The UNHCR Climate Resilience Fund
The UNHCR Climate Resilience Fund
Young climate and environment activists plant a mango tree in Tongogara refugee camp. They belong to the Refugee Coalition for Climate Action (RCCA) in Tongogara. The RCCA members conduct three main activities in the camp: clean-up campaigns, tree planting and awareness raising on climate change among the refugee populations. “Tree planting is a key factor of climate action as it is the part where the earth heals” says Elie Nsala Tshikuma, a 23-year-old Congolese who arrived in Tongogara with his family in 2010.
What is the UNHCR Climate Resilience Fund and what does it support?
In line with our protection mandate and our wide operational presence, UNHCR is stepping up its efforts to ensure that forcibly displaced people fleeing from climate-fuelled crises or living in climate hotspots are protected, have access to sustainable resources, and are resilient to the impacts of climate change.
The Climate Resilience Fund will facilitate direct climate financing and action to reach refugees, stateless and displaced people as well as their host communities. Contributions to the Fund will help expand the reach and impact of climate-related interventions, allowing UNHCR to invest in projects that build resilience, mitigate risks and promote sustainable solutions in climate-vulnerable displacement settings.
Contributions to the Fund will support a range of activities in line with UNHCR‘s Focus Area Strategic Plan for Climate Action 2024-2030 and the main objectives of the Plan.
By the end of 2025, the Fund aims to raise US$100 Million.
The Fund will support activities directly linked to at least one of the four objectives of the Focus Area Strategic Plan 2024 - 2030.
The Fund will prioritize the 22 priority countries mentioned in the Focus Area Strategic Plan; however, it will not exclude other operations.
Climate and displacement
Those most affected by climate change are those who have done little to contribute to it. The climate crisis is amplifying displacement and making life harder for those already forced to flee. For instance, 70% of conflict-displaced IDPs, 40% of refugees and 60% of stateless people live in fragile and/or conflict-affected countries that are among the most vulnerable to and least ready to adapt to climate change.
What is UNHCR doing on climate change?
UNHCR, in line with its protection mandate and its wide operational presence, is stepping up its efforts to ensure that forcibly displaced people are protected, have access to sustainable resources, and are resilient to the impacts of climate change. In addition, UNHCR is making significant strides at greening its operations and reducing its CO2 footprint.
Objective areas
People fleeing persecution, violence and human rights violations occurring in relation to the adverse effects of climate change and disasters who need international protection are effectively protected.
Forcibly displaced, stateless, and their hosts have improved physical and economic means to prepare, withstand, recover and be protected from the impacts of climate change.
Forcibly displaced, stateless and their hosts have increased access to services that promote the rights-based, sustainable use of natural resources and a clean and healthy environment.
UNHCR operates sustainably with systems in place to minimize negative impacts on the environment.
Geographical scope
We have identified 22 countries* where data demonstrates the impact of the climate crisis will only get worse by 2030. However, while these countries will have priority for funding from the Climate Resilience Fund, all UNHCR operations are eligible for funding.
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Ecuador
- Ethiopia
- Honduras
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Niger
- Pakistan
- Rwanda
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Uganda
- Yemen
Criteria: What activities will the Climate Resilience Fund support?
Contributions to the Fund will fund activities directly linked to at least one of the four objective areas as outlined in the Focus Area Strategic Plan:
- International protection;
- Adaptation/access to environmentally sustainable resources;
- Resilience; and
- Mitigation/Greening UNHCR operations.
All activities to be funded are within the Global Appeal 2025. A project pitch list will serve as a guide for potential donors of the types of activities that will benefit from funding. Donors may broadly earmark for a particular sector (e.g. energy, WASH, shelter, etc.).
Overview of climate programmes
Climate resilient shelters to withstand extreme weather events, which are becoming more and more frequent with climate change.
Improving shock-responsive, climate-adaptive social protection and/or related humanitarian cash assistance.
Climate-resilient agriculture to address food insecurity and create livelihood opportunities.
Sustainable land management and restoration activities to address the impact of the humanitarian response (for example, interventions to soil degradation due to extreme floods in refugee settlement areas).
