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This briefing by the World Resources Institute argues that the current disaster risk finance architecture is inadequate for developing countries facing 'compound shocks'—simultaneous or sequential disruptive events such as pandemics, economic crises, and climate-driven natural disasters. The authors propose systemic reforms to the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) and the Global Risk Financing Facility (GRiF) to shift incentives from post-disaster relief toward pre-disaster resilience and preparedness.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) proposes a standardized Cooling Investment Tracking Framework to address significant data gaps in global cooling finance. The authors argue that current datasets focus too narrowly on equipment sales and lack the transaction-level granularity needed for governments and investors to align capital with sustainable cooling needs.

This report examines the acceleration of e-governance and the use of social media by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on South Africa's digital innovations and the broader challenges facing the African continent.

This research paper describes the development and testing of a framework designed to help FSD programmes across Africa measure the employment effects of financial sector deepening. Developed by The Good Economy, Tandem, and FSD Africa, the framework aims to move beyond simple job counts to assess the quality, inclusion, and sectoral impact of jobs created through financial system interventions.

This fact sheet describes the 'Voices from the Frontline of Covid-19' project, a collaboration between the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD). The project documented 50 stories from June 2020 to October 2021 to understand how communities in Asia and the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean navigated the combined shocks of the pandemic and climate change.

This annex to the 2021 NYDF Goal 7 Progress Report provides technical and economic mitigation potential estimates for forest-related activities, analyzes the ambition of forest targets in National Determined Contributions (NDCs), and estimates the global finance needs and public finance flows for forest mitigation.

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 policy brief examines the African Union's iDove initiative, a youth-led platform designed to prevent violent extremism (PVE) through intra/interfaith dialogue. It analyzes the initiative's sustainability and adaptability in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the shift toward virtual engagement and the need for greater integration into continental policy frameworks.

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.

This policy brief explores green growth financing mechanisms to support Africa's economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that the 'twin COVID–climate crisis' provides an opportunity to 'build back better' by integrating sustainable investment into stimulus packages, leveraging private capital through green bonds, and reforming fiscal and financial regulations to increase climate resilience.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs assesses the economic policy responses of low-income countries (LICs) in Africa to the COVID-19 pandemic. It finds that while these countries employed expansionary fiscal and monetary tools, the scale and quality of their responses were modest compared to developed and middle-income nations due to pre-existing structural bottlenecks, high debt, and limited fiscal space. The document emphasizes the need for a data-driven recovery approach, increased digital and financial inclusion, and the continued importance of official development assistance, particularly for fragile states.

The FSD Africa Jobs Framework Methodology Paper describes a four-step experimental process designed to estimate and qualify the contribution of financial sector interventions to job creation and quality in Sub-Saharan Africa. The framework focuses on 'gross job creation' rather than net effects, utilizing a combination of firm-level data, sector-based multipliers, and a 'Decent Jobs Assessment' to provide a range of indicative employment figures.

This policy brief examines the fiscal impact of COVID-19 on African nations, focusing on the limitations of the G20/Paris Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). It argues that while the DSSI provides temporary liquidity relief, it fails to address long-term solvency crises due to the non-participation of private creditors and multilateral development banks (MDBs), and the discouraging influence of credit rating agencies.

This November 2020 report assesses progress toward Goal 7 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which focuses on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation within the framework of a post-2020 global climate agreement. While the goal of including forests in the global agreement was considered met with the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the report identifies significant barriers to the operationalization of REDD+ and a lack of quantifiable detail in many Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

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 Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing groundWork, Earthlife Africa (ELA), and MEJCON-SA, submitted formal objections on 22 October 2020 to the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (DEIR) for the proposed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ), also known as the Energy Metallurgical Special Economic Zone (EMSEZ). The CER argues that the project's negative environmental and social impacts far outweigh its potential benefits and that the environmental authorisation (EA) should be refused due to severe flaws in the assessment process, conflict of interest in the decision-making authority, and significant threats to climate, water, and health.

This research paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced South Africa's leadership and relations within Africa. While the author praises South Africa's multilateral coordination of the continental health response as AU chair, they argue that domestic failures—specifically institutionalised xenophobia and corruption—undermine the country's soft power and long-term leadership potential on the continent.

This policy brief examines the implications of large-scale electric vehicle (EV) adoption for the mining sectors of Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states. It argues that while the region possesses vast reserves of EV-related minerals and metals (EVMM), it primarily exports raw materials. The author advocates for regional cooperation, the establishment of a public-private EVMM working group and coalition, and the adoption of a circular economy approach to ensure a just mining transition and the development of local value chains.

This briefing, produced by the South African Institute of International Affairs and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, outlines strategic priorities for a green transition and energy access partnership between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU). It emphasizes the need to maintain momentum on climate goals despite the COVID-19 pandemic, advocating for a transition that supports Africa's developmental objectives, including industrialization and employment growth.