbon stocks, and deforestation rates to argue for differentiated, fit-for-purpose policy strategies rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. The analysis concludes that there is no inherent trade-off between forest conservation and economic development.

This briefing paper argues for the adoption of a United Nations legally binding instrument (LBI) to regulate transnational corporations as a structural lever for environmental justice. It highlights the failure of voluntary frameworks to ensure corporate accountability for ecological destruction and human rights abuses, proposing that a binding treaty would operationalize the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment through mandatory due diligence, extraterritorial jurisdiction, and effective remediation.

A report by Zero Carbon Analytics (ZCA) detailing how deforestation in the Congo Basin disrupts a climate teleconnection that provides critical rainfall to West Africa, specifically threatening the global cocoa supply chain and increasing costs for European importers.