Climate, Resources, and Conflict: Designing Peace Programming in a Warming World

Climate change and environmental degradation are increasingly shaping displacement patterns, governance challenges, and conflict risks in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Pressures on land and water resources, extreme heat, and growing livelihood and food insecurity are creating new risks for stability while exacerbating existing vulnerabilities. This panel will explore how peacebuilding and stabilization efforts can become more climate-informed, prevention-oriented, and environmentally responsive. 

The discussion will explore how climate and environmental pressures interact with existing political, economic, and social drivers of fragility, conflict, displacement, and what this means for strengthening resilience and designing peace programming in a warming world, and how we can increase capacity to support the integrated approach to climate and conflict-related challenges. Aligned with the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, the discussion will draw on experiences from climate-vulnerable and fragile settings, including pastoral and transboundary contexts. 

Particular attention will be given to land degradation and extreme heat as growing challenges affecting livelihoods, mobility, health, agricultural productivity, and social cohesion. Drawing on examples from the Sahel, Greater Horn of Africa, and the Ferghana Valley in Central Asia, panelists will highlight locally driven solutions to strengthen resilience and contribute to conflict prevention. 

The discussion will also consider perspectives and pathways on how financing and partnership approaches can help scale effective interventions and innovative solutions that address compound climate and conflict risks, and support sustainable peace, including through greater integration across climate, development, humanitarian, peacebuilding and financing efforts.