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The executive summary of 'Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape 2020' analyzes energy access finance commitments in 2018 across 20 high-impact countries (HICs) in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. It finds a significant gap between actual and required investment for Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), noting that funding is poorly distributed geographically and often favors fossil fuels over sustainable, off-grid solutions.

The Goal 9 assessment evaluates progress toward rewarding countries and jurisdictions that reduce forest emissions through public policies, results-based finance, and private-sector sourcing. As of 2020, nearly USD 4.7 billion in results-based finance has been committed since 2010, with disbursements increasing to over USD 260 million annually in recent years. The report also highlights the role of carbon markets, which have channeled USD 2.5 billion to forest projects over 20 years, and the emergence of domestic compliance schemes that allow forest carbon credits.

The FSD Africa Impact Report documents the organization's efforts since 2012 to reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa by strengthening financial markets. It details achievements in financial inclusion, capital market development, and institutional capacity building, while outlining a strategic shift toward 'FSD 2.0' to focus on jobs, basic services, and sustainable futures in response to challenges like Covid-19 and climate change.

This briefing from the World Resources Institute argues for a holistic 'water-energy-food nexus' approach to resource management, highlighting how climate change, population growth, and economic development create interconnected crises. Using examples from India, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, and Pakistan, the author demonstrates how water scarcity triggers failures in energy production and food security, and proposes a management framework based on knowledge, governance, and cooperation.

This policy brief examines the scale and structure of the illegal wildlife trade, the historical evolution of international regulatory frameworks—specifically CITES—and the emerging debate over whether a new, legally binding international instrument is needed to address wildlife crime and zoonotic disease risks in a post-COVID-19 world.

The World Resources Institute provides a three-step guide for governments and communities to transform degraded landscapes effectively. The process emphasizes the integration of biophysical data with social landscape analysis to avoid pitfalls such as planting trees in incorrect locations or violating human rights, ensuring that restoration pledges to initiatives like the Bonn Challenge and AFR100 result in high-impact outcomes.

This policy brief argues for increased investment in resilience in Malawi to mitigate the rising economic costs of extreme weather events. It introduces the 'triple dividend' of resilience—avoided losses, unlocked development potential, and co-benefits—and provides evidence from various sectors and regions showing that such investments are highly cost-effective compared to humanitarian aid.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development examines the evolution of international efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade, focusing on the role and limitations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

This workshop report by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) synthesizes discussions from July 2020 regarding the standardization of data for integrated energy planning. It focuses on the use of geospatial least-cost modelling to achieve universal energy access, identifying critical data gaps and quality standards for both electrification and clean cooking planning, and exploring the convergence of these two sectors through electric cooking.

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines how regional integration, specifically through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and a strategic partnership with the European Union can accelerate the transition to green energy in Africa. It identifies significant energy deficits and systemic constraints—including finance, technical capacity, and domestic policy—that hinder progress, arguing that a regional approach can overcome the limitations faced by individual nation-states.

This policy brief examines the strategic opportunities and challenges for cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Africa following the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It argues that the AfCFTA allows the EU to move beyond traditional development aid toward a political partnership based on equal terms, while highlighting the need for the EU to align its investment and trade support with the AfCFTA's goals to foster African economic resilience and productive capacity.

This policy brief examines the risk of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) claims against governments arising from national investment laws, particularly in the context of emergency COVID-19 measures. It highlights how domestic laws providing consent to international arbitration can expose states to costly claims and suggests mitigation strategies.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the risk of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) claims based on national investment laws, particularly in the context of government emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights how domestic laws can provide a legal basis for international arbitration, potentially bypassing national courts and exposing states to significant financial liabilities.

This policy brief argues that regional integration via the AfCFTA and a strategic partnership with the European Union are essential to overcoming Africa's energy deficit and financing gaps. It highlights that while Africa has vast renewable potential, the transition is stalled by a lack of technical capacity, fossil fuel subsidies, and fragmented markets. The authors recommend shifting EU aid from bilateral to regional modalities and prioritizing the local adaptation of green technologies.

This policy brief examines the rights of landlocked states to access the sea and marine resources under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), emphasizing the necessity of bilateral, sub-regional, or regional agreements to operationalize these rights. It highlights the role of transit states and provides examples of successful transport corridors in Africa.

The World Resources Institute's 2018 Federal Tax Return (Form 990) details its financial activities, program accomplishments, and governance for the tax year ending September 30, 2019. The organization reported total revenue of $159,318,068 and total functional expenses of $120,793,841. Its primary program services focus on climate, energy, food, forests, water, and oceans, with significant expenditures across these areas and a global operational footprint including offices in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States.

The August 2020 Peace & Security Council Report examines political instability in Africa, focusing on military takeovers in Mali, constitutional disputes in Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, the African Union's mediation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute, and the institutional limitations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

This report by the Institute for Security Studies provides a scenario analysis of the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on Africa through 2030. Using the International Futures (IFs) forecasting platform, it examines three economic recovery paths (V, U, and L-shaped) and their effects on GDP, poverty, health expenditure, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The analysis concludes that the pandemic is likely to undo several years of development progress, increase extreme poverty, and exacerbate debt sustainability issues across the continent.

This July 2020 issue of the Peace & Security Council Report by the Institute for Security Studies examines critical political and security challenges across Africa, focusing on the Central African Republic's electoral turning point, the diplomatic impasse between Somalia and Somaliland, insecurity in the Sahel, and the impact of COVID-19 on governance and elections across the continent.

This policy brief from the African Center for Economic Transformation outlines ten priority policy areas to support Africa's economic recovery and long-term transformation following the COVID-19 pandemic. The recommendations are categorized into resource mobilization, governance, business environment, and digital innovation.