Climate Finance for Peace - Bridging the Funding Gap
When: 29 April 2026 | 16:40-17:25
Format: Panel discussion
Venue: Plenary
Climate adaptation financing in fragile and conflict-affected settings remains one of the most complex and consequential challenges in making the UN system fit for purpose on climate, peace and security. The countries and communities most exposed to climate-driven security risks are, paradoxically, among the least able to access the financing they need to adapt, build resilience and sustain peace. Structural barriers — from risk aversion and fiduciary requirements to institutional silos and absorptive capacity constraints — continue to prevent climate finance from reaching those who need it most, at the scale and speed the moment demands.
This closing plenary session brings together some of the most influential actors in the international financing architecture — spanning multilateral climate funds, development finance institutions and the UN system — to examine these structural barriers honestly and to explore what genuine reform would look like. It asks how financing mechanisms can be redesigned to better reflect the realities of fragile and conflict-affected contexts, and what innovative approaches — from blended finance and risk-sharing instruments to conflict-sensitive programming and peacebuilding-climate finance linkages — are showing the most promise.
Bringing together senior representatives from across the multilateral climate finance architecture, development finance institutions and the UN system, the session charts a course towards a more coherent, accessible and conflict-sensitive international financing landscape. As the conference draws to a close, this session grounds the high-level political commitments of the day in the financial and institutional realities that will ultimately determine whether ambition translates into impact.
Guiding questions:
- What are the most significant structural barriers preventing climate finance from reaching fragile and conflict-affected settings at the necessary scale — and what reforms to eligibility criteria, risk frameworks and fiduciary requirements would make the greatest difference?
- What innovative financing mechanisms and approaches — including blended finance, risk-sharing instruments and peacebuilding-climate finance linkages — are showing the most promise in unlocking investment in the most challenging contexts?
- How can multilateral climate funds, development finance institutions and the UN system better coordinate to ensure that finance flows are commensurate with the scale and urgency of climate-driven security risks in fragile and conflict-affected settings?
Speakers:
- Ellizabeth Spehar, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding and Peace Support, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (tbc - but unlikely)
- Selwin Hart, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and Just Transition -- would likely be his deputy attending (tbc)
- Shubham Chaudhuri, Director, Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group, World Bank (tbc)
- Mikko Ollikainen, Head of Adaptation Fund (tbc)
- DPR Azerbaijan (tbc)
Return to the BCSC 2026 New York Agenda.