Category: IDDRI

Africa’s transition from a provider to a key actor of the global energy transition
Covid-19 / IDDRI

Africa’s transition from a provider to a key actor of the global energy transition

Innovation for the energy transition is given a prominent role in the green recovery action plan for Africa and the European Union’s Green Deal, with both continents seeking the transformation of their economies to tackle both climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic impacts while improving wellbeing of the population. There are many points of overlap between the two continents’ official agendas. But there are also many open questions and potential tensions especially around: access to energy for sustainable and inclusive industrial development; maintaining competitive value chain; addressing trade barriers; promoting knowledge transfer while protecting intellectual property rights; using gas, and promoting hydrogen. If well-managed, innovation for the energy transition can act as catalyst for a shared prosperity for the two continents. This blogpost was written by the members of the Ukama Platform’s steering committee ahead of the European Union-Africa Union Summit.

DG INTPA Infopoint event Public Development Banks and the 2030 Agenda
Videos / IDDRI

DG INTPA Infopoint web conference event with ETTG/IDDRI: Public Development Banks and the 2030 Agenda

As European Think Tanks we proposed the conference event because we would like to encourage discussions around  the importance of aligning both policies and finance with the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs to chart a course towards inclusive, equitable and low carbon development.

2021, a crucial geopolitical year for the European Green Deal
Covid-19 / IDDRI

2021, a crucial geopolitical year for the European Green Deal

The end of 2020 seems to have marked the closure of a cycle of political turbulence that started in 2016 with the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States. The European Union, which could have emerged from this period in a much weakened condition, has instead been strengthened, having established a clear long-term project for European societies and for Europe’s place in the world: the Green Deal.

What reform agenda is needed for the future direction of the World Trade Organization?
Covid-19 / IDDRI

What reform agenda is needed for the future direction of the World Trade Organization?

Twenty-five years after its creation (as a successor to the GATT [General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade], 1947-1995), and following many years of paralysis, the stakes for reform are high. This is particularly evident during the post Covid-19 recovery period, as the pandemic exposes the structural vulnerabilities of globalised economies.

Energy renovation of buildings in the French recovery plan: an opportunity to be seized and pitfalls to be avoided
Covid-19 / IDDRI

Energy renovation of buildings in the French recovery plan: an opportunity to be seized and pitfalls to be avoided

Energy renovations are a priority for post-crisis recovery plans, both in France, in the European Union and in the world.1 This urgency can be explained both by its rapidly mobilizable economic potential, its key role for climate policies, and by the importance of the fight against energy poverty in a context of increasing vulnerabilities. While proposals for France’s recovery plans abound,2 the challenge now is to identify the most effective levers for combining economic recovery with scaling-up of highly performant deep retrofits, which is a prerequisite for moving onto a convergent path with France’s national low-carbon strategy.