UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Bureau Director Marcos Neto have urged countries to align climate finance with peacebuilding efforts, warning that the world is entering “a new era of uncertainty and risks” driven by climate and global insecurity.
Speaking at the COP30 Baku Hub Annual High-Level Dialogue in Belém on Wednesday, Neto said, “The world has entered a new era of uncertainty and risks that are shaped by the climate emergency and global insecurities. While a majority of countries most vulnerable to climate change are also the most fragile, these countries have disproportionately less access to climate finance and limited capacity to manage these risks.”
Neto said UNDP is working to ensure that climate finance reaches the people and regions that need it most.
“Over the last three years, UNDP has provided technical support to more than 30 countries affected by climate, conflict and fragility,” he said.
He cited examples such as “Climate and Peace Hubs in northwest Nigeria to foster conflict-sensitive and climate-resilient livelihoods, support for women peacemakers in Papua New Guinea, and climate-resilient livelihoods for widowed women-headed households and the reintegration of ex-combatants in the Philippines.”
He said UNDP, together with DPPA, UNEP, and DPO under the Climate Security Mechanism, is driving joint initiatives to address climate stressors that threaten stability.
“We support 16 field initiatives; with 10 climate, peace and security advisors helping governments reduce climate stressors that threaten stability,” Neto said.
Highlighting global partnerships, he added, “We are also striving to advance the agenda within the UNFCCC process and with partners. From the COP27 Presidency’s ‘Climate Responses for Sustaining Peace’ initiative to the COP28 Presidency’s ‘Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery, and Peace,’ and now our partnership with the COP29 Presidency’s Baku Hub and Network.”
Neto noted that the Climate, Peace and Security Expert Academy, developed in partnership with COP27, CCCPA, and the Baku Hub, has trained “more than 245 policymakers, climate negotiators, youth leaders and policy experts from 80+ different countries, including fragile and conflict-affected settings.”
He said UNDP’s Climate Promise remains the cornerstone of its work, helping 90 percent of developing countries deliver on their Paris Agreement goals.
“We have seen that strong NDCs can be a blueprint for development and peace. Since 2017, we have supported 50 fragile and conflict-affected countries to advance their Nationally Determined Contributions, linking targets and plans to security and stability.”
Neto stressed that as the world moves into the implementation era, local leadership must be at the heart of climate action. “It becomes even more important to support locally driven climate action and stronger alignment with the SDGs,” he said.
He also backed the COP30 President’s call for Mutirao, or integrated solutions, which build social capital and resilient institutions.
“We welcome the leadership of the Baku Hub in advancing this agenda, and UNDP stands ready to accelerate peace-positive climate action with you all,” Neto said.
