Africa

Across Africa, climate shocks and debt distress fuel each other in a vicious cycle. With external debt more than tripling since 2008, rising costs and plunging currencies are squeezing public finances - leaving little room for vital climate resilience investments. 

Election-related disinformation is reshaping democracies across Africa. This study examines how fake content spread during elections in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal fuels distrust, exploits divisions, and skews public perception.

This policy brief details the challenging debt dynamics facing African nations and outlines several solutions that would improve their fiscal capacity to address the climate emergency and embark on a sustainable growth pathway.

Africa must find pathways to provide a better life for its people, including access to healthy and sustainably produced food. This policy paper takes a closer look at the role of synthetic fertilizers in African food systems.

Migration from Africa will not only occupy European politics in the future; it is already shaping politics in Africa today and is an important factor for economic development.

The paper proceeds by setting out pertinent aspects of the South African context and the key role of its electricity sector in contributing to the country’s worsening debt profile.

Over the past few decades, market-based finance has become central to the global financial system. Huge volumes of financial instruments are traded on a daily basis. In an effort to improve access to global financial markets for African countries, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) – in cooperation with the asset management firm PIMCO – has proposed setting up a Liquidity and Sustainability Facility (LSF). This is designed to create a Special Purpose Vehicle to subsidise private sector investment in African sovereign debt. The LSF would be financed by official development assistance (ODA), multilateral development banks and/or by the central banks of members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Fossil fuel development, in particular oil and gas, promised vast riches in the past. Today it is exposing fossil fuel producers and their creditors to a massive stranded asset risk. Technological disruption with the rapid cost-reduction of renewable energy and storage technologies, in conjunction with the inevitability of increased climate action, are at the root of unprecedented uncertainties over the future of the sector.