Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Somalia’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, H.E. Lt. Gen. Bashir Mohamed Jama, has urged the international community to address the inseparable link between climate change, mobility, and security challenges across Africa. He was speaking at the African Climate Summit 2 (ACS2) during a high-level session titled “Solutions on Climate, Mobility, Peace and Security in Africa”, hosted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the African Union Commission (AUC), the UN-AU framework, and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

The minister outlined Somalia’s acute climate vulnerabilities, noting that recurrent droughts, flash floods, and the resulting loss of livelihoods have displaced over three million people in the country.

“For Somalia, climate change is not just an environmental issue—it is a human security issue,” Lt. Gen. Jama told delegates.

He emphasized four priorities for Somalia and similarly affected fragile states: building resilient communities, turning climate-induced mobility into an economic and social asset, linking peacebuilding with climate action, and ensuring climate finance mechanisms are tailored to the realities of countries facing both insecurity and environmental stress.

Lt. Gen. Jama’s remarks reinforced Somalia’s consistent call for international partners to design flexible, conflict-sensitive climate financing models that can support recovery and adaptation in unstable contexts. He argued that Africa’s climate crisis cannot be decoupled from peace and security considerations, especially in nations where climate shocks exacerbate displacement, resource conflicts, and extremist recruitment.

The session brought together African leaders, development institutions, and multilateral partners to shape collaborative responses to climate-driven mobility and insecurity. Somalia’s interventions underscored its determination to influence global policy debates ahead of COP negotiations, positioning the country as a critical voice on climate resilience in fragile settings.