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UN Climate, Peace and Security Newsletter | #4 / 2025

Welcome to the UN Climate, Peace and Security Newsletter, curated by the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM) to share relevant information and updates on climate, peace and security (CPS) from around the world.


In 2025, the CSM is relaunching this newsletter in a new format, open to all and to be featured on the CSM website. Please stay tuned and feel free to share content and suggestions to help us make the revamped newsletter useful and distinctive.


In this fourth issue, we have prepared a selection of CPS-related publications, news, events, videos and blog posts that have marked the past few weeks up to and including September 2025. We hope you enjoy reading and look forward to your continued readership.


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Feature

80th UN General Assembly (UNGA80)

Climate change featured prominently throughout this year’s General Debate during the 80th UN General Assembly High-level Week, with most Member States referencing it in some form. According to a CSM count, more than 60 speakers addressed how climate impacts contribute to insecurity, instability and displacement, and over 40 described climate change as an existential threat. Leaders warned that these impacts are intensifying conflict risks, food insecurity and humanitarian crises, and cited the recent International Court of Justice advisory opinion on obligations of States in respect of climate change. While many acknowledged a wider crisis of multilateralism, they underscored that climate change and its peace and security implications demand collective action. Several tied peace, climate and justice agendas, calling for predictable and equitable financing to address these challenges.


The UN Secretary-General stated that “no army can halt rising temperatures” and observed that “we are witnessing the rise of tools […] that can drain energy, strain ecosystems, and intensify the race for critical minerals – potentially stoking instability and conflict.” On the sidelines of UNGA80, a COP29 Presidency High-Level Panel titled “Baku Hub Partnership: Innovative Climate-Peace Solutions for Conflict Affected and Vulnerable Contexts” was co-organized with IOM and joined by UNOAU and UNDP on 23 September. It aimed at advancing climate action, addressing climate migration, and promoting peacebuilding. Joint Task Forces with Chad and Guinea-Bissau to operationalize pilot projects under the Baku Climate and Peace Action Hub were announced on that occasion.

Climate Summit 2025

On 24 September, close to 100 countries — including nearly 40 Heads of State and Government — announced, committed to finalizing, or set out their commitment to implementing their new climate targets ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil (10-21 November) during the Climate Summit 2025 convened by the UN Secretary-General and the President of Brazil on the margins of UNGA80. Climate-related peace and security risks were raised by seven countries. Estonia and Denmark mentioned the linkages between climate change and peace and security. Somalia referenced displacement and insecurity. Mozambique mentioned the need for climate security for all. The United Arab Emirates emphasized that the impacts of climate change threaten the basis of international peace and security. Chad pointed out how resource-related conflict linked to climate change can interact with terrorism and announced that a pillar of their NDC 3.0's roadmap will focus on integrating the CPS nexus into financing, recognizing that climate investments contribute to conflict prevention. Finally, the President of Austria referenced active engagement in the Climate Security Mechanism.

Renewable Energy for Climate and Peace

On 24 September, a consultation on the role of renewable energy in post-conflict peacebuilding was convened by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), UNDP, and the European Institute of Peace (EIP) as part of the NYC Climate Week 2025. This event brought together practitioners and decision makers in the field of climate, energy, and peacebuilding to discuss why renewable energy is crucial in post-conflict settings and the main costs and benefits of achieving both climate and peace goals. Participants exchanged ideas and insights on advancing renewable energy in areas affected by or emerging from conflict.

Nature, Peace, Security: Forging New Pathways for Global Stability

On the sidelines of UNGA80, adelphi, WWF, Slovenia and Germany hosted a high-level breakfast discussion exploring the critical nexus between nature, peace, and security. Drawing on the latest adelphi-WWF policy brief, the event brought together representatives from UN agencies, Member States, and international organizations to advance this agenda. CSM speakers from DPPA, UNDP and UNEP kickstarted conversations which focused on mainstreaming nature in security discourse, shifting from risk to resilience, reframing risk as a collective concern, practical solutions through partnership, and nature as a foundation for peace. See the organizers’ event summary.

Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2)

The Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) took place from 8-10 September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme “Accelerating Global Climate Solutions: Financing for Africa's resilient and Green Development”. Building on the outcomes of the 6th Africa Climate Talks, CPS-related issues were formally included in the Summit agenda for the first time, through the “Climate Mobility & Security” climate action area dedicated to solutions addressing climate-related migration, conflict prevention, and peace and security across vulnerable regions, under the strategic pillar on “Showcasing African Solutions for Climate Action”.


The CSM in partnership with the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU) convened a side event titled “Bridging the Gap: Advancing Climate Action for Peace, Security and Resilience in Africa” on 9 September. It brought together around 70 participants from 17+ Member States and regional organizations as well as UN, knowledge and academia partners. Discussions underscored the central role of CPS in Africa’s resilience agenda, identifying the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and Central Africa as critical hotspots. Participants emphasized the urgency of early warning systems, climate-informed adaptation, and community resilience programmes.


