Author: THINKTEAM Support

WTO Reform Agenda takes a Dive at MC14

The latest WTO talks in Cameroon ended in a stalemate on how to reform and revitalize the organisation in a time of heightened trade tensions and questions regarding the body’s relevance. In this analysis, trade expert Shimukunku Manchishi unpacks the points of divergence.
  • Climate and Trade

How can we avoid carbon lock-in within West Africa’s Mineral Value Chains?

Swathes of critical mineral commitments in West Africa signal a profound expansion in production capacity and emissions, requiring decarbonization technologies, green finance and a new social contract to prevent carbon lock-in.
  • African Climate Policy

UNFCCC Finance Committee Still Unable to Make Clear Climate Finance Findings 

With a new COP30 Climate Finance Work Programme created, the importance of good data to feed into negotiations has never been higher. But the SCF still can’t agree on what counts.
  • Climate Finance

Export Restrictions on Critical Minerals: What Zimbabwe’s Recent Ban Tells Us 

African countries have an opportunity with critical minerals to negotiate better investment terms and promote local industrialisation. However, poorly designed export restrictions could also discourage investment and lead to unintended economic consequences.
  • African Climate Policy, Uncategorized

Energy and Geopolitics: The Strait of Hormuz and Africa’s Energy Security

The recent war in Iran has once again raised issues about energy access and sovereignty. For African countries, it presents an opportunity to enhance domestic production and increase renewable energy output. However, not every industry will be able to seamlessly transition to alternative energy sources.
  • African Climate Policy

AU Summit Underscores Industrialisation, Climate, Security and Trade Nexus

The recent AU Summit highlighted the centrality of African regional integration, the AfCFTA, industrialisation, local value, and integrated climate and industrial policy, with momentum behind climate and security measures.
  • African Climate Policy

Can South Africa Legally Walk Back its Carbon Tax?

Can a country lawfully walk back a central tenet of its mitigation policy in its NDC under the Paris Agreement? We discuss the proposal to suspend South Africa’s carbon tax.
  • Climate Finance

Transforming Geological Wealth into Industrial Power – Whereto for Africa after the Mining Indaba?

The Mining Indaba laid bare a stark choice – continue as a pit-to-port extractive frontier, or deploy the continent’s US$1trillion in institutional assets to build critical mineral infrastructure and processing capacity that transforms resources into lasting industrial power.
  • Climate Finance

South Africa Criticizes DRC Approach to Critical minerals as US Interest Piques

The Mining Indaba has exposed simmering tensions between South Africa and the DRC over the latter’s recent deals with the US, while US interest in the continent’s minerals intensifies dramatically.
  • African Climate Policy

Carbon Markets, Sovereign Risk and Clean Cooking: What the KOKO case tells Africa

  • Uncategorized