Critical minerals and metals are central in the global energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and digital transformation. The increasing demand for minerals such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, rare earth elements, and platinum group metals highlights their strategic significance. However, the definition of criticality is not uniform across countries; it is somewhat shaped by national economic and strategic priorities, supply chain vulnerabilities, and policy objectives.

The report provides an overview of the diverse approaches to defining what criticality is in light of global trends. While critical minerals strategies are often associated with industrialized economies seeking to secure supply chains, resource-rich countries—including many in Africa—increasingly adopt critical minerals policies to maximize value creation, economic diversification, and industrial development. 

Given the global nature of critical mineral supply chains, the report calls for greater international cooperation, particularly through platforms such as the G20. It emphasizes the need for fair and inclusive governance frameworks that balance security of supply concerns with Sustainable Development Goals. Strengthened partnerships between African and global actors can promote responsible sourcing, industrial growth, and technological innovation to ensure the transition to a mineral-intensive future is equitable for all economies. 

The report is a co-publication of the African Development Bank and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF).

This publication analyzes how technology transfer for climate change adaptation is addressed at the intersection of climate policy and trade policy frameworks, with a particular focus on the Global South. It reviews the roles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the World Trade Organization, highlighting barriers, country experiences, and negotiations around trade as a driver for adaptation technology transfer. The report critically explores definitions of adaptation technology as well as challenges and examples of adaptation technology transfer. It further assesses trade policy mechanisms and documents how countries identify technology needs and barriers through national adaptation plans and technology needs assessments. The report concludes with lessons and actionable recommendations for trade and climate policy-makers and development partners to better link climate and trade policies, advancing technology transfer to enhance climate resilience in the Global South.

Somalia is a relatively new country with a small mining sector comprising artisanal and small-scale mining operations. The government is seeking to take its first steps toward coherent mining governance while planning for the future. 

This report presents an assessment of Somalia's readiness and capacity to implement the Mining Policy Framework (MPF) of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF). It presents the context for MPF implementation in Somalia and focuses on key policy and legislative strengths and weaknesses.

This report examines the economic and wider risks of continued oil and gas expansion in the Colombian Amazon, a region of immense ecological and cultural significance. Colombia has positioned itself as an international leader in climate and environmental policy and in late 2022, the government announced its intention to end new oil and gas exploration and called for a transition away from fossil fuels. Nonetheless, ongoing and potential new fossil fuel activities in the region, encouraged by narratives around economic profitability and energy security, continue to threaten the livelihoods and human rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the region's rich biodiversity, and its carbon sinks. 

The economic and security case for fossil fuel expansion in the Amazon is, however, poorly substantiated, as shown by this report. Instead, permanently removing the unassigned oil and gas blocks, managing declining oil production, investing in the region's rich natural and human capital, and safeguarding its communities would promote sustainable development and deliver Colombia's environmental and climate commitments. This would consolidate its international leadership and attract further investments into green growth sectors like renewables, eco-tourism, and sustainable agriculture, supporting its USD 40 billion climate and nature investment plan.

Common policies include data-related requirements, technical standards, and controls on the import and export of digital goods and services. The growing proliferation of such measures is impacting trade, including digital trade. Developing countries, in particular, are paying increasing attention to cybersecurity issues and considering how these measures affect digital trade opportunities as well as broader social and development priorities. 

This policy primer provides an overview of the main types of cybersecurity measures being implemented at the national level, their underlying policy objectives, and their trade implications. It examines how different types of cybersecurity measures interact with international trade rules and explores how cybersecurity is addressed in trade agreements, including World Trade Organization (WTO) law and newer trade agreements. The paper highlights critical gaps in current trade frameworks, especially concerning capacity building and international cooperation, and concludes with policy considerations for strengthening cybersecurity governance to support inclusive digital trade and development. 

This report is part of a policy primer series, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), aimed at deepening understanding of the key policy and regulatory foundations that shape today's digital economy.

This is the second report of the Building Blocks of Digital Trade Regulation series. You can continue exploring the series here:

• Report No. 1: Consumer Protection and E-Commerce: Issues for developing country policy-makers
• Report No. 3: Setting International Technical Standards to Shape Digital Trade Policy: Approaches, challenges, and opportunities for developing countries
• Report No. 4: Data and Digital Trade Law: Balancing rules, policy space, and development

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin team has been a decades-long witness and record of this advocacy. In consultation with Indigenous experts and drawing from more than 30 years covering the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, this report explores where Indigenous Peoples' negotiators made progress in 2024, which lessons could apply across silos to other environmental negotiations, and what obstacles still remain as the world struggles to respond to the triple planetary crisis. 

With special thanks to Jennifer Corpuz, Preston Hardison, Donna Mitzi Lagdameo, JulietGrace Luwedde, Marco Montoiro, Graeme Reed, and Camila Zepeda.

