Belém, Brazil, 12 November 2025: At the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM), in partnership with the Group of Friends on Climate and Security and ODI Global, convened a high-level event entitled “Bridging the Gap: Making Climate Finance Work for the Underserved”.
The discussion brought together leaders from climate finance institutions, national governments, and multilateral agencies to identify practical pathways for ensuring that climate finance reaches countries facing the intersecting challenges of climate change, fragility and humanitarian need. Building on the COP28 Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace, participants underscored that access to climate finance must be improved, equitable, conflict-sensitive and peace-positive.
Global announcements
New memberships in the Group of Friends on Climate and Security: Sierra Leone pledged to join the Group of Friends, established in 2018 by Nauru and Germany. This bring the Group’s total to 80 Member States from all regions worldwide.
- Improved and Equitable Access to Climate Finance (IEACF) Network: Somalia delivered a statement on behalf of the Improved and Equitable Access to Climate Finance (IEACF) Network, which represents countries affected by conflict, fragility or high levels of humanitarian need. The Statement called on the COP30 Presidency, climate funds and donors to continue focusing on the specific needs and climate finance gap in those settings. The Minister also announced the accession of three new members to the Network: the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, and the Republic of South Sudan. He reaffirmed the Network’s intention to deepen its partnership with the CSM to advance climate, peace and security initiatives with Member States.
Country platforms: In alignment with the Green Climate Fund framework on country platforms, the Climate Security Mechanism pledged to support, where relevant and where it is active, the establishment and strengthening of country platforms in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Through its Climate, Peace and Security Advisors and collaboration with national authorities, the Improved and Equitable Access Network and Green Climate Fund readiness partners, the Mechanism will help integrate peace and security dimensions into platform design and investment planning, fostering inclusive and climate-resilient development pathways in underserved regions.
The Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) committed to supporting all developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, including those in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, to respond to climate-induced loss and damage through accessible, simplified modalities that prioritize bottom-up, country-led and country-owned approaches.
- Peacebuilding financing: The Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) will continue to respond to demand from Member States who seek to peacefully resolve and build resilience to conflict drivers that are exacerbated by climate change. In 2025 alone, the PBF expects to approve approximately USD 30 million for related programmes in 11 countries, over 30 per cent of total approvals this year. The PBF will continue to build on lessons identified in its 2023 Thematic Review on Climate Security and Peacebuilding and its 2025 Thematic Review on Youth, Peace and Security, facilitating coherent approaches of the United Nations system with a strong emphasis on cross-border cooperation and gender and youth-inclusive approaches. The PBF will seek to further increase synergies with partners such as international financial institutions and climate funds to increase catalytic effects.
- New York edition of the Berlin Climate and Security Conference: Germany committed to convening a New York edition of the Berlin Climate and Security Conference in collaboration with the Climate Security Mechanism in early 2026.
The Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change and the Climate Security Mechanism welcomed the Addis Ababa Declaration on Media, Climate, Peace, Security, and Justice and committed to: (i) jointly develop practical guidance for UN field presences; (ii) integrate information integrity indicators into climate, peace and security (CPS)-related analysis; and (iii) promote research and investigative journalism on these topics, as well as pilot training for local journalists and fact-checkers on CPS-related reporting in 2026.
Women, Peace and Security in Climate Action: The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM), the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), UN Women, and the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) committed to strengthening collaboration and breaking silos on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) within climate action and finance. As a first step, they will jointly convene a briefing for climate and peacebuilding funds to highlight how gender-responsive and peace-positive approaches can enhance the impact of climate finance in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Drawing on lessons from CSM-supported initiatives, UN Women’s WPS expertise, WPHF’s Funding Initiative on Women and Climate Security, as well as GCF and PBF programming, the partners will outline practical measures to integrate WPS principles across climate finance operations. The partners further aim to strengthen women's meaningful participation and leadership in relevant decision-making processes.
- UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, pledged to continue to work with climate vulnerable refugee host countries and countries of return to: 1) ensure the inclusion and protection of the most vulnerable displaced populations and host communities in developing and implementing their respective NDCs and NAPs; and 2) to leverage climate finance to support peace, human security and solutions in refugee hosting areas and areas of return.
National and regional announcements
- Burkina Faso announced that it has become the first country to adopt a national policy on climate, peace and security (National Strategic and Action Plan on Climate, Peace and Security), and is working with the CSM Climate, Peace and Security Advisor and the Liptako-Gourma Authority to operationalize it through analysis and action on the ground.
- Mali and Niger announced that they were engaged in the process of adopting their own national policies on climate, peace and security, and are working with the CSM Climate, Peace and Security Advisor and the Liptako-Gourma Authority on its adoption and operationalization through analysis and action on the ground.
- The Liptako-Gourma Authority committed to adopting a regional policy on climate, peace and security by the first quarter of 2026, working in close collaboration with the Climate Security Mechanism and building on the national policies of its Member States.
- The Lake Chad Basin Commission, in close partnership with the Climate Security Mechanism and UNDP, committed to the development of a Regional Strategic Guidance Note on Cross-Border Climate, Peace and Security to enhance the implementation of its Strategic Action Plan, to be finalised by early 2026. This initiative will strengthen capacities, guide actions and collaboration, foster resilience, and transform shared challenges into opportunities for peace and stability across the Lake Chad Basin.
