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This case study by GreenCape examines how Wesgro, a trade promotion agency in South Africa's Western Cape, adapted its services during the Covid-19 pandemic to support SMMEs and how these lessons can be applied to enhance green trade competitiveness and resilience.

This report outlines an internal exercise by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to determine how the organization can better support sustainable food systems research and policy in Canada. Through staff surveys, stakeholder interviews, and literature reviews, IISD identified a need for a holistic, multi-sectoral 'systems approach' to food policy that integrates social equity with economic and environmental goals.

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.

This policy brief examines the impact and nature of foreign military interventions in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, to combat an insurgency that began in October 2017. It analyzes the roles of private military companies, the Rwandan military, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), emphasizing a lack of transparency in agreements and the need for coordinated, human-rights-centered strategies.

This research paper examines the role of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in underperforming schools in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. It finds that while the South African Schools Act (SASA) decentralizes governance to empower communities, in practice, SGBs in poor areas are often ineffective due to low parental capacity, sporadic district training, and a heavy reliance on school principals. This results in 'principal-dominated' governance where SGBs act as rubber stamps for decisions rather than strategic partners in improving academic performance. The paper also highlights tensions in teacher appointments, including the influence of localism ('son of the soil') and political affiliations.

The RMI report 'COP26 Action Plan: Three Urgent Steps to Standardize Emissions Reporting' proposes a 'digitally native' GHG Protocol to improve the visibility and traceability of scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions across supply chains. The author argues that current accounting systems rely too heavily on approximations and spreadsheets, which hinders the ability to compare companies and incentivize decarbonization. The plan outlines a three-step transition: establishing unified accounting principles that prioritize primary data over averages, building a technical architecture based on distributed ledger technology to track embodied carbon at the product level, and evolving the market so that carbon emissions become a digital 'unit of trade' integrated into corporate financial disclosures.

This research paper examines the state of nuclear governance across the 16 SADC member states, highlighting the disparities in their regulatory frameworks and the need for regional synchronisation. It focuses on the safety and security of uranium mining and the transport of radioactive materials, proposing that SADC provide a platform for cooperation to harmonise policies and improve regional emergency responses.

This policy briefing examines the barriers to and enablers of private sector climate finance in Africa, emphasizing the need for supportive regulatory environments, credit enhancement mechanisms, and the development of bankable projects to meet the region's significant mitigation and adaptation funding needs.

This policy brief analyzes the relationship between Russia and the three elected African member states (A3) in the UN Security Council (UNSC) from 2014 to 2020. Using statistical voting data, the authors argue that Russia's influence over the A3 is often exaggerated, as African states remain more aligned with the P3 (US, UK, and France) and act largely independently of Russian vetoes and abstentions.

This special report by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) analyzes the first and second African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) reports for Kenya, Mozambique, and Uganda. It examines patterns of progress and regression in democracy, political governance, and socio-economic development, noting that while legislative improvements are evident, practical implementation often lags, particularly regarding corruption, poverty, and gender inequality.

This fact sheet describes a project by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) to monitor and model the hydro-ecological systems of bofedales wetlands in the Katari watershed of Bolivia. The project utilized a WEAP model and a 36-year remote sensing dataset to analyze the impacts of human activity and climate change on these high-elevation wetlands.

Togo's revised NDCs (2021) report a 27.57% reduction in emissions by 2020, exceeding initial targets. The plan sets ambitious goals for 2030, including 100% electrification, 50% renewable energy by 2025, and the restoration of 80% of degraded lands. It identifies critical governance gaps and proposes a 1.07 million USD communication strategy to integrate climate action into local and sectoral development plans.

This SEI fact sheet, based on a study in the journal Climate Policy, analyzes international public finance for climate change adaptation in Africa from 2014 to 2018. The authors identify five critical shortfalls: insufficient funding levels compared to mitigation and actual needs, a lack of strategic targeting toward the most vulnerable countries, narrow sectoral focus, low disbursement rates of committed funds, and a reliance on loans over grants.

This fact sheet by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the potential for a digital transition within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. It explores how moving activities online could serve as a catalyst to improve the effectiveness, inclusiveness, and transparency of climate diplomacy, while identifying significant barriers such as a lack of trust among Parties and concerns over structural inequities.

This report analyzes the generation and management of bio-waste (kitchen, canteen, garden, and green waste) and textile waste in Tallinn. It evaluates current collection systems, provides forecasts through 2026, and proposes measures to increase recycling rates to meet EU and national targets.

This briefing from the Stockholm Environment Institute outlines six insights for investors aiming to align their portfolios with the Paris Agreement's net-zero goals. It argues that while divestment is a common strategy, investors may achieve greater impact by using their financial power to coordinate the decarbonization of four high-emitting sectors: oil and gas, agricultural commodities, steel, and cement.

This report by the World Resources Institute outlines the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) and community lands in climate change mitigation. It argues that while community lands cover approximately half of the world's land and provide immense ecosystem services and carbon sequestration, they are often legally unrecognized and underfunded. The document provides evidence that secure land tenure leads to lower deforestation rates and proposes six strategic steps to better integrate community land management into global climate action.

This report, commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), examines how just transition policies can address employment and social justice challenges in developing countries and emerging economies during the shift to an ecologically sustainable economy.

This report examines whether the current model for providing basic municipal services—specifically electricity, water, and sanitation—to low-income households in South Africa is effectively improving living standards and reducing poverty and inequality.

This fact sheet by Ember argues that new wind and solar power installations in Turkey are now more cost-effective than operating existing coal power plants that rely on imports. The document highlights the rising cost of international hard coal and the declining cost of renewables, suggesting that Turkey can reduce its multi-billion dollar import bill and mitigate potential EU carbon border levies by transitioning to green energy.