Institutional overlap and climate governance in Africa: a comparative analysis of policy coherence between SADC and EAC

As African states increasingly participate in multiple regional organizations with overlapping mandates, the potential for policy synergies or conflicts in climate change mitigation has grown. Focusing on Tanzania and the DRC as shared member states, this study investigates whether institutional overlap enhances coordination or creates fragmentation in climate governance. Using a comparative case study approach, the article assesses the alignment of SADC and EAC climate policies, institutional frameworks, and implementation mechanisms. The study draws on document analysis of regional treaties, climate action plans, and secondary reports, supplemented by 15 expert interviews. Theoretically, it engages with debates on regime complexity and institutional interplay to explain how overlapping regionalism shapes climate governance outcomes in Africa. The findings suggest that while both blocs have developed climate mitigation strategies, divergent priorities, such as SADC’s energy focus versus EAC’s forestry emphasis, and competing mandates, create challenges for policy coherence. While broadening discussions on African regionalism, environmental governance, and the effectiveness of multilateral institutions in addressing climate change, the paper calls for the harmonization of climate agendas to strengthen Africa’s collective response to global environmental challenges.Key policy insights To mitigate policy fragmentation, SADC and EAC should prioritize establishing formal coordination mechanisms, such as a Joint Climate Task Force, to harmonize conflicting standards and create a unified reporting system for shared member states.States engage in strategic forum shopping, selectively adopting the least stringent regional standards to minimize compliance costs, which undermines ambitious climate action and collective accountability. Policymakers should counter this by linking access to regional climate finance to adherence to the most progressive common standards.Policy coherence is highest in technical, low-salience sectors like renewable energy targets, demonstrating that practical cooperation is possible where economic and technical interests naturally converge. RECs should leverage these areas as confidence-building platforms to expand cooperation into more contentious sectors.Harmonization requires proactive institutional design, such as establishing joint REC task forces and leveraging AU mediation, to transform overlap from a source of conflict into an opportunity for synergy and a stronger collective African response.ABBREVIATIONS: ACP: Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific (Group of States); ACPC: African Climate Policy Centre; AfDB: African Development Bank; AMCEN: African Ministerial Conference on the Environment; APRM: African Peer Review Mechanism; AU: African Union; CCSC: Climate Change Sub-Committee (SADC); COMESA: Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa; CSA: Climate-Smart Agriculture; DRC: Democratic Republic of the Congo; EAPP: Eastern Africa Power Pool; ECDPM: European Centre for Development Policy Management; ECOWAS: Economic Community of West African States; EU: European Union; FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; GCF: Green Climate Fund; IGAD: Intergovernmental Authority on Development; ILRI: International Livestock Research Institute; IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; IR: International Relations; IRENA: International Renewable Energy Agency; KAZA TFCA: Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area; KPIs: Key Policy Insights; LVBC: Lake Victoria Basin Commission; MoU: Memorandum of Understanding; MRV: Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification; NBI: Nile Basin Initiative; NDC: Nationally Determined Contribution; NGO: Non-Governmental Organization; QCA: Qualitative Comparative Analysis; REC(s): Regional Economic Community(ies); REDD+: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation; REMA: Rwanda Environment Management Authority; RISDP: Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (SADC); SACREEE: SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency; SADC: Southern African Development Community; SAIIA: South African Institute of International Affairs; SAPP: Southern African Power Pool; SI: Supplementary Information; UNECA: United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme