Integrated assessment of climate-related security risks for peace and security in Blue Nile, Sudan, and their gender dimensions

United Nations 1 year ago

The Blue Nile State in Sudan is grappling with a severe and escalating crisis, marked by an intensifying conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023. This conflict has displaced 8.7 million people, including 4.6 million children by December 2024, with 336,710 seeking refuge in Blue Nile State. This situation has exacerbated existing intercommunal tensions and complicated the management of natural resources, which are already under strain from climate change impacts. The report recommends six strategic actions to tackle the immediate and long-term challenges in Blue Nile State: Contribute to stabilization and build foundations for longer-term peacebuilding: This involves facilitating community-based peace dialogues, supporting local peace committees, and ensuring climate-sensitive humanitarian efforts to address the dynamic conflict. Promote Climate-Smart Livelihoods: Focus on sustainable, community-driven, and scientifically informed livelihood initiatives, specifically targeting women, IDPs, and other marginalized groups. Strengthen Community-Based Conservation: Support the protection, conservation, and restoration of natural ecosystems through inclusive, community-led efforts that respect local and indigenous knowledge. Establish Inclusive Governance for Natural Resources: Create governance structures that integrate the voices and leadership of all community members, especially those typically excluded, to ensure equitable resource management and conflict prevention. Enhance Protections Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV): Implement comprehensive measures to address SGBV within resource-dependent roles, improving legal awareness, safety infrastructure, and effective response systems. Foster Transboundary Environmental Cooperation: Promote collaboration with neighboring countries on the sustainable management of shared ecosystems, which is crucial for regional peace and environmental stability. These recommendations aim to establish a robust framework that not only navigates the current crisis but also paves the way for sustainable peace and development, aligning local efforts with broader regional and international goals for resilience and conflict resolution.
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layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 20 minutes ago



Europe’s sustainable construction agenda is moving from voluntary guidance to enforceable delivery. The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requires every member state to produce a National Building Renovation Plan, making retrofit central to climate policy, housing policy and public finance. The priority is no longer isolated energy upgrades, but whole life carbon, life cycle cost and building lifecycle performance across existing stock. Decarbonisation will need to protect households exposed to energy poverty, particularly in social housing, if energy-efficient buildings, low carbon building upgrades and net zero carbon buildings are to gain lasting political support.

A possible UK-EU emissions trading link would strengthen carbon pricing across construction supply chains. Cement, steel, glass and insulation manufacturers face sharper scrutiny as embodied carbon moves from disclosure to procurement risk. Whole life carbon assessment, lifecycle assessment and environmental product declarations (EPDs) are becoming essential tools for clients seeking credible low carbon design and sustainable material specification. The market signal is clear: low carbon construction materials, low embodied carbon materials, green building materials and renewable building materials are shifting from niche products to strategic assets.

Planning remains a major constraint. UK local authorities continue to miss decision deadlines despite wider use of planning performance agreements, exposing a gap between policy ambition and delivery capacity. Faster housing, green infrastructure and sustainable urban development depend on a consenting system able to assess environmental sustainability in construction without slowing investable projects. Sustainable building design, eco-design for buildings and sustainable design must be embedded early, not retrofitted after approval.

The direction of travel favours net zero whole life carbon, circular economy and circular economy in construction principles. Resource efficiency in construction, embodied carbon in materials, end-of-life reuse in construction and circular construction strategies will increasingly define competitiveness. Frameworks such as BREEAM and BREEAM v7 will have growing influence as clients seek evidence for carbon footprint reduction, carbon neutral construction and decarbonising the built environment. The winners will turn regulation into scalable retrofit, low-impact construction and eco-friendly construction; the laggards will struggle as the carbon footprint of construction becomes a financial, regulatory and reputational liability.

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