- The European Union (EU) affirmed its shared commitment to mainstream the climate, peace and security nexus across the EU and its Member States’ external action, including conflict-sensitive climate action, and enhancing preparedness and capacity to address security challenges arising from climate change and environmental degradation in partnership with the UN, the African Union and other key partners and consistent with the EU’s wider multilateral climate change and environment agenda.
Support to advance the work of the Climate Security Mechanism and its network of Climate, Peace and Security Advisors
- New partners and pledges of financial and in-kind support to advance the work of the Climate Security Mechanism: Czechia pledged to support the Climate Security Mechanism as a new donor partner contributing CZK 300,000. Slovenia pledged to provide additional financial support in 2026 and expressed its intention to co-chair the CSM Joint Steering Committee that same year. Austria and Germany announced new commitments - respectively EUR 120,000 and EUR 3 million - to further support the mission of the CSM. The Republic of Korea reconfirmed its support for climate, peace and security efforts with the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), including through a Climate, Peace and Security Advisor, and committed to making additional funding available. Switzerland reiterated its continued support for climate, peace and security efforts with the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU) in 2026, including through a Climate, Peace and Security Advisor, and to support the UNOAU’s climate, peace and security cooperation with the African Union and the broader CSM/CPS community across the African continent. Germany and Spain announced their sponsorship of two Junior Professional Officer positions on climate, peace and security beginning in 2026, with Germany supporting the position based with UNOWAS in Dakar and Spain supporting the position with the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs in New York. Sweden, through the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), reaffirmed its commitment to provide technical support. These vital contributions will enable the CSM to advance its work, including context-specific initiatives that address the linkages between climate change, peace and security and catalyse action, and the deployment and backstopping of Climate, Peace and Security Advisors to UN peace operations and regional organizations.
- Green Climate Fund (GCF): The Green Climate Fund highlighted its collaboration with the UN Climate, Peace and Security Advisor network and UN missions, including recent joint efforts in Somalia and South Sudan, and a planned visit to Chad. It reiterated its commitment to working with partners to expand access to climate finance in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, recognising climate action as integral to peace and security.
- National and International Climate, Peace and Security Officers: In line with the CSM Joint Programme, the Climate Security Mechanism and NORCAP jointly pledged to support the deployment of national Climate, Peace and Security (CPS) officers and local experts, alongside ongoing collaboration on international CPS experts, in UN mission contexts and fragile settings. These officers will leverage local knowledge, strengthen national ownership and sustainability of CPS approaches, and complement existing CPS Advisor deployments. This initiative is designed to complement, not replace, international CPS Advisors, ensuring continuity and coherence across all levels of CPS engagement. Through this collaboration, the CSM and NORCAP will also help build similar capacity within national governments and regional organisations, creating a sustainable talent pipeline and institutional base for CPS action across regions where the CSM is active.
- CGIAR (Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT) pledged to: (i) second one staff member to the CSM to link the CGIAR Climate Security Observatory and other data, models and analysis; (ii) support the development of innovative responses to global workstreams on data including the data pillar (Data Sources) of the CSM’s CPS Toolbox, knowledge, assessments, monitoring and evaluation and communications; and (iii) build on CGIAR’s Climate Action and Food Frontiers and Security Science Programmes and utilise newly created CGIAR Surge Capacity.
About the Climate Security Mechanism
The Climate Security Mechanism expresses its appreciation to all partners who have engaged in the lead-up to COP30, as well as all those who continue to advance climate, peace and security action through their policy, advocacy, programming and technical work. The CSM welcomes further expressions of interest, pledges and announcements from additional partners whose inputs could not be reflected here and remains committed to working with partners to bridge climate action, peace and security. Media contact: csm-core@un.org
The Climate Security Mechanism (CSM) is a joint initiative by the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Department of Peace Operations (DPO). Responding to growing calls for action by affected communities, Member States, regional organizations, experts and policymakers around the world, the CSM seeks to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations and its partners to systematically analyse and address the linkages between climate change, peace and security. Established in late 2018, the CSM draws on the complementary resources of DPPA, UNDP, UNEP, and DPO. The CSM works with partners to advance peace-positive climate action, catalyse climate-informed approaches to peace and security, and forge partnerships at all levels to exchange information and build the evidence base. To that end, the CSM provides technical advice and tailored support to UN missions, country teams, regional organizations and other partners to bolster the analysis, reduction and management of climate-related peace and security risks. Beyond its local work, the CSM seeks to build an enabling environment and catalyse action by partners at all levels by investing in knowledge management and capacity building and by leveraging the convening power of its member entities.
About the Group of Friends on Climate and Security
The Group of Friends on Climate and Security is a group of United Nations Member States concerned with the adverse effects of climate change on peace and security. The group’s objectives are, inter alia, to raise public awareness, to inform policy, and to strengthen the UN system’s ability and efforts to respond to the security challenges posed by the effects of climate change. The Group of Friends regularly addresses the UN Security Council through joint statements. Where relevant, the group addresses other UN fora as well, such as the General Assembly or the Peacebuilding Commission, among others. The Group of Friends was established in 2018 by Nauru and Germany and has grown to over 70 Member States from all regions of the world. Membership is open to all UN delegations who share the group’s objectives. The group meets twice a year at Ambassadorial level. Working level meetings are called on an ad hoc basis, and typically feature internal or external briefings or discussions on specific thematic issues of relevance to the UN. In its observer status capacity, the Climate Security Mechanism regularly briefs the Group of Friends on the progress of its work.
About ODI Global
ODI Global is a leading global affairs think tank. ODI Global focuses on research, convening and influencing, to generate ideas that matter for people and planet.
