Promoting climate action that considers fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) is essential for helping countries affected by these issues adapt to the growing impacts of climate change. An FCV-sensitive approach to climate programming is crucial for two main reasons. Firstly, climate interventions in FCV contexts often require different priorities than those in other low-income settings due to overstretched governments, minimal institutional capacity, and persistent insecurity that can undermine even robust programs. Secondly, without understanding how projects interact with local tensions, climate initiatives risk worsening conflict dynamics and increasing the vulnerability of communities they aim to protect.
To support the development and adoption of an FCV-sensitive approach to climate action within the World Bank and across the broader development space, a new Framework for promoting FCV-Sensitive Climate Action has been presented. This Framework includes two core elements: outlining principles for FCV-sensitivity applicable in all settings and providing guidance on tailoring climate action to the unique challenges of different fragile and conflict-affected environments.
The first part of this Framework focuses on five critical issues when designing and delivering climate-related interventions in FCV settings. These issues relate to all aspects of programming, including thorough FCV assessments and effective coordination between development, risk reduction, and peacebuilding actors. All five issues highlighted can be applied universally regardless of the types of FCV threats facing a location.
The second step ensures that FCV-sensitive guidelines are tailored to diverse FCV settings. Five illustrative—and often overlapping—FCV characteristics highlight factors that should be incorporated into FCV-sensitive climate action.
For each illustrative characteristic of FCV, the Framework describes: i) primary FCV threats affecting them; ii) implications of climate and FCV interactions for delivering climate action; iii) recommendations for tailoring FCV-sensitive climate action to each set of characteristics.
The report provides various recommendations for promoting FCV-sensitive climate action in different types of environments. It addresses questions and actions required to ensure that activities are conscious and responsive to specific threats and vulnerabilities while prioritizing vulnerable regions and sectors to minimize maladaptation risks.
A simplified version offers a range of recommendations for advancing sensitive climate action across diverse settings by exploring necessary questions and actions mindful of specific threats while emphasizing prioritization to minimize maladaptation risks.