Multistakeholder Pledge: Climate Action

Target

By 2027, hosting developing countries and communities in climate-vulnerable, fragile, and conflict-affected settings receive improved access to climate action, including capacity-building and financing. Refugees, other forcibly displaced and stateless people living in these settings receive comparable support for climate action as nationals, through their inclusion in all relevant laws, policies, plans and programming.

Key outcomes

Pledges made as part of the Climate Action Multistakeholder Pledge will contribute to strengthening the protection, preparedness, and resilience of refugees, other forcibly displaced and stateless people, and their host communities to climate impacts now and in the future.

The pledge encourages diverse stakeholders to take specific actions in the following thematic areas:

• Scaled-up accessible finance: Financial actors including donor countries, International Financial Institutions/Multilateral Development Banks, development, philanthropic and private sector actors will include refugees, other forcibly displaced and stateless people, and host communities within the scope of new and existing climate action financing decisions, windows, mechanisms, strategies and/or (sub-)windows including those living in fragile and conflict affected situations. Pledges are also encouraged to simplify access to grants, concessional finance, and innovative sources of climate financing for these vulnerable communities.
• Inclusive laws, policies, and plans: Hosting countries and countries of origin – with support from relevant stakeholders - will include refugees, other forcibly displaced and stateless people in the design and implementation of their climate action policies and plans, supported by concrete provisions and dedicated resourcing. This includes in the development of and updates to National Adaptation Plans, Nationally Determined Contributions, Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies, Early Warning Systems, and Early Action protocols for early action and anticipatory action. Pledges under this pillar will also contribute to enhanced protection strategies and durable solutions for refugees and people displaced across borders in the context of the adverse effects of climate change.
• Project pipeline based on good practice: Stakeholders will collaborate to generate a pipeline of projects and programmes based on good practice, local, and traditional knowledge, for these climate vulnerable communities, regardless of age, gender, or diversity, to lead and work with partners to develop solutions to the most pressing climate challenges they are experiencing. Pledges will contribute to a pipeline of projects and programmes that support government priorities and plans, and may build on existing climate action initiatives in displacement settings, including for fragile and conflict affected contexts.

Pledges made towards the following UNHCR initiatives are just one of the ways stakeholders can contribute to the project pipeline thematic area, among other projects and initiatives led by UNHCR’s partners and other relevant stakeholders:

• The Environment and Climate Action Innovation Fund: UNHCR’s Environment and Climate Action Innovation (ECAI) Fund looks to develop innovative solutions to key environment and climate related challenges as identified by forcibly displaced communities experiencing them. Projects receive funding and a comprehensive support package to test and scale new ideas, to transform operational practice and enable greener and nature-positive responses.
• The Refugee Environmental Protection (REP) Fund: UNHCR's REP Fund aims to create an innovative and sustainable financing mechanism to invest in impactful reforestation and clean cooking programs in climate-vulnerable displacement situations around the world.

Pledges will be supported by cross-cutting commitments on data and knowledge, and technical and institutional capacity building to build the evidence base and strengthen the means of implementation for more inclusive and effective climate action. The pledge aims to foster commitments for fragile and conflict affected displacement contexts and recognizes the co-benefits of climate action for human rights and peace. Pledges that prioritize climate vulnerable hosting countries, as well as countries of origin, and groups with specific needs such as refugee women, children, and indigenous peoples are encouraged. 

Background

Building on the High-Level Officials Meeting (HLOM) crosscutting recommendation on climate change, and the momentum generated since COP27, UNHCR has launched a multistakeholder GRF pledge on climate action to increase ambition and implementation of commitments in climate vulnerable displacement settings. This multistakeholder pledge recognizes the generous commitments made at the 2019 GRF by host states and others and seeks to build upon these with renewed support.

Pledge description

Hosting countries are providing a global social good, while the costs and responsibilities they shoulder grow heavier due to climate change impacts on refugees and local populations. Many hosting countries, and countries of origin have contributed little to global emissions yet are being hit the hardest. At the same time, they often have less capacity to adapt, prepare for and address loss and damage, with large financing and implementation gaps particularly apparent in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Refugees, other forcibly displaced and stateless people, and their hosts possess knowledge and capacities critical to effective and inclusive climate action. However, all too often they are excluded from large-scale, long-term support and risk further marginalization. Urgent action is therefore required to scale up accessible financing and support that will enable them to develop solutions to the most pressing climate challenges in their local communities.

This multistakeholder pledge will serve as a platform to promote synergies and matching opportunities between pledging entities and other stakeholders to fulfill implementation of pledges, share best practices, and aggregate resources, tracking and accountability related to the thematic areas of climate action. The pledge will also reinforce complementarity with other GRF 2023 multistakeholder pledges that have mainstreamed climate action (including on Agriculture, Housing, Land and Property, Human Settlements, and Peacebuilding).

Leadership

• Government of Ethiopia
• Government of Denmark
• Government of Germany
• Government of Somalia

Supported by UNHCR.

Contact details

Erin Bishop, [email protected]

Calendar

• June/July 2023: Virtual pledge launch.
• July-Sept. 2023: Sub-thematic area meetings.
• Sept.- Dec. 2023: Pledge development.

Related pledges to match

GRF-00516 - Government of Ethiopia - Provide market-based and sustainable household and facility-based energy solutions for three (3) million people through promoting clean, renewable energy sources. Find out more about matching this pledge.

GRF-00501 - Government of Kenya - Inclusion of refugees in County Development Plans and area-based approaches to building resilience by mitigating the impact of protracted displacement on host communities and preparing refugees for solutions. Find out more about matching this pledge.

GRF-00669 - Government of Mauritius - Pledge relating to climate change. Find out more about matching this pledge.

GRF-00910 - Government of Rwanda - Ensure sustainable use of natural resources by providing clean and renewable energy solutions in refugee and host community households, in order to discourage the use of firewood. Find out more about matching this pledge.

GRF-00924 - Government of Rwanda - Undertake environmental protection and rehabilitation in refugee hosting areas; Build resilient refugee settlements that promote conscious land use and reduce adverse impact on environment. Find out more about matching this pledge.

GRF-00985 - Government of South Sudan - Create access to sustainable and green energy solutions for refugees and host communities by • Planting 100 million trees in line with the national reforestation programme and policy • Piloting innovative approaches to resilience and climate-smart adaptation. Support will be required to implement the Government of South Sudan national forestry policy and to facilitate the establishment of inclusive community based forestry structures for operationalization of the forest policy at the grass roots level that will involve refugees in South Sudan and the host communities. Find out more about matching this pledge.

GRF-01019 - Government of Uganda - Promote inclusive and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems. Find out more about matching this pledge.

GRF-01033 - Government of Zambia - Connect electricity to all refugee settlements and the local integration schemes. Find out more about matching this pledge.