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This report by FSD Africa evaluates the Africa Regulatory Support Programme (ARSP), which provided technical assistance to capital markets regulators across Africa from September 2018 to March 2023. The document outlines key lessons from interventions in eight countries and three regional blocs, emphasizing the need to balance international best practices with local context, the challenges of regulatory and market capacity, and the importance of sequencing and clustering interventions for maximum impact.

This briefing note by the Global Resilience Partnership and Transitions Research examines the landscape of urban resilience solutions in informal contexts across the Global South. Based on a review of approximately 130 solutions, the report identifies a significant gap in urban climate investment—where only 1.2% of urban climate finance flows to adaptation and resilience—and highlights that most non-governmental solutions are still in early development stages. It provides recommendations for municipalities, funders, and policymakers to scale these innovations through better coordination, hybrid financing, and the integration of informal settlements into city planning.

The INVESTING IN RESILIENCE Project Portfolio 2024 outlines the activities of the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP), which identifies and scales locally-led resilience innovations in the Global South through challenge fund competitions. The document highlights several active projects focusing on climate adaptation, food security, and sustainable finance across Africa, Asia, and South America, while detailing the funding requirements needed to scale these initiatives.

This policy brief by the Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA) advocates for the integration of Gender Transformative Approaches (GTAs) into policies and programs across Southern Africa to build equitable and resilient livelihoods. It argues that traditional gender mainstreaming fails to address the root causes of inequality, such as entrenched social norms, and proposes a shift toward GTAs that challenge and change these structures to enhance community and ecosystem resilience against climate change and food insecurity.

The December 2023/January 2024 edition of the Peace & Security Council Report evaluates the African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) performance in 2023, highlighting a trend toward discussing thematic issues over sensitive country crises. It examines the challenges of consensus-based decision-making, the upcoming 2024 AU chairship and PSC membership elections, and the potential impact of the UN's New Agenda for Peace on African security architecture.

This briefing note by the Institute for Security Studies examines the outlook for natural gas in Africa up to 2043, highlighting the tension between significant proven reserves and a global market facing slowing demand and potential supply gluts.

This background note from the Institute for Security Studies analyzes Africa's energy export and import trends under a 'Current Path' forecast up to 2043, highlighting the contrast between a few major energy exporters and a majority of countries dependent on imports.

This briefing note examines the current state and projected future of hydropower in Africa up to 2043. It highlights the gap between the continent's vast untapped potential and its current installed capacity, while detailing specific large-scale projects in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the DR Congo.

This report by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the role of smallholder farmers in global food security, their productivity, and their adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. It highlights that small-scale farms, particularly those between two and five hectares, produce a significant portion of the world's food and often exhibit higher land productivity and biodiversity than larger farms. The document emphasizes the importance of integrating smallholders into modern agrifood supply chains and providing financial resources to scale climate-smart agricultural practices, especially in Africa.

This research paper by FSD Africa analyzes the integration of gender strategies within the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of 31 African countries. Using the IUCN's Environment and Gender Information (EGI) framework, the study finds that while most African NDCs mention gender, there is a significant lack of gender analysis, sex-disaggregated data, and gender-responsive budgeting. The paper highlights a disconnect between the mobilization of climate finance and gender intentionality, noting that countries with high funding levels often fail to prioritize gender-responsive budgets.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) examines the integration of the ocean-climate nexus within the UNFCCC process, evaluating progress from the 'Ocean Super Year' of 2022 through COP27 and looking toward COP28. It emphasizes the need for African stakeholders to shift the global dialogue from negotiation to concrete implementation, leveraging regional initiatives and policy frameworks to drive ambitious ocean-climate action.

This policy brief examines the barriers to inclusive clean energy transitions in low-income economies, emphasizing that without intentional policy design, these transitions risk reinforcing existing socioeconomic and gender inequalities. It highlights significant financing gaps, implementation barriers, and the systemic marginalization of women, while providing recommendations for the G20 to facilitate knowledge sharing and innovative financing to support vulnerable populations.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs outlines the systemic challenges facing food production in Africa and proposes specific interventions for the G20 to help the continent avoid missing the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and AU Agenda 2063 targets.

This research paper by the Africa Policy Research Institute examines the limited developmental impact of tourism on local African economies, arguing that the industry often functions as an extractive force. Using Zanzibar as a primary case study, the author illustrates how foreign ownership, 'enclave tourism', and economic leakages prevent local communities from benefiting from industry growth.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs advocates for the upscaling of marine and coastal ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It highlights the vulnerability of coastal and island states to climate risks and argues that integrating EbA into national policies and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) can simultaneously address climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and socio-economic development.

This research paper by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) examines the disparity between solar energy potential and installed capacity in developing economies, attributing the gap to high costs of capital driven by sovereign and off-taker risks. The authors propose the establishment of a Global Credit Guarantee Facility (GCGF) to de-risk cross-border financing and lower risk premiums for renewable energy projects in Emerging Market & Development Economy (EMDE) countries.

This report examines the use of risk mitigation and transfer (RMT) instruments to enable utility-scale renewable energy investments in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). Through case studies in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zambia, the authors analyze how financial instruments from development finance institutions (DFIs) help projects reach financial close by addressing offtaker, political, and currency risks. While RMTs have successfully protected existing projects during recent economic shocks, the report finds they are currently insufficient to enable new projects in countries facing severe debt distress, such as Zambia.

This research paper examines the historical and contemporary health cooperation between Germany and African nations, arguing that these relations remain unequal and lack reciprocity. The author contends that while Germany promotes multilateralism and health security, its actions often prioritize economic interests and security over the public health needs and autonomy of African partners, calling for a decolonial shift toward health and climate justice.

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) explores how voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can assist governments in preparing Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) for the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The document argues that VSSs can fill data gaps, provide best-practice case studies, and foster multisectoral partnerships to track progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) explores how Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) can assist governments in preparing Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to report progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The document argues that VSS can bridge data gaps, provide best-practice case studies, and foster multi-stakeholder partnerships to enhance the transparency and inclusivity of national reporting.