Climate change and conflict are two of the most pressing crises of our time. While each is devastating on its own, their intersection creates a humanitarian emergency that is especially acute in fragile states. For humanitarian actors like MOAS, understanding and addressing the overlap is essential to saving lives and building resilience.
How Climate Change and Conflict Feed Each Other
Climate change acts as a threat multiplier, deepening existing fault lines in societies. It usually doesn’t directly cause wars, but it amplifies risks. When droughts, floods, and extreme weather events destroy crops and livelihoods, people lose income and security. This can lead to migration, competition for dwindling resources, and ultimately, violence.
Conflict, in turn, undermines the very systems (governance, infrastructure, social cohesion) that communities need to adapt to a changing climate, rendering recovery from climate shocks and building resilience nearly impossible. Further, conflict destroys ecosystems and releases vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change. Here is a more detailed look at this feedback loop.
How Climate Change Feeds Conflict
Economic Shocks and Agricultural Decline: Climate change reduces agricultural productivity through drought, unpredictable rainfall, and land degradation. This loss of income pushes families into poverty and undermines food security, especially in rural and agrarian societies. In Somalia and South Sudan, for example, climate-driven crop failures have led to cattle raiding, local violence, and the breakdown of traditional livelihoods.
Resource Competition and Migration: As usable land and water become scarce due to climate change, people are forced to move, often into already stressed communities. This migration can spark tensions between newcomers and host populations, particularly in areas where ethnic or religious divisions already exist. In Sudan’s Darfur region, drought and desertification drove nomadic herders and settled farmers into direct competition.
Social Strain and Political Fragility: When governments are unable to respond to environmental and economic shocks, public trust erodes. In Syria, the worst drought on record (2006–2011) devastated rural livelihoods, forcing over a million people to migrate to cities. The resulting social pressure contributed to unrest and ultimately led to civil war.
Conflict’s Impact on the Climate and Resilience
Conflict not only magnifies the impacts of climate change but also destroys resilience and accelerates environmental harm.
Environmental Destruction: Warfare often involves the deliberate destruction of natural resources like burning forests, poisoning water sources, and destroying farmland. Such “scorched earth” tactics release stored carbon, eliminate vital vegetation, and worsen soil erosion, making it harder for ecosystems and communities to recover.
Disrupted Adaptation and Recovery: Conflict devastates essential infrastructure, including water systems, roads, and health facilities, rendering it nearly impossible for affected populations to adapt to climate shocks or rebuild after disasters, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to further conflict. In Sudan and Syria, for example, the collapse of basic services has left millions without access to clean water, healthcare, or safe shelter.
Health Crises: Climate-related disasters increase the spread of waterborne and vector-borne diseases, worsen malnutrition, and expose populations to heat stress and respiratory illness. Conflict destroys healthcare infrastructure, limits access to care, and disrupts vaccination and disease surveillance systems.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Tanks, aircraft, and supply convoys burn vast amounts of fossil fuels. The destruction of urban infrastructure and industrial sites releases additional emissions. The environmental footprint of conflict is often overlooked, yet its impacts can persist for decades.
In the given examples, the interplay between climate stress and conflict creates a feedback loop. Simply put, climate change fuels conflict, and conflict worsens the climate crisis and our capacity to respond to it.
How MOAS Is Responding
MOAS is responding to the crises in Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and Ukraine. In Yemen and Somalia, we provide nutritional aid, and both medical and nutritional assistance are delivered to communities devastated by conflict and climate shocks in Sudan. Our most recent shipment of therapeutic food has recently departed the US and is expected to arrive at Port Sudan by the end of the month. It will offer vital support to approximately 4,500 children and mothers.
Alone, We Are Only Fighting Symptoms – Together, We Must Fight the Causes
While humanitarian aid is essential, it only tackles the immediate symptoms of a much deeper crisis. To break the cycle, we must:
- Support peacebuilding, good governance, and social cohesion.
- Accelerate climate action by reducing emissions, investing in adaptation, and supporting sustainable livelihoods in vulnerable regions.
- Build infrastructure and systems that can withstand both environmental and political shocks to strengthen resilience.
The intersection of climate change and conflict is a tragic reality affecting millions. Humanitarian organisations like MOAS save lives, but lasting change depends on a global commitment to peace, climate justice, and resilience. We must go beyond merely treating symptoms and work together to address the root causes, ensuring a safer, more sustainable future for everyone.
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