Enviro News Asia, Geneva — The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has urged countries attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) to strengthen climate action and funding for communities living in conflict-affected areas, warning that people caught in armed conflicts face heightened risks from extreme weather and have limited capacity to adapt.
In its appeal ahead of COP31, the humanitarian organization stressed that climate-vulnerable communities in conflict zones are often overlooked in international climate policies and financing arrangements.
Armed conflict damages essential infrastructure, weakens local institutions and worsens food and water insecurity, leaving communities less equipped to withstand climate-related disasters.
The ICRC outlined three key demands for COP31 negotiators: accelerating global emissions reductions to keep the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature limit within reach, formally recognizing the specific vulnerabilities of conflict-affected countries, and delivering adequate climate finance commitments.
More than half of the countries considered most vulnerable to climate change are currently experiencing armed conflict, according to the ICRC. The organization also warned that conflict-affected areas are frequently excluded from international climate assistance because donors apply restrictive financial risk criteria.
To address this gap, the ICRC called for flexible, grant-based climate funding that communities affected by crises can access more easily.
It also emphasized the importance of formally recognizing conflict-related climate vulnerabilities in COP31’s final outcome documents. Such recognition, it said, would help direct technical and financial assistance to communities on the ground.
The ICRC said climate finance must reach people facing the combined pressures of conflict and climate change, rather than leaving them behind in global adaptation efforts. (*)
