Investing in peace

On a typically warm morning in the city of Malakal in South Sudan, hundreds of young people are buzzing with excitement around a small building. They have gathered for the launch of a youth centre, a space where they can come together to learn and act on issues that are important to them, like climate change and peace.

When I visited the centre earlier this year, I had the opportunity to meet with some of them. They shared their dreams of a future where people in their community lived together peacefully, where everyone had access to the things they need.

Young people make up seventy five percent of South Sudan's population. Across the country, they are deeply impacted by both climate change and conflict. Floods and droughts have damaged crops and destroyed homes, while communal tensions rise over scarce resources like land and water, risk sparking conflict that puts their lives in danger.

Sadly, their situation is not unique. This scenario is playing out in many parts of the world.

Not only was 2023 the warmest year on record, conflicts were also at their highest since World War II. Each challenge has a compounding effect on the other. Conflict can cause environmental degradation, while climate change heightens competition for resources, further fuelling violence and creating long-term humanitarian crises.

It's not a coincidence that the 14 countries most at risk from climate change are also grappling with conflict. In February, during a meeting of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said; "Climate disasters and conflict both inflame inequalities, imperil livelihoods and force people from their homes."

At the end of 2023 almost three in four forcibly displaced people were living in countries with high to extreme exposure to climate related hazards. Nearly one in two were living in countries where they were also exposed to conflict.

The solution to this dual challenge lies in maximizing the peace co-benefits of climate finance. Resources that support developing countries to achieve their climate targets can also address the root causes of conflict and instability.

The results of doing so can be highly impactful.

In the Philippines, a community-led initiative in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), an area marked by conflict and fragility, solar-powered ice block machines are helping indigenous communities and war widows preserve their fishing catch, creating jobs, increasing incomes and contributing to peace. In Sierra Leone, water kiosks have reduced the risk of gender-based violence for women who had to travel to war affected areas to fetch water.

In Myanmar, where I visited in October, UNDP adopted a two-pronged approach to help communities recover from Typhoon Yagi, which had caused heavy rains and severe flooding the month before. We provided emergency relief packages for short-term recovery while developing early warning systems to ensure long-term resilience in a region that is expected to witness a rising frequency and intensity of extreme weather events which might lead to conflicts.

Efforts like these show significant promise. But here is the problem. Fragile states, where climate finance is needed most, receive far less funding. UNDP's research shows that extremely fragile states receive only US$2.10 per person in climate finance, compared to up to $161.70 elsewhere.

With almost half a billion people living in conflict, we cannot hope to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals if we continue to overlook the world's most vulnerable.

The annual UN Climate Conference (COP) is a key platform for collective climate action, and the last two conferences have seen a positive discourse on this issue. The COP27 Presidency's Climate Response for Sustaining Peace (CRSP) initiative and the COP28 Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace (CRRP) have built a consensus to bring climate and peace policies and funding closer together.

We need to sustain the momentum at COP29 through action in two key areas - finance and capacity building.

Developed nations and international financial institutions must commit investments that go beyond climate-resilience and access to energy, especially for the most fragile communities. This includes supporting conflict resolution processes, ensuring good governance, and promoting sustainable livelihoods.

At COP27, countries agreed to create a Loss and Damage Fund to support climate adaptation in countries and regions where solutions exist, but governments or communities don't have the resources to implement them. As this fund moves a step closer towards implementation at COP29, we must discuss including climate and peace issues under its purview.

Governments and communities in fragile areas also need the right knowledge and tools to be able to use climate finance more effectively. We have taken one such step with the Climate Security Mechanism, a partnership between development, environment and peacebuilding organizations within the UN system. The initiative provides technical resources in vulnerable countries and regions to better integrate climate and peace policies.

It is only when all countries are empowered to achieve their climate goals that we can meet our global climate targets.

COP29 presents an important opportunity for the international community to address the climate-peace nexus. By doing so, we can build a more resilient and peaceful world, leaving no one behind.