Five important points addressed by President Hassan Sheikh in his COP31 speech

Five important points that President Hassan Sheikh addressed in his speech at COP31

The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, is participating in the United Nations climate change conference COP31, which is taking place in the city of Antalya in Turkey, where world leaders are discussing climate change, its financing, and measures to assist vulnerable countries facing increasingly severe climate conditions.

The 31st United Nations climate change conference opened on Monday and will run until November 20. It is attended by leaders of governments, climate experts, and international organizations, who are all discussing how to address the rising temperatures in the world.

The conference, hosted by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, focuses on strengthening global commitments to address climate change, accelerating adaptation efforts to its impacts, and increasing financial support to countries that are particularly vulnerable to the risks posed by climate change.

The President of Somalia, in a speech at the conference, called on developed countries to increase their financial support to developing countries that are severely affected by climate change.

In his speech, he stated that Somalia is among the countries that contribute little to global air pollution, yet it is one of the most severely affected by the problems arising from emissions produced by other countries.

The President presented five important points in his speech:

1. Somalia has faced the impacts of climate change severely

The President stated that Somalia produces only 0.09 percent of the world's air pollution, yet its people face more challenges than many other countries.

He mentioned that Somalia has experienced the longest drought in 40 years between 2020 and 2023, which was followed by the El Niño floods of 2023, affecting more than two million people.

He added that at the time he was delivering the speech, Somalia was facing a threat from an El Niño event that is among the strongest ever recorded, which could bring floods to the southern part of the country and affect the lives of up to 3.4 million people.

2. Countries historically polluting the air are being called to lead efforts