A new ICRC report, When rain turns to dust, explores how countries enduring conflict are disproportionately affected by climate change and climate variability. As climate change alters the nature and severity of humanitarian crises, including in conflict situations, humanitarian action needs to adapt. The ICRC is committed not only to responding to life-threatening emergencies, but also to ensuring that its work has a more sustainable humanitarian impact by helping conflict-affected communities become more resilient to shocks, including those resulting from a changing climate and environment. Reducing the short- and long-term risks that people face requires early action and the implementation of measures to strengthen the resilience of people, communities, and basic services. The ICRC already conducts a broad range of activities to reinforce the resilience of communities, but its efforts need to be strengthened and refined, and systematically shaped by a contextualized understanding of short- and long-term climate risks. A deeper understanding needs to be developed, of how the transformation of the environment and competition for scarce resources in conflict situations fuel inter-communal tensions and violence. Grasping the regional implications of a changing climate is equally important and requires coordinating analyses and actions across several sectors and many different countries.

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