SIPRI Insights on Peace and Security, No. 2024/03, October 2024
This SIPRI Insights report addresses challenges related to climate finance distribution in conflict-affected countries, where vulnerabilities to climate change are significantly exacerbated. Conflict reduces the ability of populations to adapt, making effective climate finance even more critical. Despite increasing global climate finance commitments, conflict-affected countries consistently receive disproportionately low amounts of per capita climate adaptation official development assistance (ODA) compared to non-conflict-affected countries with similar income levels and climate vulnerabilities.
This paper aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the distribution of both committed and disbursed climate finance to a range of countries, by looking at both bilateral and multilateral flows of official development assistance (ODA) to all ODA eligible countries between 2015 and 2021. It highlights significant disparities in per capita climate adaptation funding. For example, small island developing states receive over US$100 per capita annually, while many conflict-affected countries receive less than $1. Methodological challenges such as those related to ‘regional’ or ‘unspecified’ funds and limited data transparency prevent accurate assessments. The paper highlights the need for improved transparency, equitable redistribution of funds and stronger donor–recipient coordination to ensure climate finance reaches the most vulnerable populations, especially in conflict settings. The analysis seeks to quantify the variation in climate adaptation ODA and consider whether it is significant, and in particular whether conflict-affected countries are being left behind.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the paper:
- Although the total volume of climate finance has increased, there is a disparity between committed and disbursed amounts, with disbursements in the period 2015–21 consistently falling around 40 to 50 per cent below the pledged commitments.
- Non-conflict-affected countries receive more climate adaptation ODA per capita compared to conflict-affected countries with similar income and vulnerability levels.
- A significant portion of climate ODA (20 per cent of commitments and 26 per cent of disbursements) is labelled as ‘regional’ or ‘bilateral unspecified’, contributing to gaps in accurate per capita assessments and raising concerns about fund distribution.
- Data limitations and unallocated funds impede transparency and accuracy in climate finance assessments.
These are extracts from a paper published by SIPRI in October 2024, authored by Dr Karen Meijer and Abeer S. Ahmad. The full publication can be accessed through the link here.