Can Ghana save its forests without abandoning cocoa farmers?
“We earn around $200 [€175, ed] a month, and every expense has to come out of that,” says Francis Tenor, president of the Boase Sibi cocoa cooperative in Ghana’s Eastern ...
Pricing carbon beyond ICAO and IMO: a “sovereign” experiment from Africa
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer: subscribe to the newsletter Despite adverse political headwinds and a general global retraction from climate action and m...
Ethiopian cascara, turning coffee waste into a circular economy opportunity
As the coffee sector faces increasing pressure to reduce environmental impacts while improving economic resilience, focus is shifting towards a largely overlooked resource: cascara, the outer layer ...
Europe doesn’t recycle its e-waste, it exports the problem
E-waste is not just a recycling problem. It is a consumption problem, a governance problem, and ultimately a responsibility problem that Europe quietly and efficiently outsources. Not into statistic...
Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project, a soil carbon market
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer. Subscribe to the newsletter or update your preferences. The Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project (NKRCP), led by the Northern R...
Stopping the rise of the lakes in the Rift Valley
Last year, around five thousand people were displaced by the rising water level of Lake Naivasha, 50 kilometres from Nairobi. Similarly happened on Lakes Nakuru and Lake Baringo, located further nor...
Article 6, the first World Bank outcome bond is launched
The World Bank has, for the first time, launched a bond with returns directly linked to greenhouse gas emission reduction outcomes. It is the $200 million Clean Cooking Outcome Bond, which utilises ...
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the Fading Relevance of International Water Law
In September, Ethiopia unveiled the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), hailing it as a “generational victory”. Standing before the dam's cascading waters, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ...
The Africa of critical minerals seeks a fair energy transition
They are called sacrifice zones: territories where the well-being of people and the environment is put on the back burner in the name of the common good. This often happens in Africa, where many of ...
Africa, over 10 billion pledged for water at AIP Water Investment Summit 2025
This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano Seven years after coming close to “Day Zero”, when Cape Town risked running out of wat...
Startup, in Nigeria QuadLoop Technologies Transforms E-waste into Clean Energy
This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano QuadLoop Technologies is a clean energy social enterprise that converts electronic waste into sola...
Startup Elementerre: the future of construction with rammed earth and bulrush
This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano Elementerre is a Senegalese company founded with the mission of revolutionising the construction s...
Orientalism
This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano For decades, the Global South has been warning us about the systemic failure of the preconceived v...
Startup, Keep IT Cool: Solar-Powered Refrigeration Tackling Food Waste
This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano Nigerian startup Keep IT Cool (KIC) delivers sustainable refrigeration and smart distribution solu...
Italian Climate Fund: how Italy is really contributing
This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano From Baku - Negotiations on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) − the post-2025 f...
Piano Mattei: the three-card trick at the expense of climate, Africa and Italy
This week, Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee is examining the Mattei Plan (Piano Mattei), the government's strategic framework for Italian African relations. The document, as received by parlia...
Dorsouma (AfDB): A Comprehensive Strategy to Unleash Africa's Circular Economy Potential
Africa has great potential. This is often heard in a variety of contexts, and this is particularly evident when considering the circular economy. A vibrant landscape of small businesses, many of whi...
Africa is Working on an Ultimate Producer Responsibility
When second-hand goods cross EU borders, the EPR fees associated with them are often retained by the exporting countries. This deprives importing countries of the ade quate financial support to hand...