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Why climate matters for people affected by conflict

“Conflicts cause deaths and injuries. They also disrupt the social, political and economic organization of societies, aggravate disparities and erode development. In protracted conflicts, the persistence of such disruption often leaves indelible marks on people and societies,” the ICRC says.

“Climate risks and environmental degradation only make matters worse. The convergence of climate risks and conflict further worsens food and economic insecurity and health disparities, limits access to essential services, while weakening the capacity of governments, institutions and societies to provide support.”

The Climate Centre is advancing practice, policy and research on the intersection of climate and conflict, by supporting the ICRC to integrate climate risk into its operations globally, including capacity building, a dedicated help desk, research and policy.    

For more information, contact Catalina Jaime (jaime@climatecentre.org).

Key documents

NEW: El Niño storylines: the Indo-Pacific region, the Lower Mekong basin, East India, Myanmar central dry zone
Climate risk storylines: Navigating the uncertainties of climate change
Climate Centre support to ICRC delegations
When Rain Turns to Dust (ICRC publication)
Embracing Discomfort: A Call to Enable Finance for Climate-Change Adaptation in Conflict Settings (ICRC publication)
Making Adaptation Work in the Middle East (Norwegian Red Cross, ICRC)
Improving weather and climate information in the MENA region (UK Met Office scoping report)

A handbook for navigating fragility, conflict and violence
Publications

A handbook for navigating fragility, conflict and violence

Communities beset by fragility, conflict and violence are disproportionately affected by disasters, and specially framed risk reduction in these settings is pivotal to saving lives amidst the political and social turmoil. But how? A new handbook helps to navigate the challenges and uncertainties of FCV settings. Funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and jointly developed by the IFRC, the ICRC, the German Red Cross and the Climate Centre, it is based on solid Movement experience and is also available in summary form in French and Spanish.

Read the handbook

Current projects

*Integration of climate risk into ICRC operations
*Disaster risk reduction in fragile, conflict and violent contexts
*CGIAR initiative on fragility, conflict and migration
*Adaptation to tropical cyclones in the context of displacement (CLARE-REPRESA, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique) (photo below)
*HumanitarianStreetMap partnership.

Climate and conflict research agenda

Anticipatory action practitioners

As part of the Anticipation Hub, a group of practitioners focused on anticipatory action in conflict brings together researchers, specialists and other humanitarians to understand how anticipatory action could be designed and implemented effectively in situations of conflict to reach the most vulnerable population.

Building on a working paper jointly authored by the Climate Centre, the group has identified two discussion tracks: interventions based on forecasts of hydrometeorological hazards and on forecasts of the humanitarian consequences of ongoing conflict.

The Tumerington simulation
Interactive

Screening programmes for climate risk

Our screening process for operations identifies climate risks, and gaps, as well as opportunities for climate action at operational and institutional level, through collaboration between the ICRC and the Climate Centre.

So far 35 delegations have participated – the largest baseline operational analysis of its kind by a humanitarian organization; 25 delegations have now developed climate action plans, including a road map of priority measures.

Sudan (2022)
Screening programmes for climate risk
Virtual workshop

Anticipatory action in conflict settings

Implementing anticipatory action for climate-related impacts against the backdrop violence and conflict poses specific challenges, and there is a need to provide information on developing best practice and existing lessons learned in the real world.

An online workshop in January 2023 facilitated by the Climate Centre explored the limitations and opportunities of anticipatory action in this context. A overview of the issue was provided by the Climate Centre’s Catalina Jaime; it also included as presenters OCHA’s Seth Caldwell, Kim Kristensen from the FAO, and the Climate Centre’s Evan Easton-Calabria.

The ICRC view