Climate, Peace and Security in DRC

In a new Fact Sheet from the joint NUPI and SIPRI Climate-related Peace and Security Risks Project (CPSR), the team explore the nexus between climate change, peace, and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Published: November 29, 2023 Cedric H. de Coning Asha Ali Ingvild Brox Brodtkorb Minoo Koefoed Thor Olav Iversen Anne Funnemark Florian Krampe Kyungmee Kim Katongo Seyuba Kheira Tarif

The dual impact of climate change and the global green energy transition risks deepening divisions over resource management and fostering intercommunal conflict over resources such as land and water. Climate- related security risks threaten to undermine human security through increased livelihood and food insecurity and changing patterns of transhumance.

Read the fact sheet here or download it as a PDF here!

The main findings are:

The impacts of climate change on agriculture, including temperature rises and precipitation variability, are eroding productivity and leading to heightened food insecurity and vulnerability in the DRC.
Armed and intercommunal conflict in the east of the DRC is a key driver of displacement, causing mass population movement and rendering local communities, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The last five years have also seen a dramatic increase in the number of registered displacements caused by storms and floods.
Climate change mitigation efforts and the sustainable management of forest resources are being impeded by ongoing conflict, corruption and instability in the country. Illegal activities by armed groups, such as illicit mining, logging and wildlife trading, are contributing to environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.
The green energy transition is creating immense global demand for access to minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium, manganese, rare earth elements and zinc. The operation of state and non-state armed groups in illegal mining and resource extraction is undermining natural resource governance, causing environmental damage and exacerbating communal tensions.

The DRC has been framed by President Félix Tshisekedi as a ‘solution country’ for climate change, providing essential inputs for green technologies and storing a large proportion of the world’s carbon dioxide in the Congo Basin. Yet the country is also characterized by deep and persistent conflict, particularly in its eastern regions. In order to mitigate climate-related security risks, the United Nations, international organizations, climate financiers, partner countries and the DRC authorities need to cohere through conflict-sensitive policies on mitigation and adaption and the green energy transition.