Peace, conflict, and National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes

This guidance note provides National Adaptation Plan (NAP) teams with a step-by-step approach for linking climate change, peacebuilding, and conflict dynamics. For states experiencing conflict, climate change adaptation is rarely, if ever, an immediate priority: issues such as national defence, the prevention of further loss of life and suffering, and the establishment of peace take precedence. 

The publication finds the following: 

• Although the immense potential for including conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding in NAPs, substantial challenges exist. Given these complexities, international climate change stakeholders, including funders, need to ensure a more equitable platform and dedicated funding for conflict-affected countries. 
• Fragile states, however, still struggle to compete for funding against peaceful nations and face ongoing gaps in climate data and comprehension. Improving local, resource-based peacebuilding efforts to address broader issues necessitates increased commitment from international partners. 
• It is increasingly clear that climate vulnerabilities and conflict risks are, for many nations, closely linked: conflict and violence undermine the ability of a population to deal with the increasingly severe impacts of a changing climate, and at the same time, climate change threatens to exacerbate create tensions and conflicts.