A coalition of twelve nations grappling with conflict and humanitarian crises has come together to urge the global community to provide the funding required to cope with escalating climate shocks. They are calling for urgent action to bridge the widening financial gap in crucial discussions set to take place this year.
In a statement agreed upon on Monday, the newly formed network—which includes countries such as Chad, Iraq, Somalia, and Yemen—emphasized that fragile states, which are “so often forgotten by climate action,” bear the brunt of climate change despite contributing minimally to its causes.
With “hundreds of millions of the world’s most climate vulnerable remain left behind by climate finance,” the group asserted its commitment to “bringing this issue to the forefront and centre in climate discussions.”
A Unified Appeal
This call to action follows the network’s inaugural meeting in Abu Dhabi last month, where fragile states convened to strategize on elevating the intersection of climate, conflict, and humanitarian needs in global climate negotiations.
Representatives from thirteen fragile nations attended the meeting, including ministers from Burundi, Chad, Somalia, and Yemen, alongside high-ranking officials from Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Iraq, and South Sudan.
Established at the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan last December, the network aspires to serve as a diplomatic force advocating for increased and more effective climate financing tailored to conflict-affected and humanitarian settings.
It aims to enable fragile states to present a unified stance in climate negotiations, where their concerns are “overlooked,” according to Liban Obsiye, executive director of Somalia’s National Climate Fund, who spoke to Climate Home.
Failure to Build Long-Term Resilience
More than half of the world’s twenty-five most climate-vulnerable countries are experiencing armed conflict, violence, or severe humanitarian crises, according to think tank ODI Global, which is providing support to the network.
Weak governance and ongoing conflict heighten vulnerability to climate change, making it increasingly difficult for communities to develop resilience as they endure repeated floods, droughts, and storms.
However, financial support for these nations remains critically insufficient due to perceived risks associated with operating in unstable environments, including fragile institutions, inadequate data, and limited capacity to draft proposals and manage projects. Available funding often prioritizes immediate humanitarian needs rather than long-term climate resilience.
Between 2014 and 2021, a collective of thirteen states classified as “extremely fragile” by the OECD received just $2 per person in multilateral climate finance, compared to $162 per person allocated to non-fragile states, according to a UN study.
“This conflict blind spot represents a damning failure at the heart of the international climate system,” the network stated.
“Our message to all countries is clear: we can no longer afford to ignore this,” Yemen’s Minister of Water and Environment Tawfiq al-Sharjabi told Climate Home in a statement.
“We urge governments, climate funds, and international organizations to take immediate action to close this funding gap by increasing finance dedicated to climate change adaptation, simplifying bureaucratic procedures, and building capacity in developing countries,” he added.
UN Security CouncilA Key Issue for COP30
To amplify their appeal, the network has written to COP30 President André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, urging him to keep this issue “high on the agenda” at the UN climate summit that Brazil will host in November.
In a letter dated Tuesday and obtained by Climate Home, countries representing the alliance implored Brazil to ensure that fragile states remain “front and centre of efforts to scale up climate finance” and to organize a thematic day focused on climate, relief, recovery, and peace, as was done at COP28 and COP29.
“COP30 is an irreplaceable moment to bring the agenda forward, to align the needs of climate-vulnerable and conflict-affected countries with global development objectives,” the letter states.
Setting out his vision for COP30 last week, Brazilian diplomat Corrêa do Lago, the country’s chief climate negotiator, underscored the urgency of eliminating barriers to climate finance access for developing countries and scaling funding from all sources to at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2035, a goal agreed upon at COP29 last year.
A Widening Funding Gap
Fragile nations collectively require an estimated $41.5 billion annually by 2030 to mitigate and adapt to climate change—nearly four times the $11 billion they received in 2022, according to ODI analysis shared with Climate Home.
This projection is based on the needs of thirty-seven countries listed on the World Bank’s 2025 fragility list (excluding Palestine and Ukraine, whose conflicts would significantly increase the total) as outlined in their carbon reduction and adaptation plans submitted to the UN.
The United States contributed nearly 9% of the climate finance pledged by wealthy nations to fragile states over the decade leading up to 2022. However, financial support has since been halted by President Donald Trump, a known climate change skeptic.
With the U.S. withdrawing and European aid budgets facing cuts, the existing funding gap may widen, increasing competition for already scarce resources, warned Habib Ur Rehman Mayar, deputy general secretary of the g7+ Secretariat, a coalition of conflict-affected countries.
Closing this gap is just the first step. As climate impacts worsen, fragile nations’ financial needs will continue to escalate, said Mauricio Vazquez of ODI. “That makes it more urgent to invest in adaptation today before it becomes loss and damage. What these countries need is resilience finance to anticipate, adapt to, and absorb shocks,” he told Climate Home.
Green Climate Fund Invests in Somalia
The persistent lack of funding could have devastating consequences for countries such as Somalia, which has long been plagued by political instability, ethnic tensions, and an Islamist insurgency. In recent years, the East African nation has suffered from a deadly drought exacerbated by rising temperatures, followed by catastrophic flooding, compounding an already dire humanitarian crisis.
At present, there is “an enormous gap” in financing flood defenses and implementing measures to combat soil erosion and mitigate impacts on food security and farmers’ livelihoods, said Obsiye, who leads the country’s climate fund.
Last year, the UN’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) announced a $100 million investment in Somalia—the first national program of its kind. Stephanie Speck, head of special initiatives at the GCF, told Climate Home that the fund is “laser focused” on directing finance to underserved countries and is currently exploring support for climate action in South Sudan.
Once disbursed, the funds will partially help Somalia enhance its capacity to secure additional financing from other donors and institutions, Obsiye noted. While it represents a “historic” development, he stressed that it remains a small step in addressing the country’s massive financial requirements, which amount to billions.