Sustainable forest management to protect from extreme weather but also to combat deforestation as a result of making space for settlements or camps.
Increasing access to solar energy, through the expansion of solar mini-grids in refugee/IDP settings. Including the solarization of water infrastructure to promote sustainability.
Providing clean cooking solutions (as an alternative to collection of firewood for fuel).
Small-scale infrastructure projects to mitigate the impact of climate change (e.g., construction of community-led reservoirs for better water management in drought-prone areas).
Activities in coordination and involvement with host communities related to peaceful co-existence in the context of scarcity of natural resources.
Greening our operations through a more environmentally sustainable and efficient supply chain and core relief items made of sustainable materials as well as transitioning our offices to be powered by solar energy.
Reporting
An annual report on activities and contributions will be published.
What is the financing mechanism?
Contributions to the Fund will be grant contributions. There is no separate financing model or mechanism as part of the Fund structure.
What level of earmarking is possible?
Flexible contributions towards climate action are most valuable and appreciated to help UNHCR respond to evolving and developing situations that may require responsive and immediate funding. Further earmarking is possible either by geographic or outcome area (e.g. Sustainable Housing and Settlements; Clean water, sanitation and hygiene; etc..).
How will contributions to the Climate Resilience Fund complement existing funding and resources available to UNHCR for supporting displaced populations?
The Climate Resilience Fund is designed to attract new and additional funding to scale up UNHCR's climate action in support of displaced and stateless people and their host communities. Contributions to the Fund will help expand the reach and impact of climate-related interventions, allowing UNHCR to invest in targeted projects that build resilience, mitigate risks, and promote sustainable solutions in climate-vulnerable displacement settings.
What is UNHCR's vision for the long-term sustainability of the Climate Resilience Fund and its supported projects?
UNHCR is committed to ensuring the Climate Resilience Fund delivers lasting impact for displaced populations exposed to climate risks. The Fund is anchored in the UNHCR Strategic Framework for Climate Action 2024-2030, reflecting a sustained, multi-year vision for addressing the climate crisis. To promote long-term sustainability, the Fund will support affected populations and prioritize projects that build local capacities, involve affected communities in design and implementation, and create synergies with national climate strategies and development plans.
Is there a target for the Climate Resilience Fund?
As outlined in the global appeal, UNHCR's climate action requirement for 2024 amounts to USD 1 Billion. However, through this Fund, UNHCR hopes to raise an initial USD 100M by 2025 to support priority operations and activities where we can demonstrate the impact of climate action on the communities that we work with and for.
How does this relate to UNHCR's Refugee Environmental Fund?
These are two different UNHCR climate initiatives under UNHCR’s Strategic Framework for Climate Action, which directs UNHCR’s response to the growing, global climate emergency.
The UNHCR Climate Resilience Fund brings together all the work UNHCR does on climate, including the Refugee Environmental Fund, which is one of the initiatives we run. The Fund represents a channel for government and private sector donors to contribute to UNHCR’s climate programming and interventions included in the 2024 Global Appeal. It is not a separate funding mechanism nor a pooled fund, but rather a tool for thematic fundraising for all the climate needs. It represents a channel for donors to contribute new resources to UNHCR’s climate programming, and to engage new supporters in the refugee cause.
The Refugee Environmental Fund is a long-term initiative that was announced in 2021 and was designed to help bring solutions to a very specific challenge we had identified linked to the environmental impact of humanitarian response (deforestation, land degradation, soil erosion...). In essence, it is a blended finance mechanism to strengthen and scale up investment in reforestation and clean cooking initiatives by linking them to carbon markets, monetizing carbon and social benefits of each project, which can be reinvested. The REP Fund initiative has raised approximately 7M USD in commitments. These are for the development of the initiative and the first set of pilot projects in East Africa (expected to be in Uganda and Rwanda). Implementation of the first set of projects is expected to commence later this year and will continue to fundraise as part of our overall fundraising efforts towards our climate programming.
For more information on the UNHCR Climate Resilience Fund contact us at: [email protected]