March 28
Africa: TotalEnergies At 100 - a Legacy of Destruction in Africa
Displacements, environmental damage, and CO2 emissions from projects in Mozambique and Uganda are just the latest chapter in a long story. Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Energy Crisis Is Driving a 'Solar Boom', but There's a Downside
The privately-led quintupling of rooftop solar in 2 years takes some pressure off the grid but, without planning, risks deepening energy apartheid. Read more »
March 20
Africa: The AfDB's $61bn Initiative Will Transform Agriculture but for Whom?
The one-size-fits-all Dakar II plan risks sacrificing biodiversity and smallholders for the sake of private interests. There is an alternative. Read more »
March 12
Africa: How a Shipping Carbon Tax Could Help Africa Build Climate Resilient Trade
Pricing the emissions of the international shipping industry could raise $100 billion/yr. Read more »
March 06
Ethiopia: Go to the Gulf - Is Ethiopia 'Sacrificing Its Youth' to Balance the Economy?
Observers fear that an official programme sending domestic workers to Saudi Arabia is not so different to the operations of human smugglers. Read more »
February 28
Mozambique: Peril or Prosperity? the Risks Facing Mozambique's Long-Awaited Gas Boom
From conflict and long deferred revenues to falling gas demand, there are many reasons to believe Mozambique's LNG deal has become a liability. Read more »
February 20
Africa: The First Oil Shock - February 1974 and the Making of Our Times
Triggered by the 1973 Yom Kippur war, an unprecedented surge in global oil prices took hold the following year. Spiralling inflation forced workers, students and soldiers onto the… Read more »
Uganda: 'We're Surrounded By Oil' - Activist Gardening in a Shadow of EACOP
Ugandans displaced by the mega oil pipeline are turning to African keyhole gardening for both survival and a way to channel their climate activism. Read more »
February 16
Morocco: The Small Oasis Town Leading the Fight Against Water Privatisation
For over 100 days, residents of Figuig in Morocco have been protesting plans to allow a private company to manage the delivery of drinking water. Read more »
February 13
Africa: The South Must Unite to End Debt and Shape a New Economic Order
The inequities of the global financial system have changed little for decades. What's new, with the climate crisis, is the urgency of fixing them. Read more »
February 09
Nigeria: The Silence of the Obidients
With the Tinubu government's IMF-prescribed shock therapy convulsing the economy almost a year after the botched presidential election they believe cost Peter Obi victory, what… Read more »
January 23
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Looks to China to Secure Place in EV Battery Supply Chain
Chinese companies have invested billions in Zimbabwe's lithium. Now Harare wants to ensure some processing happens before export. Read more »
January 11
Africa: Five Maddening Facts About Climate Finance
New in-depth analysis finds that less than one-third of donors' commitments have actually been dispersed for climate projects. Read more »
January 10
Africa: COP28 Just About Put Food Systems On the Climate Agenda. Now We Build
Though the talks' long overdue focus on food and agriculture ultimately disappointed, it provides a starting point for future action and advocacy. Read more »
January 09
Zimbabwe: 'We're Not Getting Anything' - Lithium Boom May Prove a Bust for Zimbabwe
As global demand skyrockets for the metal used in batteries, locals are left with a choice between living in a mining zone and relocating. Read more »
January 05
Somalia: Trade, Conflict and Fragmentation - the Horn's Crisis of Sovereignty
Debating Ideas reflects the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from… Read more »
December 18, 2023
Africa: From Yom Kippur to the Abraham Accords - How Israel Procured Africa's Good Graces
After decades in diplomatic deep-freeze, how did Israel become one of Africa's best friends? Read more »
December 07, 2023
South Africa: What Went Wrong With South Africa's Once Pioneering Just Transition Plan?
Two years into the world's first Just Energy Transition Partnership, some fear it will amount to ''green structural adjustment''. Read more »
December 02, 2023
Africa: Two IMF Fixes That Could Channel Billions to Africa
The formula for allocating SDRs, an invaluable source of funding, was agreed in 1944 and channels the most money to the richest nations. Read more »
November 27, 2023
Africa: Loss and Damage Q&A - What's At Stake for Africa At COP28?
Why is the Loss and Damage fund so important for Africa and what will likely come out of the negotiations at COP28? Read more »
November 16, 2023
Namibia: Nation's $10bn Green Hydrogen Project Raises Myriad Concerns
A months-long investigation highlights fears of the impact of an opaque EU-backed mega-project on nature and livelihoods. Read more »
October 05, 2023
Africa: It's Time to Fix the Problem of Africa's 500% Debt Premium
Rather than having too much debt, the challenge for countries in Africa may be that their debt is just too expensive. But there are remedies. Read more »
Africa: What Africa Needs From the World Bank Annual Meetings
$1 spent on climate adaption can yield up to $10, not to mention immeasurable other benefits, yet efforts remains chronically underfunded. Read more »
September 20, 2023
South Africa: 'Urban Politics' in Rural Libode, South Africa - Residents Protest Extended Power Outages
Debating Ideas aims to reflect the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing… Read more »
September 09, 2023
Algeria: A Mine in the Middle of Paradise
The Tebboune government is brutally suppressing any protest against a lead-and-zinc mine being built in a RAMSAR protected area. Read more »