Search Climate Insights Directory

An open letter from the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) to its partners detailing joint accomplishments in 2021, focusing on scaling resilience innovations, promoting shared learning, and convening diverse voices to influence global policy and investment.

This research paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security across Africa, highlighting how economic shocks and trade disruptions exacerbated hunger. It analyzes the varying vulnerability of different income groups and regions, the role of protectionist policies, and the potential for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to build long-term resilience by increasing intra-continental food trade.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) provides guidance and lessons for Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states on enhancing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It emphasizes the need for inclusive stakeholder engagement, alignment with long-term development goals, and the use of quantifiable targets and evidence-based analysis to increase climate ambition and ensure effective implementation.

The 2021 AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) report notes a positive shift toward addressing climate-induced insecurity but criticizes the council for ignoring governance deficits as root causes of conflict. The report highlights the PSC's response to military coups in Mali, Guinea, and Sudan, while noting a controversial endorsement of a military transition in Chad. Looking toward 2022, it warns of potential electoral violence in Kenya, Angola, and Senegal, and identifies several conflict hotbeds, including Ethiopia and Libya. It also emphasizes the ongoing threat of violent extremism in the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, and Mozambique, while noting the AU's struggle with member state funding and the need for strategic autonomy.

This policy brief examines the development and implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a legally binding global treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from mercury emissions and releases. It details the transition from regional marine protections to a comprehensive global framework, the specific challenges posed by artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), and the reasons why mercury was addressed separately from other toxic heavy metals like lead and cadmium.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the challenges that 'fiscal stabilization clauses' pose to the implementation of the OECD's Second Pillar global minimum tax. It argues that these clauses, common in developing economies, may prevent governments from raising corporate taxes to the 15% minimum without risking international litigation, and provides recommendations for the OECD's model legislation to mitigate these risks.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the conflict between the OECD's Pillar Two global minimum tax and 'tax stabilization' clauses often found in the national laws and investment agreements of developing countries. The document argues that these clauses, which freeze tax rates for investors, could prevent developing nations from implementing the 15% minimum tax and risk triggering international arbitration. It provides specific recommendations for the OECD's model legislation to ensure that the global minimum tax overrides such stabilization agreements.

This case study describes the African Risk Capacity (ARC), a sovereign risk pool and early response mechanism that provides drought insurance to African Union member states to protect food security for vulnerable populations.

The Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise (ACRE) is a mobile-enabled index insurance program in Africa that links smallholder farmers to insurance through the purchase of agricultural inputs. The program utilizes solar-powered weather stations and mobile money platforms to trigger immediate compensation for yield losses caused by drought, excess rain, and storms.

The ARM-Harith Cities & Climate Transition Fund (The ACT Fund) is a mid-market greenfield infrastructure fund designed to expand sustainable infrastructure in West Africa. It utilizes a blended-currency mechanism to reduce financing friction at early project stages and mobilize local institutional investment through structured exit solutions.

The September 2021 Peace & Security Council Report by the Institute for Security Studies examines critical stability challenges across Africa, focusing on the appointment of a high representative for the Horn of Africa, the diplomatic rift between Algeria and Morocco, the prevalence of enforced disappearances, security sector reform failures in South Sudan, and Sudan's decision to surrender Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court.

This research paper by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) identifies key strategies to accelerate climate change adaptation across Africa. Based on interviews with African scientists and practitioners, the paper advocates for a shift toward locally-led, inclusive solutions that integrate indigenous knowledge with scientific projections. It proposes three primary investment pillars: enhancing people's skills and knowledge, building climate-resilient economies, and investing in nature-based solutions.

The COP26 Resilience Hub Synthesis Report outlines key messages and future directions for climate adaptation and resilience, emphasizing the need for locally led action, diversified finance, and the integration of nature-based solutions. It synthesizes findings from the Resilience Hub's activities at COP26, focusing on three pillars (urban, coastal, and rural) and ten thematic areas to guide action toward COP27.

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies examines the divergent approaches to migration between Africa and Europe, arguing for a shift from securitised responses toward a collaborative partnership focused on development, legal labour pathways, and the regularisation of remittances.

This report analyzes regional trends in cooling access gaps for 2021, focusing on high-impact countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It highlights an overall increase in populations at highest risk—specifically the rural and urban poor—across all regions, with the COVID-19 pandemic cited as a contributing factor to rising poverty and cooling access challenges.

A statement from Dr. Nathanial Matthews, CEO of the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP), reflecting on the organization's 2020 activities. The document outlines GRP's efforts to build resilience for vulnerable populations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting initiatives in climate adaptation, knowledge sharing, and innovative finance.

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the intersection of skills transfer, gender equality, and the green energy transition in Africa. It highlights the systemic under-representation of women in energy value chains and the need for a 'just transition' that addresses unemployment risks in fossil fuel-dependent economies through reskilling and targeted AU-EU strategic partnerships.

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 special report analyzes the initial response to COVID-19 in Africa, examining the vulnerabilities of the continent's health systems, the various mitigation strategies adopted by different nations, and the challenges of implementing lockdowns in contexts of high poverty and informality.

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.