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In February 2010, Zimbabwe published indigenisation regulations aimed at ensuring a higher level of participation of 'indigenous' Zimbabweans in the country’s economy. One of the risks of these regulations is that they threaten to undermine confidence in the Government’s willingness to implement policies that will facilitate private sector development. As a result, these regulations have the potential to derail the partial economic stabilisation that the country has achieved in recent months.

On 7 December 2009, the world’s leaders met in Copenhagen for the 2009 United Nation’s Climate Change Conference. The 12-day summit ended with the Copenhagen Accord, a rather weak statement that does not include any binding commitments for reducing carbon dioxide emissions - the greenhouse gas that is blamed for the bulk of global warming. The failure of the Copenhagen Summit highlights two important facets of contemporary attempts at combating climate change. Firstly, leaders from either side of the North-South divide are quick to point fingers at their developed or developing counterparts, blaming these for the failure of treaties on greenhouse gas emission cuts. Secondly, there exists a perceived tension between halting global warming and simultaneously pursuing economic growth; as well as between protecting the environment and ending energy poverty.