COP29: The critical role of peace for global climate discussions 

As global temperatures continue to rise at an alarming rate, the impact on food security, human security and natural resources means conflicts will only worsen.  

With 75% of climate-fragile countries either at risk of or in a state of active conflict, it is imperative we understand climate and conflict issues as two sides of the same coin. 

What is COP29? 

Since 1992 and the adoption of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 198 parties to the convention gather every year at the Conference of the Parties (COP). Together, they assess progress made on tackling climate change and commit to increased ambition.  

This year’s event is hosted by Azerbaijan and takes place in Baku between 11 and 22 November. Heads of state and government officials will be joined by civil society, private sector representatives, academics, experts, indigenous and youth representatives and international industry leaders.  

The focus will be the New Collective Quantified Goal, intended to replace developed countries’ current commitment of mobilising USD $100 billion annually between 2020 and 2025 for climate action in developing countries. This new financing target will take into account the needs and priorities of developing countries, which some estimates put at up to $1.1 trillion. It represents a global opportunity to get it right and guarantee all vulnerable communities receive the finance they need to adapt and build resilient, sustainable and peaceful societies. 

Why is International Alert at COP29? 

As peacebuilders working in fragile and conflict-affected settings, climate finance is of great importance to our work. We see firsthand the consequences when communities are devastated by both climate impacts and conflict.  

However, despite heightened climate vulnerability, the 10 most fragile states received less than 1% of available adaptation funds in 2022. In addition, more than half of this 1% is being disbursed in loans, further burdening already fragile economies.  

The finance these countries do receive rarely considers how it could be implemented in the local context, which can make conflict worse and increase vulnerability to climate impacts.   

For years, much of the focus on climate change has centred on mitigation (such as reducing carbon footprints and lowering emissions), given that fossil fuels are the primary driver of the climate crisis. While this is very much needed, alone, it will not meet the needs of fragile and conflict-affected settings.  

These countries produce some of the lowest emissions but often feel the effects of global climate impacts the most. The need to adapt must take priority.   

With 2024 almost certain to be the warmest year on record, devastating climate impacts are all but a daily event, and the urgency for adaptation, particularly for fragile and conflict-affected settings, is a question of life and death.  

Overlooking and turning away from taking climate action in fragile and conflict-affected settings is not an option, as it would equate to turning our back on a vast proportion of the world.  

Whilst we understand the difficulties in operating in such settings, there are solutions that allow funders and implementers to mitigate the risks and increase their likelihood of success.  

Carrying out conflict analysis and consultations with local stakeholders will help alleviate this risk by providing a better understanding of local and conflict dynamics and collaborating with local communities from the very beginning to develop plans that work for local contexts. 

Peace Day at COP29 

For the first time ever, COP28 provided a platform for the voices of those affected by the double burden of climate and conflict, by including a Peace Day, when the COP28 Climate, Relief Recovery and Peace Declaration was launched.  

This enabled a global conversation and agreement on the ambitious steps needed to advance climate finance and action in fragile and conflict-affected settings. COP29 will hold a second Peace Day on 15 November, reiterating the urgency to take action and calling for a legacy for fragile and conflict-affected settings to be part of the UNFCCC negotiation. 

What is International Alert calling for at COP29?  

What should be a scientific and needs-based debate on finance within the UNFCCC has turned into a political disagreement. Leaders need to go beyond the words and numbers and bring people back into the centre of discussions.  

Climate action and finance need to be recognised as an opportunity for building sustainable peace. The goal is the same – avoiding catastrophic losses and damages and building preventative resilience that will allow us to stay within the Paris Agreement goals.  

Climate and conflict being dealt with separately is beyond outdated and lacks insight. This must be reflected by donor governments, funds and multilateral development banks in the way they distribute and plan their finance. 

To guarantee the new finance goal is fit for all vulnerable communities, including those living in fragile and conflict-affected settings, we urge decision-makers at COP29 to: 

• Acknowledge the gap in finance reaching fragile and conflict-affected settings and ensure a greater and more equitable proportion of high-quality climate finance is channelled to vulnerable communities. In particular, for adaptation finance, that is conflict-sensitive, locally-led, gender-responsive, transparent and grant-based. This could be helped by setting a target for grant-based finance earmarked for these countries.  

• Remove access barriers for vulnerable communities, especially complex and lengthy accreditation processes and the challenge of large-size funds when structures to deal with such amounts and attached reporting are lacking, which make them unattainable for small and local civil society organisations.  

• Ensure that all climate finance strategies and interventions undertake and regularly update conflict analyses, leading to periodical adjustments to any finance targets for fragile and conflict-affected states so that potential future iterations of international climate goals consider the most recent findings.