13 December 2023 — As COP28 concludes, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) highlights that the global community is at a critical juncture in the climate crisis. Conflict-affected, climate-vulnerable states are at the forefront of the devastating impacts of climate change. Grappling with the challenges of instability, these regions are now confronted with increasingly severe and frequent climate-related disasters. Rising temperatures, erratic weather patterns, and extreme events exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, straining already fragile infrastructures and compounding socio-economic hardships. Communities affected by climate change require a commitment to action beyond the conference walls in Dubai.
IRC President and CEO David Miliband:
“While language on a transition away from fossil fuel is unprecedented, climate-vulnerable, conflict-affected communities already on the frontlines of the climate crisis remain overlooked in the final COP28 agreement. Countries like Somalia, Syria, and Sudan are among the least responsible for the climate crisis, the most affected, and the least supported. After a promising start – including the Climate Relief, Recovery and Peace Declaration which the IRC endorsed; the agreement of a historic Loss and Damage Fund, and the offer of equitable finance solutions from funds and international financial institutions like the Green Climate Fund and the World Bank - the final deal negotiated at COP28 lacks a tangible plan for action to drive ambition and finance toward the most-impacted, least-supported communities.
“The words are better, which is good. But the actions need to be much better, which is essential. At the start of COP28, the IRC warned that the success of climate talks would be measured on whether it committed to a new chapter of climate action accountable to the most vulnerable. Heading into 2024 and preparing for COP29 in Azerbaijan, the focus must be on clear decision rules that drive resources and attention to these communities. The IRC calls for 50% of all public climate finance to be allocated to adaptation by 2025: a target to direct 25% of climate finance toward conflict- and climate-impacted countries, which should be the benchmark; 20% of multilateral climate adaptation finance channeled through non-governmental partners in fragile settings, and a minimum of 5% of humanitarian budgets must be spent on anticipatory action to save lives and livelihoods before disasters strike. This is the IRC’s call to action - more urgent today than ever before, especially for those already living the sharp end of the climate crisis.”