The dialogue formed part of the broader engagements leading to the adoption of the “Addis Ababa Declaration on Climate Change and Call to Action” by African leaders. The Declaration is expected to include strong commitments on climate finance, resilience, governance, and the recognition of climate-induced mobility, peace, and security—marking a milestone in the political acknowledgment of the CPS agenda. The 2025 Africa Youth Climate Assembly (AYCA, 5-6 September) Addis Ababa Declaration also includes a dedicated section on CPS. During the Summit, young people from the Congo Basin adopted and issued a powerful Declaration reaffirming their commitment to addressing the interconnected challenges of CPS. Prior to this, on 5 September, the COP29 Presidency convened the Baku Climate and Peace Action Hub Vulnerability Forum as part of the UNFCCC Africa Climate Week 2025, with remarks from UNOAU and UNDP.

Africa CPS Knowledge and Practice Sharing Series

From 24-26 September, the first instalment of the “Africa CPS Knowledge and Practice Sharing Series” was co-organized by the UN System Staff College (UNSSC) together with the African Union Commission, UNOAU, the CSM, and the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) in Cairo, Egypt. This workshop dedicated to “Climate Policy and Finance for Sustaining Peace and Security” aimed to strengthen capacities for integrating CPS considerations into programming, with a particular focus on access to climate finance. It brought together policymakers and experts from across the African continent to exchange experiences, build networks, and explore pathways to address the interlinkages between climate risks and peacebuilding efforts.

Regional Dialogue on CPS in the Horn of Africa

A Regional Dialogue on CPS in the Horn of Africa took place from 16-18 September in Nairobi, Kenya. The event was organized by IGAD and the UN Office of the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa with support from the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA). It fostered dialogue on leveraging synergies, tools and best practices to integrate CPS efforts in the region. The discussions brought together experts and practitioners from the UN and IGAD as well as partner institutions to explore ways of integrating CPS considerations into peace processes and mediation efforts across the region. Sessions focused on the intersection of climate change, conflict dynamics, and peacebuilding, with case studies on Sudan and Somalia. Participants reaffirmed the AU’s leadership in advancing the CPS agenda, recognized the growing role of IGAD’s Regional Climate Security Coordination Mechanism, and underscored the importance of enhanced cooperation between the AU, IGAD, and the UN. The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to operationalize these linkages through Africa-based CPS Advisors and to align regional practice with continental and global frameworks on CPS.

Panama Climate Security Dialogue

The EU Commission Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) with support from adelphi organized a Climate Security Dialogue in Panama City from 17-18 September. It brought together a wide range of stakeholders from Central America working on CPS. Policymakers and practitioners assessed the region’s evolving challenges and exchanged views on strengthening cooperation to improve CPS engagement. This included analysis and tools related to natural resource management, environmental governance, rural development and climate adaptation, with a view to linking climate and security in adaptation plans, boost resilience through nature-based solutions, and promote inclusion of indigenous communities.

Programming for CPS: Thematic Review and Guidance Note

To support and to inform future CPS financing and programming, UNDP initiated a thematic review of its global CPS portfolio, which is funded by both climate and peacebuilding streams. Building on recent key efforts in this field, including the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) Thematic Review on Climate Security and Peacebuilding supported by the CSM (2023), the UNDP/CSM study on Climate Finance for Sustaining Peace (2021), and the Evaluation of GEF Support in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations (2020), the thematic review draws on a sample of 15 CPS projects drawn from UNDP’s peacebuilding and climate portfolios. This includes initiatives funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), bilateral partners, the PBF, the CSM, and UNDP. On 12 August, UNDP convened a webinar to validate the findings from the review and the programming guidance and distill recommendations for future programming. The event brought together perspectives from CPS programming and financing, from headquarters and regional and country levels.

Interactive CPS Timeline

The interactive CPS Timeline is now live on the Climate Security Mechanism website. Follow the milestones that have shaped how the UN and its partners understand, respond to, and lead on the links between climate change, peace and security - from the first Security Council debate in 2007 to climate COP declarations, regional hubs, and the growing network of CPS Advisors supported by the CSM. Each moment links to the original UN documents and partner decisions.

Road to UNFCCC COP30

The 2025 UN Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), more commonly known as COP30, will be the 30th UN Climate Change Conference. COP30 will be held in Belém, Brazil from 10-21 November. As in recent editions, the CSM will be maintaining a calendar of CPS-related side events at/during COP30 on the CPS Trello board. In particular, the CSM will co-organize a side event tentatively titled “Bridging the Gap: Making Climate Finance Work for the Underserved” on Wednesday 12 November (13:15-14:45 BRT, Side Event Room 3). Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks.

Publications

September 2025

August 2025

News, blog posts & recent events

September 2025

August 2025

Upcoming events

Explore the Climate, Peace and Security Trello Board calendar for a collection of forthcoming events.

The UN Climate, Peace and Security Newsletter is brought to you by the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM). The views presented here are those of the original authors and are not necessarily shared by the CSM.

 

The CSM is a joint initiative by the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO). It aims to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations and its partners to systematically analyze and address the linkages between climate change, peace and security.

 

For more information, please contact the CSM team at: csm-core@un.org. To share feedback or contributions to the next newsletter, or to (un)subscribe, please contact the CSM Secretariat at: valentin.hervouet@undp.org.

 

View past editions of the UN CPS Newsletter.

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