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When clean energy brings peace and security

January 23^rd, 2026

The impacts of climate change are being felt most acutely in places already grappling with conflict and instability. When climate shocks lead to challenges like water scarcity, disrupted livelihoods or damaged infrastructure, they deepen existing inequalities, strain relationships between communities, and weaken trust in institutions, creating conditions that can fuel disputes and tensions.

It's estimated that 50 percent of the global population facing extreme poverty lives in countries with limited capacity to withstand or adapt to climate change. In these contexts, the challenge is not only to respond to crises as they unfold, but also to strengthen the systems that help people adapt, recover and rebuild. Many of them without access to energy.

Today, 685 million people live without electricity, the majority of them in regions already vulnerable to conflict. Over 2 billion don't have clean cooking fuels, relying on polluting alternatives that affect health, livelihoods and resilience.

In regions where climate impacts and insecurity intersect, clean energy empowers communities to recover and restore stability despite the threats posed by climate change.

Powering essential services when systems collapse

In conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable settings, the breakdown of basic services is often one of the earliest and most destabilizing impacts of crisis. Hospitals without electricity cannot store vaccines or run life-saving equipment. Schools close early or stop functioning altogether.

Clean energy offers a way to restore these services quickly and reliably.

In Afghanistan’s remote provinces, solar-powered health centres and schools have become anchors of stability in areas where access to the grid is limited and disruptions are frequent. Solar photovoltaic systems have been installed across remote and fragile locations in 19 provinces, ensuring reliable power supply, especially to hospitals and schools.

Local jobs have also been created through the installation and maintenance of solar systems. Together, these initiatives have directly benefited over 900,000 people, reinforcing service delivery, strengthening resilience and supporting communities as they rebuild in the face of ongoing challenges.

Solar power ensures that schools can stay open in the aftermath of crisis.

A child receives oral medication. An adult hand holds a dropper above the child's open mouth. The child wears a brown hooded jacket with a paw print design. Blue background. — Reliable power supply ensures that hospitals can properly store vaccines and important medicines requiring cold storage.

Solar installations in rural Afghanistan.

Women apprentices building a solar oven.

In Al-Qabaitah, women work to produce solar ovens, preparing them for community distribution.

Easing pressure on scarce resources

As climate impacts intensify, competition over natural resources becomes a growing source of tension. Access to water, in particular, is closely tied to both livelihoods and stability. In Sudan, rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and prolonged dry spells have intensified competition over water and land, especially in areas where local communities host displaced populations.

Clean energy is helping ease this pressure. In partnership with Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), solar-powered water systems and irrigation solutions are being installed, ensuring reliable water for households and farmers. These reduce dependence on generators powered by fossil fuels, which are costly, polluting and prone to supply disruptions.

When both host communities and displaced families can access water and sustain basic economic activity, everyday tensions are reduced and coexistence becomes more viable.

Expanding livelihoods and women’s agency

Clean energy also opens pathways to income and skills, particularly in settings where economic opportunities are limited. In Yemen, years of protracted conflict combined with climate stress have eroded livelihoods and have limited access to affordable energy, particularly for women. Clean energy initiatives focusing on skill development are shifting that balance.

Supported by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief), women-led solar enterprises are creating livelihoods while expanding access to clean, affordable energy at the household level. Solar lanterns and clean cooking solutions reduce energy costs, improve indoor air quality and make homes safer after dark. Reliable power also means that markets can remain open during the night, improving livelihoods.

A farmer smiles, holding a hoe over his shoulder in a sunny field. He wears a patterned turban and light-colored robe. Irrigation canals run through the green crops. A donkey grazes in the background. — Availability of water ensures that communities can sustain farm activity.

Solar panels stand in a field beside a ditch with running water. A person in a white robe walks beside the ditch. A small straw hut sits between the ditch and the solar panels. — Solar-based irrigation systems reduce dependence on fossil fuel powered generators to access water.

Five women stand in a field. One woman balances a woven basket filled with grain on her head. Another holds a harvested grain stalk and a tool. They wear colorful patterned wraps and head coverings. Tall grasses and a lone tree are in the background under a clear blue sky. — With adequate resources, host and displaced communities can live in harmony.

Supporting climate mitigation alongside social cohesion

In post-conflict societies, climate mitigation efforts are most effective when they are closely linked to local economic realities. Clean energy transitions that support jobs and local enterprise strengthen confidence and long-term stability.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, decades after conflict, the country continues to navigate an economic transition while addressing climate mitigation goals. Energy systems that are heavily reliant on coal present environmental, economic and social challenges, particularly in communities dependent on carbon-intensive industries.

With support from the Government of Sweden, energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy investments including access to finance have enabled businesses to modernize and lower emissions without compromising on their competitiveness. These efforts have reduced CO2 emissions by about 16,200 tonnes while improving working and living conditions for more than 670,000 people.

By linking climate mitigation with inclusive growth, communities are better positioned to adapt to change, reducing the risk of economic disruptions deepening existing divides or fuelling discontent.

A woman stands next to a red Thermoflux heating system in a basement. The woman is fair-skinned with curly blonde hair and wears a black dress. She looks at the heating system and has her hands clasped. The basement has exposed pipes and a concrete wall. — Providing financial support to carbon-intensive businesses helps them transition to clean energy without compromising on competitiveness.

Aerial view of a white building with a red cross on its facade. The building has a red tile roof and is connected to a larger white building with a red roof. A white van is parked in the courtyard. — A Red Cross building in the municipality of Orašje provided heating through energy efficient design.

Building the evidence for energy, peace and security

As clean energy investments expand in fragile and conflict-affected settings, there is growing recognition of the need to better understand how energy access shapes peace and security outcomes. Analyses by UNDP, the European Institute of Peace, and the Environmental Law Institute demonstrates how renewable energy can act offer peace dividends, strengthening service delivery, supporting livelihoods and reducing pressures linked to resource competition. This evidence base is important for guiding climate finance towards interventions that deliver both climate and peacebuilding impacts.

A foundation for peace

Across diverse contexts, the contribution of clean energy to peace and security lies in its ability to strengthen the systems people rely on every day. For countries and regions facing the intersecting challenges of climate change and fragility, clean energy is emerging as a tool for resilience, inclusion and peace.