The South West Asia and North Africa region (SWANA) is grappling with the climate crisis –rising temperatures, sea-level rise, water mismanagement, desertification, extreme heatwaves, and more frequent droughts and flash floods. Several countries face acute water stress and agricultural collapse, and SWANA is the most water-stressed region in the world, with less than a tenth of the global average water availability per person – a scarcity sharply worsened by climate change, which intensifies drought and degrades surface-water systems.
WATER STRESS
About 83% of the region’s population is exposed to extremely high water stress – the highest share of any region – and SWANA holds only around 1% of the world’s freshwater for roughly 6% of its people. Twelve of the seventeen most water-stressed countries worldwide are in the region, and climate change is projected to deepen scarcity further.
Climate change is intensifying already fragile socio-economic systems across SWANA, where it intersects with protracted conflicts, displacement, authoritarian governance, economic inequality and weak public services. These overlapping crises disproportionately affect the most marginalised – displaced populations, smallholder farmers, informal workers, and women in conflict-affected areas.
WARMING & HEAT
In 2024 the region recorded its hottest year on record, with average temperatures about 1.08°C above the 1991–2020 baseline (peaking at +1.64°C in Algeria) and several countries exceeding 50°C; more than 300 people died and around 3.8 million were affected by extreme events. Warming is running at roughly twice the global rate; under high emissions, parts of the Arabian Peninsula could warm by up to 9°C by 2100, while only about 60% of the region is covered by early-warning systems.
Ongoing conflict and occupation drive climate injustice in SWANA. Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory causes environmental harm – destroying land and infrastructure, contaminating resources, as well as denying Palestinians’ access to land, water and other natural resources. Prolonged conflicts like Yemen’s, fueled by Global North arms sales and militarization policies, deepen instability and weaken local resilience. Despite facing greater displacement and economic hardship, women remain underrepresented in climate decision-making, with gender issues often overlooked.
CONFLICT & ENVIRONMENT
UN Environment Programme assessments (2024 and 2025) documented an estimated 39 million tonnes of conflict debris by mid-2024 – over 107 kg for every square metre of Gaza – rising substantially since, alongside the collapse of water and sewage systems. UNEP describes the pollution of soil, water and air as “unprecedented,” warning that recovery of freshwater systems, soil and ecosystems is essential for food and water security.
Despite challenges, climate justice momentum is growing in SWANA. Youth and feminist movements are mobilising for water justice, food sovereignty, and environmental rights, and demanding systemic change and greater accountability in responding to the climate crisis. At the policy level, countries are adopting climate strategies and updating their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), creating engagement opportunities – though inclusion remains limited.
Regional forums such as the League of Arab States, the Union for the Mediterranean, and COP-hosting roles (Egypt’s COP27, the UAE’s COP28) have raised climate visibility, but more progress is needed toward justice-oriented action. Global developments, including progress made in COP30 in Belém on loss and damage, just transitions, and adaptation finance, are very relevant to the region. There is increasing space to advance community-led adaptation, strengthen civil society participation, and promote intersectional, rights-based climate solutions, while cross-regional initiatives provide opportunities to drive change at scale.
Civic space is highly restricted across SWANA, with activists – especially environmental defenders, women’s rights advocates, and youth leaders – facing surveillance, criminalisation, or exile. Despite this, movements persist. Oxfam supports women’s rights groups, youth organisations, and civil society to build collective power, amplify grassroots voices, and engage in climate dialogues. We partner with the Arab Feminist NGOs Network, which works on feminist climate justice and represents the region’s women in the Women and Gender Constituency of the UNFCCC, and we have supported Local Conferences of Youth (LCOY), including the first ever in the OPT, organised by the Arab Youth Green Voices Network.
Our priority is capacity-building for youth, women, and girls to promote climate justice and gender-responsive policies, while strengthening cross-border solidarity and support for displaced and stateless communities affected by climate change.
Climate finance in SWANA is marked by severe inequality. Needs are large and growing, yet the region receives a disproportionately low share of international climate finance despite facing significant climate risks.
CLIMATE FINANCE
North African countries alone need an estimated USD 280 billion by 2030 for mitigation and adaptation, with a USD 10–30 billion annual gap – yet the region received only about USD 16 billion in climate finance in 2019–2020, against USD 293 billion for East Asia and the Pacific. Most of what arrives is loans rather than grants, deepening debt distress, and funding is concentrated in a few countries (Morocco and Egypt took the bulk of approved finance), bypassing fragile and conflict-affected states.
In SWANA, wealthy countries drive large infrastructure investments while fragile states struggle to access basic adaptation funding. Conflict-affected areas like Yemen are systematically underfunded, and others, such as the OPT, face political barriers. Funding often bypasses local actors and reinforces top-down models. Act for Climate Justice advocates for locally accessible, grant-based finance, stronger civil society involvement, and fairer funding systems with a focus on gender-transformative and conflict-sensitive programming, that enable communities – especially women, youth, and displaced people – to shape resilience efforts.
Local adaptation – such as climate‑resilient agriculture and water management – is vital in SWANA, where climate impacts, water scarcity, and land degradation threaten livelihoods and food security. Communities are developing their own strategies, often based on traditional knowledge. Oxfam supports these efforts by improving water access, promoting sustainable agriculture, and diversifying livelihoods, including initiatives in the OPT like climate‑resilient crops, hydroponics, advanced irrigation, and ecological farming.
SWANA’s energy transition is hindered by fossil‑fuel dependence, geopolitical pressures, and unequal access. While renewables are growing, they often benefit exports or elites, and political unrest and economic fragility limits sustainable progress. In conflict areas, damaged infrastructure and resource constraints deepen energy insecurity. As major exporters and key players in OPEC, many countries in the region depend on fossil-fuel revenues even as they face the urgent need to transition.
A just transition must be inclusive–supporting workers, reducing energy poverty, and creating alternative livelihoods. Act for Climate Justice focuses on vulnerable groups, especially women. Together with the Arab Feminist NGOs Network, Act for Climate Justice has supported capacity-building and networking on climate and gender supporting capacity-building including the network’s JET working group on energy access. This work promotes equitable partnerships, amplifies diverse voices, and encourages action toward a fair energy transition aiming to drive action from national and regional stakeholders.