In 2023, the first global stocktake concluded at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP 28) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, giving a clearer picture of the state of global climate action. It highlighted that despite near-universal actions to implement the Paris Agreement, countries are still not on track to meet the long-term temperature and adaptation goals. At the same time, it underscored the critical role of the NAP process in helping developing countries systematically identify and address their medium- and long-term priorities for adapting to climate change. 

This report summarizes the key messages on adaptation from the outcomes of the first global stocktake for developing countries' NAP teams, adaptation policy-makers and practitioners, and UNFCCC negotiators. It also provides recommendations and actionable steps on how countries can implement the decisions as part of their NAP processes.

A mining company may undertake multiple projects and/or several activities along the mining value chain or be engaged in other commercial or investment activities. The manner in which its revenue and expenses are treated for tax purposes, if they are consolidated or ring-fenced from different projects and activities is an important policy consideration for governments. 

This practice note aims to clarify what ring-fencing means in the context of mining taxation, the advantages of adopting ring-fencing rules, and how to mitigate potential challenges through robust tax policy design and effective tax administration practices. It describes and evaluates the different options for designing ring-fencing rules based on the experience of resource-rich countries and highlights key implementation issues that have emerged. 

This practice note seeks to help governments of resource-rich countries decide if ring-fencing rules are necessary and, if they are, how to design them to safeguard the timing of government revenues. Each resource-rich country will have to consider, prior to implementation, the appropriateness, including the positive and negative aspects of a ring-fencing regime as a policy option given their fiscal conditions and taxation framework.

This publication provides an analysis of the UN FCITC, focusing on its role in shaping a more inclusive and effective global tax architecture. It examines the two early protocols selected for immediate development: the taxation of income derived from cross-border digital services, reflecting the challenges of an increasingly digitalized economy; and the prevention and resolution of tax disputes, which remain a significant hurdle in international tax governance. 

The report also addresses a broader set of priority and potential protocols that the Convention seeks to develop, including measures targeting digital taxation, tax-related illicit financial flows, the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, environmental tax cooperation, exchange of information for tax purposes, mutual administrative assistance, and combating harmful tax practices. 

For each protocol, the report delves into why the issue is critical for international tax cooperation, assesses ongoing national, regional and global initiatives, and evaluates the challenges and shortcomings faced by existing frameworks. It further offers preliminary insights into how the UN Framework Convention and its protocols could fill gaps and strengthen mechanisms to address aggressive tax avoidance and evasion. 

This roadmap aims to inform negotiators, policy-makers, and tax authorities about the strategic considerations necessary to advance global tax governance in a manner that is effective and inclusive.

The rivers and wetlands in Cape Town, South Africa, provide important services for the city's residents. They supply freshwater from nearby Table Mountain, regulate water flow, improve water quality, support biodiversity, and offer spaces for recreation, tourism, and fishing. 

However, urban development, land-use change, and pollution have severely degraded these waterways, reducing their ability to manage and supply clean water. Climate change is also making rainfall more unpredictable, with droughts and floods expected to become more frequent and severe. 

To respond to these challenges, the City of Cape Town has developed a Water Strategy, aiming to become a water-sensitive city by 2040. The city has also launched the Green Infrastructure Programme and the Liveable Urban Waterways Programme; the latter focuses on restoring urban waterways and catchments through water-sensitive design and nature-based solutions. 

The study area for this project lies in two adjacent catchments of the Liveable Urban Waterways Programme: the Diep/Sand River and Zeekoe catchments. Our report analyzes the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the sought interventions. Namely, creating retention ponds, extending and establishing wetlands, setting up community gardens and educational areas, designing and upgrading walkways, installing litter traps, revegetating and landscaping riverbanks, and removing invasive species and replacing them with appropriate indigenous alternatives. 

In partnership with the C40 Cities Finance Facility and the City of Cape Town, we evaluated two scenarios: one in which no further action is taken, and one in which NBI interventions are implemented. This comparison helps communities and decision-makers understand the costs of continued ecosystem decline and the benefits of investing in nature-based solutions. 

The results show that NBI interventions generate significant net benefits compared to the business-as-usual scenario, in which the ecosystems continue to degrade. 

We found that in the Diep/Sand River catchment, for every ZAR 1 invested in the NBI, about 2 ZAR could be returned over a 25-year period, amounting to net benefits of ZAR 121 million from avoided costs and added environmental, social, and economic benefits. Among other things, the NBI reduces flood damages, avoids impacts of ecosystem deterioration on tourism and properties, creates jobs, and avoids the costly dredging of lakes. 

Similarly, in the Zeekoe catchment, every 1 ZAR invested in NBI can yield ZAR 1.56 in benefits for society, amounting to net benefits of about ZAR 68 million over 25 years when using an 8% discount rate and an optimistic climate scenario with relatively little flooding. 

We analyzed the performance of the NBI under different climate change scenarios and found that the NBI is particularly valuable under pessimistic climate scenarios with high avoided flood damages. The study also demonstrates that the NBI interventions benefit local communities by creating jobs and preserving valuable ecosystems and spare the City of Cape Town from large spending on grey infrastructure.