Climate change adaptation in fragile and conflict-affected settings: Conflict and peace considerations in project design

There is a growing overlap between countries most affected by climate change and those affected by conflict and fragility. This paper addresses the need for a better understanding of how to pursue effective climate action in fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCS) by investigating how and to what extent conflict considerations and peacebuilding efforts are integrated into adaptation projects in these contexts. A purposive sample of 15 projects approved in 2022–2023 from the three main multilateral climate funds were analyzed through a framework analysis method based on a novel three-step approach for the design of adaptation projects in FCS. The results indicate variability and a lack of systematic methodology in integrating conflict aspects and peacebuilding elements into project designs, a tendency of silo-thinking climate–conflict dynamics but also that a considerable share of projects engage with the concept of environmental peacebuilding. The findings imply that to mainstream conflict considerations and peacebuilding efforts more prevalently in adaptation projects in FCS, there is a critical need to develop suitable policies and guidelines to support this work. This includes more widely accepted frameworks and generates more robust evidence on the interaction between climate, conflict, fragility, and peacebuilding.