Somali President Calls for Scaled-Up Climate Finance at Africa Climate Summit
At the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged the international community to significantly increase climate finance “at an adequate scale and on appropriate terms,” stressing that Africa’s development and global decarbonization are inseparable.
The president highlighted Somalia’s acute vulnerability to climate change despite contributing almost nothing to global emissions. He pointed to the devastating 2021–2023 drought, which affected 7.8 million people — nearly half of Somalia’s population — leading to widespread food insecurity, livelihood loss, and mass displacement.
President Mohamud also showcased Somalia’s recent climate milestones, including the Green Somalia Initiative to plant 10 million trees, a $10 million pledge to the Great Green Wall, the establishment of a National Climate Fund, and a $100 million Green Climate Fund partnership launched in 2024. Somalia also became the first East African country to submit its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 3.0.
“The climate crisis is exacting a severe toll on the Somali people,” he said, calling on global partners to operationalize loss and damage mechanisms and turn pledges into “predictable, timely disbursements that reach frontline countries like Somalia directly.”
The president was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama, Environment Minister Lt. Gen. Bashir Mohamed Jama, Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali (Dhaay), Finance Minister Bihi Iman Egeh, and Somalia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Abdullahi Warfa. Officials described the presence as a demonstration of Somalia’s “united front” on climate leadership.
Somalia shows leadership by linking climate justice with global responsibility.
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