Search Climate Insights Directory

A letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of Fair Finance Southern Africa (FFSA), requesting information from Standard Chartered Bank regarding its role in financing Karpowership South Africa. The letter highlights environmental concerns, legal challenges, and potential contradictions with the bank's net-zero commitments.

The 'Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa' report by the Climate Policy Initiative provides a baseline assessment of climate finance flows into and within African countries for 2019 and 2020. It highlights a massive gap between the annual USD 277 billion required to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the actual annual flows of USD 29.5 billion. The report analyzes the sources, instruments, and sectoral allocations of this finance, noting a heavy reliance on international public funding and a significant under-investment in adaptation and the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sectors compared to their needs.

The Capital Markets Impact Report by FSD Africa details the organization's efforts to develop African capital markets to address financing gaps in infrastructure, housing, and climate resilience. The report outlines FSD Africa's strategic shift toward five priority countries—Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria—while maintaining a regional footprint. It highlights the use of technical assistance, grants, and direct investments to foster green and gender bonds, improve regulatory frameworks, and enhance market infrastructure to reduce dependency on bank-dominated financial sectors.

This report by the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) provides an overview of the food systems context in southern Africa, focusing on the pivotal events of 2021. It details the drivers necessitating food systems transformation—such as climate change, urbanisation, and malnutrition—and summarizes the outcomes of major international summits (UNFSS, AGRF, COP26) and regional initiatives led by the Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA) to build climate-resilient and sustainable food systems.

This research paper examines the diverse responses of African nations to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and proposes four strategic options for the continent to advance its political, economic, and social interests amid the shifting geopolitical landscape.

This policy brief examines the deployment and regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa, highlighting the tension between the dominance of foreign Big Tech companies and the need for local AI capacities that align with national development priorities. It analyzes risks associated with biometric identification, the gig economy, and 'click work,' while reviewing emerging national AI strategies in countries like Egypt, Mauritius, and Rwanda. The document argues that for AI to benefit local economies, African states must prioritize inclusive digital infrastructure, data governance, and the protection of human rights, while cautioning that regulatory frameworks from the EU (such as the AI Act and GDPR) may not fully address the structural and socio-economic realities of the African context.

This policy brief examines the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa, highlighting the tension between the potential for socio-economic growth and the risks posed by foreign technology monopolies, precarious digital labour, and human rights violations. It analyzes emerging national AI strategies in countries like Egypt, Mauritius, and Rwanda, while arguing that African policymakers must prioritize local capacity, inclusive infrastructure, and gender-sensitive labour protections to ensure AI serves national developmental priorities rather than external interests.

This research paper examines the drivers and consequences of increased Eurobond issuance and sovereign credit ratings in Africa over the last decade, arguing that the 'big three' rating agencies exert significant influence over African debt costs while lacking accountability and local context.

This research paper examines the drivers and consequences of the increased issuance of Eurobonds and sovereign credit ratings in Africa. It argues that while Eurobonds were intended to reduce reliance on aid, the dominance of the 'big three' rating agencies—Moody's, Fitch, and Standard & Poor's—has often led to deteriorating credit ratings, higher borrowing costs, and constrained policy space for African governments, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report by Cenfri and FSD Africa analyzes how insurance regulators across 31 sub-Saharan African countries responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. It proposes a four-phase regulatory response framework—Identify, Determine/Implement, Monitor, and Adapt—to help supervisors manage future systemic risks such as climate change and cyber-security threats.

This policy brief by the Africa Policy Research Institute examines the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa, highlighting the tension between the continent's central role in the AI supply chain and the dominance of foreign technologies. It analyzes emerging national AI strategies in Egypt, Mauritius, and Rwanda, and discusses risks associated with biometric surveillance, precarious digital labor, and the limitations of adopting European regulatory frameworks like the GDPR and the EU AI Act.

The FSD Africa Impact Report (2022) is an executive summary detailing the organization's performance under a strategy revised in early 2021. It highlights efforts to transform African financial markets through green bonds, local currency bond funds, climate resilience ventures, and natural capital initiatives, while also reporting on gender inclusivity and COVID-19 response measures.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the development financing gap facing African countries during their COVID-19 recovery. It argues that African nations lack the fiscal space available to advanced economies, facing high debt burdens and unfair credit ratings. The document proposes that the G20 and other development partners implement coordinated debt relief, reallocate resources to de-risk private investment, and establish fairer credit rating mechanisms to support sustainable economic transformation.

This policy brief reviews fifty years of international efforts to regulate ocean dumping, focusing on the evolution from the 1972 London Convention to the more restrictive 1996 London Protocol. It examines the challenges of managing radioactive waste, the regulation of climate mitigation technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS), and the role of regional treaties in protecting marine ecosystems.

A statement by several African policy leaders criticizing the imposition of unilateral travel bans on Southern Africa following the detection of a COVID-19 variant, arguing that such measures are ineffective, economically damaging, and ignore the systemic inequities in global vaccine distribution.

This working paper by the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) outlines a structural agenda for a green economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. It distinguishes between short-term stimulus and long-term structural reforms, providing a nested framework of policy measures and a set of prioritisation criteria to help governments transition from immediate crisis management to systemic socio-ecological transformation.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the strategic partnership between India and Africa, arguing that security cooperation remains an under-exploited pillar compared to trade and investment. It advocates for a comprehensive shared security agenda centered on the African Union to enhance mutual stability and development.

A case study on Climate Investor Two, a fund managed by a consortium including Climate Fund Managers and FMO to manage the EUR 160 million Dutch Fund for Climate and Development, focusing on water, oceans, and sanitation infrastructure in low- and lower middle-income countries.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines how trade policy, specifically tariffs, can be used by developing countries to balance the goal of maximizing local economic benefits from clean energy investments with the need to minimize project costs. It analyzes the bill of materials for wind and solar projects to identify which components are suited for local production and evaluates the trade profiles of several countries to provide a framework for aligning trade and energy policies.

This July 2021 issue of the Peace & Security Council Report by the Institute for Security Studies examines critical security and political challenges across Africa. It focuses on the African Union's (AU) struggle to implement maritime security strategies, the rise of cybercrime and the legislative responses in South Africa, the ten-year legacy of the Arab Spring in North Africa, and the impact of the June 2021 elections on Ethiopia's structural divisions.