A group of conflict-affected countries is pushing at COP29 to double financial aid to more than $20 billion a year to combat natural disaster and security crises facing their populations, according to a letter seen by Reuters .

The group is one of several proposals at climate talks in Azerbaijan this week for funds to better prepare for the impacts of extreme weather, as countries try to agree on a new annual funding target.

Island nations, for example, argue that climate change threatens their very existence as seas rise, while rainforest countries say they need more money to protect their vast carbon pools.

Countries mired in conflict and its aftermath say they have struggled to access private investment because it is seen as too risky. That means UN funds are even more essential for their populations, many of whom have been displaced by war and weather.

In response, Azerbaijan’s COP29 presidency will launch a new “Climate Vulnerable Countries Network” on Friday, which includes a number of countries belonging to the g7+, an intergovernmental group of fragile countries that sent the first call.

The network aims to campaign as a group with climate finance institutions; building capacity in Member States so that they can absorb more funding; and create country platforms so investors can more easily find high-impact projects to invest in, said think tank ODI Global, which helped countries create the network.

Burundi, Chad, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Timor-Leste and Yemen have already joined the initiative, but all 20 members of the g7+ have been invited.

“My hope is that it will create a real platform for countries that need it,” Abdullahi Khalif, the chief negotiator for Somalia, said on the sidelines of the talks in Baku.

The move follows a letter sent by the G7+ to the presidency of the United Nations, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and the COP last month, and provided exclusively to Reuters, calling for more support.

In it, the group called for an explicit commitment in any final financing agreement at COP29 to double funding to help them adapt to climate change to at least $20 billion a year by 2026.

While 45 of the world’s countries have their own UN negotiating group, which includes some of the G7+ countries, conflict-affected states face distinct struggles, advocates said.

“A flood situation in South Sudan or Somalia creates more catastrophes than it would in any other developing country,” said Habib Mayar, deputy secretary-general of the g7+, who helped coordinate the letter.

According to UNICEF data, a child born in South Sudan as of 2013 was 38 times more likely in 2022 to be internally displaced by climate-related disasters than a European or North American child.

However, conflict-affected countries received only $8.4 billion in climate finance in 2022 — about a quarter of what was needed, according to a 2024 analysis by ODI Global.

“It is clear that climate funds are not doing enough to support the world’s most vulnerable people,” said Mauricio Vazquez, ODI Global Policy Head for Global Risks and Resilience.