This CSDN Meeting Report presents the discussions from a June 2026 online Geographic Meeting on the climate-peace-security nexus, drawing on experiences from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen. Peacebuilding practitioners and EU officials examined how climate and environmental pressures interact with conflict dynamics across the region.
Climate pressures rarely drive conflict on their own. They compound existing governance failures, displacement and competition over scarce resources, and the discussion focused on where practical cooperation, on water management, waste disposal, disaster risk reduction, can create openings despite this. In Yemen, water sources and population needs do not always align with conflict frontlines, which has at times pushed opposing sides to cooperate on shared infrastructure. Syria’s political transition is opening space for reconstruction while introducing new risks for civil society groups working on gender equality or human rights. In Gaza, participants were direct about the limits of this approach: local dialogue cannot substitute for political action when access to basic infrastructure is itself blocked.
The report closes with five recommendations for EU engagement, including longer funding cycles and a broader understanding of what contributes to human security.
Read the report for a full account of where climate programming can support peacebuilding in the region, and where its limits lie.
