MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Green Climate Fund organisation is set to pump over $100 million into the federal republic of Somalia, in a programme which will be fully implemented within the next year, officials said, as the country joins global giants in environmental conservation

Mafalda Duarte, the Green Climate Fund Executive Director, led the first-ever delegation to Somalia, where the announcement of the accelerated programme was made. Somalia is one of the countries battling desertification.

Last year, Duarte released the 50by30 vision at the UN Climate Action Summit where the creation of the fund was announced. The fund will target in USD 50 billion by 2030 – with a clear focus on helping the most vulnerable countries and communities.

According to him, GCF I’d ready to commit to a strategy of investments and readiness support of over USD 100 million to Somalia by mid-2025, as well as a long-term commitment to empower Somalia to develop country-priority projects and subsequent investments.

The team held consultative meetings with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Hamsa Abdi Barre and Environment and Climate Change Minister Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi along with Cabinet ministers, the private sector and civil society.

The project aims at providing affordable , reliable off-grid energy access to unelectrified populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The programme prioritises capital investment and technical assistance support in Somalia, accelerating disbursements of over USD 3 million for 2024-2025, with funding from GCF and other funders catalysed by GCF’s funding.

“Somalia is the second most vulnerable country to climate change in the world, despite contributing only 0.03 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. The interlinked impact of climate change and lack of security has had a devastating effect on people, causing some 43,000 excess deaths in 2022 due to drought, displacing more than six million people, pushing Somalis away from their homes into overcrowded towns and cities,” Duarte said.

“Recurrent drought and regular flooding leads to failed crops, loss of livestock and the country’s chronic food insecurity problems. GCF is committed to working with the Government of Somalia and its partners to better address the extreme vulnerability the country and its population face.”

In recent years, Somalia has managed to achieve progress in establishing political institutions , robust public financial management systems and improving security, GCF said. Duarte acknowledged significant programme made on matters climate change and action in the country.

“GCF is committed to supporting the government with what it needs, so that together with the flourishing private sector and civil society organisations it can develop priority projects and investments to deliver sustainable, integrated and impactful climate action for durable peace and prosperity.”

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world’s largest dedicated climate fund. GCF’s mandate is to foster a paradigm shift towards low emission, climate-resilient development pathways in developing countries, the organisation observes.

GCF has over 250 projects, a portfolio of USD 13.9 billion (USD 53 billion including co-financing) delivering transformative climate action in more than 129 developing countries.

It also has a readiness support programme that builds capacity and helps countries develop long-term plans to fight climate change.