Somalia Calls for Greater Climate Finance to Address Climate-Related Security Threats

GOOBJOOG NEWS | ANTALYA: Somalia has called for increased international climate financing to help vulnerable countries address growing security and humanitarian threats linked to climate change, warning that recurrent droughts, floods and displacement are deepening instability.

Somalia’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lt. Gen. Bashir Mohamed Jama, made the appeal during a high-level ministerial meeting on Climate, Peace and Security held on Thursday in Antalya, Türkiye, on the sidelines of the COP31 climate conference.

The meeting, hosted by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, brought together ministers from Somalia, Chad, Yemen, South Sudan and Syria, alongside senior representatives of the African Union, United Nations, World Bank, European Union and international climate finance institutions.

In his address, Jama described climate change as both a humanitarian and security challenge for Somalia, saying repeated droughts, flooding and displacement were undermining livelihoods and increasing the vulnerability of communities.

He outlined Somalia’s approach to addressing the relationship between climate change, peace and security, focusing on identifying emerging risks, implementing national plans and ensuring tangible results on the ground.

The minister said the government had integrated climate priorities into key national policy frameworks, including the National Transformation Plan, the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0). Somalia is also developing a national Climate, Peace and Security Strategy.

However, he warned that translating policy commitments into meaningful action remained a major challenge, particularly because of limited access to predictable and flexible climate financing for fragile and conflict-affected countries.

“The biggest challenge is how to turn commitments and policies into large-scale action, particularly by ensuring access to flexible and reliable climate finance for vulnerable and conflict-affected countries,” the minister said.

He urged international partners to expand climate financing, strengthen cooperation and support locally driven projects to improve community resilience and reduce security risks associated with environmental pressures.

Somalia is among the countries most exposed to climate shocks, with recurrent droughts and floods affecting agriculture, livestock production, water supplies and livelihoods. Competition over scarce natural resources can also aggravate tensions in communities already affected by conflict and displacement.

The country’s participation in COP31 reflects efforts to secure international support for climate adaptation and resilience programmes as it seeks to address the growing intersection between environmental challenges, humanitarian needs and security.