Overcoming the fragility barrier: Policy Solutions for Unlocking Climate Finance in Fragile States

Many fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS) are highly vulnerable to climate change.  In fact, 19 of the top 25 most climate-vulnerable countries are FCS. FCS often have low adaptive capacity and lack the resources to prepare for and respond to climate impacts. As a result, they struggle to rebuild between repeated climate shocks and invest in adaptation measures.

Previous research on global climate finance flows has demonstrated that the more fragile a country is, the less it receives from bilateral donors and multilateral climate funds. Our research indicates that in 2021, only $223 million was received in climate adaptation finance across the 10 most fragile states, which is less than 1% of total adaptation finance flows.

In light of these challenges, Mercy Corps published the Breaking the Cycle report, highlighting innovative solutions to overcome the climate finance gap in FCS. The report provides insights into the difficulties faced in accessing and utilizing climate adaptation finance in fragile contexts. To further explore the issue, Mercy Corps organized two roundtable discussions involving stakeholders from Europe and the United States to delve into the factors that drive these challenges and brainstorm solutions to address them. These discussions aimed to generate new insights and ideas for effectively delivering climate finance in fragile contexts.

The Overcoming the Fragility Barrier report presents a comprehensive overview of the strategies that were explored during the roundtable discussions. This report provides recommendations to bilateral donors, multilateral climate funds, and implementing partners on closing the climate finance gap in FCS. In today’s era of limited fiscal space, it is crucial to prioritize and direct climate finance to those most vulnerable to climate change, especially those in FCS.