Highlights

1) Mobilising diverse climate finance resources and investments to support Africa’s energy transition will address the continent’s energy access challenges.
2) Sustainable governance is critical to driving climate policy initiatives and projects, which cost approximately $2.8 trillion from 2020 to 2030. Furthermore, there is a $200-$400 billion climate funding gap in Africa from feasible debt swaps with the continent losing up to 15 per cent of its GDP per capita annually to climate change.
3) Infrastructure governance can drive innovation and climate action, potentially unlocking significant climate finance and investments for Africa’s energy transition.
4)  A set of crucial policy considerations for unlocking finance climate goals sustainably. A series of vital policy considerations, including the establishment of robust legal regulatory frameworks, are essential for achieving climate goals and unlocking sustainable finance.

Authors: Oluseyi Aladesanmi, Evelyn Dan Epelle, Priscilla Airohi-Alikor

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, governance, and societies, offering immense benefits in efficiency and economic growth. Although AI continues to impact various sectors globally by driving innovation, it also raises complex regulatory challenges. The rapid advancement of AI raises significant ethical, social, and economic risks, including data privacy violations, job displacement, and bias in decision-making. Thus, there is an urgent need for effective AI regulation as governments and international bodies grapple with balancing innovation with safeguards to protect individuals and society.

This brief was written by Uche Anyamele Ph.D, Tikristini Olawale and Onyinye Onuh

In Africa, where gender inequality remains a big problem, addressing gender-based socio-economic vulnerability should be a priority to enhance the resilience of women (and the society) as countries deal with the multitude of crises facing the world. Building on the work by the South African Institute of International Affairs which demonstrated that the lack of gender inclusivity was the biggest factor responsible for the high socio-economic vulnerabilities faced by African countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, this policy brief seeks to enhance the understanding of the intersectionality of gender and poverty and how it can contribute to socio-economic vulnerability especially during crises. It further proposes ways in which these vulnerabilities can be addressed through gender inclusive policies. To achieve these goals, the brief analyses the key factors that drive gender-based socio-economic vulnerabilities in countries across Africa and make recommendations on how these can be improved to minimize such vulnerabilities.

In the post-pandemic world, Africa has found itself with limited options to finance key development projects. A rapid rise in debt levels over the last decade has left African economies with little fiscal space to finance development. The financial outlook for Africa’s low-income resource-rich (LIRR) countries, which are characterized by the central role commodities play in their economies, is especially dim. Collectively, these countries have not had success converting their resource wealth into economic development apart from a China-driven commodity super cycle from 2002 to 2012.

This article was Frist Published at t20brasil

The global economy has experienced unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic. Central to these enduring repercussions is the escalation of public debt, casting a shadow over the fiscal space of governments and their ability to make progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and address the growing impacts of climate change. It is thus urgent to reconsider debt restructuring strategies, the conditionalities associated with International Financial Institutions loans, and emerging fiscal frameworks for the developing world. In this policy brief, we develop four concrete proposals involving international financial institutions, which can function as avenues to tackle the challenges mentioned above: (a) alternative ways to define sustainability in international financial institutions debt analysis; (b) to promote debt-for-climate swaps; (c) support the implementation of green tax reforms; and (d) support government implementing non-regressive tax reforms.

This article was Frist Published at t20brasil