Enabling future investments and planning in support of Somalia’s climate adaptation (043)

Initiative Details

TAI #043  | Somalia | Requesting Organization: Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC) | Technical Experts: Climate Risk Institute (CRI) | Thematic: Climate finance governance, institutional capacity, climate finance strategy and resource mobilization

Original request / issue

MoECC requested technical assistance to develop Somalia’s first Climate Finance Strategy and strengthen institutional capacity to access, manage and coordinate climate finance. The initiative sought to address fragmented climate finance planning, limited coordination across government institutions, barriers to accessing international climate funds, and the absence of a clear framework for mobilizing and managing climate finance investments.

Observable change(s)

• MoECC now has a completed Climate Finance Strategy that provides a nationally owned framework and action plan for climate finance governance, resource mobilization, and institutional capacity development.
• Government ministries, donors, and other climate finance actors are using a shared strategy and consultation process to improve coordination around climate finance priorities and architecture.
• The Ministry of Finance formally initiated the Green Climate Fund (GCF) accreditation process, reflecting increased government commitment to managing climate finance directly.

Who changed / Who uses the result

The primary users are MoECC, the Ministry of Finance, other federal ministries, donor agencies and climate finance stakeholders engaged through the consultation process. MoECC is using the strategy as a framework for climate finance planning, while government and donor actors are using it to align priorities, coordination efforts and future investment planning.

Evidence supporting the change

• A final Climate Finance Strategy was completed, endorsed by MoECC, and developed through multiple rounds of stakeholder review and feedback.
• 58 government officials and stakeholders reported enhanced capacity to develop and implement climate-related policies and strategies, with strengthened knowledge of climate-finance governance, institutional coordination, stakeholder engagement, and climate policy processes.
• More than 50 stakeholders from 26 organizations were consulted, and the project reports evidence of an emerging climate finance coordination network involving government, donors and civil society organizations.
• The Ministry of Finance formally initiated the GCF accreditation process during implementation, supported by the strategy development process.

How EDM-CAA contributed

EDM-CAA contributed by deploying climate finance, gender and local governance expertise to co-develop the strategy with Somali institutions. The process included stakeholder consultations, climate finance analysis, gender assessment, policy development support and iterative reviews that helped build a shared understanding of climate finance priorities. Continued progress also depended on leadership from MoECC, engagement by donor partners and broader government initiatives related to climate finance reform.

Key Enabling Factor(s)

A critical enabling factor was the use of Somali experts and sustained stakeholder engagement, which helped maintain momentum despite frequent political and staff changes.

Context

Enabling future investments and planning in support of Somalia’s climate adaptation efforts

Somalia has an estimated population of about 16 million, with 80 percent of the population being youth. Roughly 60 percent of the population are nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists and 60 percent live in rural areas. Somalia continues to grapple with a fragile political system, insecurity, high levels of poverty, and climate change-related shocks coupled with the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter resulted in a GDP reduction by 1.5% in 2020 compared to the 2.9% growth experienced in 2019. The country has little historical or current responsibility for global climate change in terms of emissions, but suffers disproportionately from the climate crisis. Climate change-related droughts, intermittent floods and desert locust infestation results in loss of livestock and agricultural production, which account for more than 70% of GDP while employing millions directly and indirectly.

Goal: Through the adaptation contribution of the country’s NDC, Somalia aims to enhance its adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change through mainstreaming climate adaptation within the country’s sustainable development efforts. Priority sectors for adaptation include agriculture, water resources management, public health, disaster preparedness, coastal and marine environments, fisheries, energy, forestry, human settlements, and infrastructure such as roads and bridges. 

CAA Technical Assistance (TA)

Through the support of the Canadian Experts Climate Risk Institute, the TA aims to :

• Enhance access to additional financial resources for Somalia to fulfill its commitments. This hinges on improving the capacity to effectively mobilize and allocate funds for climate adaptation and mitigation activities. 
• Develop a National Climate Finance Strategy for Somalia to enable future investments to support implementation, while ensuring the most effective and impactful use of resources. 
• Contribute to the UNFCC Gender Action Plan’s priority area on gender balance, participation and women’s leadership and aims to promote gender-responsive project design, enhance capacity, and build partnerships for inclusive climate finance.
• Support is needed for comprehensive gender analysis and capacity building for Somalian stakeholders to mainstream gender in climate actions.
• The initiative also aims to bolster women’s leadership, particularly by supporting the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, one of the few women in Somalia’s Federal Cabinet.