Fragile and conflict-affected states receive less than 10% of global climate finance — a disparity that experts say undermines both climate action and global security. But with public finance shrinking, private finance making up just a small percentage of climate adaptation finance — the type most needed by conflict-affected states — and concerns about how the money is used on the ground, fragile conflict zones that are also climate-vulnerable countries provide a triple challenge to funding.
Experts are calling for innovative financial tools, better risk-sharing mechanisms, and stronger partnerships to reach countries most vulnerable to climate change.
“The countries most vulnerable to climate change are often the least responsible for it and the least likely to receive the financing they desperately need,” said Almut Wieland-Karimi, senior policy adviser and advisory board member of the U.N. Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund, during a panel at the Berlin Climate and Security Conference this week.
About the author
Jesse Chase-Lubitz
Jesse Chase-Lubitz covers climate change and multilateral development banks for Devex. She previously worked at Nature Magazine, where she received a Pulitzer grant for an investigation into land reclamation. She has written for outlets such as Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and The Japan Times, among others. Jesse holds a master’s degree in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics.
