Increased funding is just part of the solution. “The international climate finance system must be capable of working across the full range of contexts in which people experience climate vulnerability, including millions of people living in countries which are fragile and conflict-affected, ” she said. Fragile and conflict-affected countries are home to almost one billion people facing severe challenges, including weak institutions, limited public services, extreme poverty, forced displacement, and conflict. Climate change is a threat multiplier of conflict and increasing levels of fragility. Such countries receive lower levels of adaptation finance per head compared to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). On average fragile countries have received only about two-thirds the level of per capita adaptation finance in comparison to LDCs, and only about one-third the level of SIDS between 2016-2023. Across the Horn of Africa, drought, conflict, displacement, and economic instability are combining to push millions of people into increasingly precarious situations. More than 37 million people across six countries in the region are experiencing, or are projected to experience, acute food insecurity, with over 4. 9 million children projected to suffer acute malnutrition. Yet these are the contexts where conventional climate finance is often hardest to access. “At COP31, we want to see greater recognition of the specific barriers facing fragile and conflict-affected states, alongside progress towards needs-based financing approaches that enable countries most affected to access adaptation finance, ” Ms Bahlman said.
Kenya: Urgent action needed at COP31 to deliver funding commitments | Concern Worldwide
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