Anyone who thinks that climate change results only in natural disasters and hotter summers is very much mistaken. The International Monetary Fund reports that weather conditions also affect armed conflicts, especially in countries classified as fragile.

The World Bank reviews the list of countries classified as "fragile and conflict-affected states" every year. There are currently 39 of them, of which as many as 21 are African countries. This means, therefore, that one in five countries in the world falls into this group. The International Monetary Fund has examined whether climate change has an impact on armed conflict in these countries, Gazeta Wyborcza reports.

The IMF report was released on Wednesday 30 August. It shows that climate change does not cause new armed conflicts, but exacerbates existing wars. In addition, it deepens problems resulting from them, such as extreme poverty and hunger.

According to the IMF, the number of deaths caused by wars could increase by almost 10% by 2060 in countries engulfed in armed conflict, while climate change could push an additional 50 million people in these countries into hunger.

The IMF reports that in fragile states, natural disasters affect at least three times as many people as in countries considered sustainable. Natural disasters, on the other hand, cause displacement of people twice as often as in countries considered stable. As we read in Gazeta Wyborcza, more frequent extreme weather events (e.g. heatwaves) threaten human health, damage productivity and jobs in key economy sectors such as agriculture and construction.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that the negative impact of climate change is undeniable, world leaders are increasingly losing their determination to combat it due to the economic downturn. For this reason, African leaders are calling for richer countries to help them adapt to the climate crisis and facilitate their transition to low-carbon energy.

As reported by Gazeta Wyborcza, discussions on the subject, which would lead to a unified position on climate, are planned during the African Climate Summit. It will take place from 4 to 6 September, that is before the UN climate summit, COP28, in Dubai, which starts at the end of November.

It should be emphasised that Russia's war in Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 2022, only exacerbates climate change. The conflict unfortunately diverts public attention away from caring for the planet and the environment.

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused significant environmental and climate damage that will take years of work by the international community to make up for. Actions of a narrowly defined military nature account for only about 0.5% of the total climate costs, which include, among others, emissions from forest and built-up area fires, war-forced migrations, destruction of energy infrastructure, the cost of reconstruction and Ukraine's interrupted green transition," Kamil Lipinski, an analyst from the climate and energy team at the Polish Economic Institute, told Gazeta Wyborcza in an interview.

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza