Abstract

Climate change threatens sustainable development, disproportionately impacting Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (FCAS), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), where recurring climate shocks devastate agriculture, exacerbate food insecurity, and deepen debt burdens. This high-level side event, co-hosted by the the Government of Somalia, Senegal, Ireland and the ALL ACT Initiative, will explore how country platforms can unlock sustainable finance to scale social protection, enhance debt sustainability, and leverage climate finance for resilience and food security. Drawing on evidence from 39 SIDS, 10 LDCs, and FCAS—including the ASPIRE toolkit’s analysis of 30 social protection programs across 10 countries—the event will showcase solutions like anticipatory social protection, the SIDS Debt Sustainability Support Service (DSSS), and FRLD funding. Featuring heads of government like Prime Minister, Somalia, Prime Minister, Antigua and Barbuda, President, Maldives, finance ministers from Somalia, Mali, Maldives, and Nepal, alongside representatives from the World Bank, FRLD Board, philanthropies like the Gates Foundation, and grassroots organizations, the event aligns with FfD4’s focus on mobilizing finance for sustainable development by addressing systemic barriers, promoting innovative financing, and ensuring equitable access to resources through locally led country platforms.

Context

Climate change poses a profound threat to sustainable development, with projections indicating it will drive 100 million more people into extreme poverty, 130 million into chronic hunger, and result in the loss of 72 million full-time jobs by 2030. Additionally, water scarcity could affect up to 3.2 billion people, and 250 million may be internally displaced by 2050. Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (FCAS), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) are disproportionately impacted, facing recurring droughts, floods, and cyclones that devastate agriculture - a critical lifeline for food security and livelihoods. In Somalia, an FCAS, prolonged droughts have triggered famine risks, exacerbated by debt burdens that limit government capacity to respond, leaving millions food insecure. SIDS like Kiribati face existential threats from sea-level rise, LLDCs like Nepal struggle with geographic isolation that raises food import costs, and LDCs like Malawi experience crop failures that deepen malnutrition.

Social protection offers a vital shield against these crises, currently reaching 45% of the global population with at least one benefit by stabilising incomes, improving nutrition, and ensuring food access. Anticipatory systems, such as cash transfers and livelihood support triggered by early warnings, and shock-responsive mechanisms, like scalable support post-disaster, are highly effective, with evidence showing every $1 invested saves up to $15 in recovery costs. However, implementation faces significant challenges, including weak early warning systems, poor targeting, and severe financing constraints, particularly in FCAS where conflict disrupts delivery. The Alliance for Locally Led Action on Loss and Damage (ALL ACT) - a joint initiative of governments from 39 SIDS, 10 LDCs, and over 40 national and grassroots organisations - has identified these gaps through its ASPIRE diagnostic tool, which assessed social protection readiness across 10 countries (Malawi, Ghana, Senegal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Uganda, Ethiopia, India, Somalia, and Mali), analysing 30 programs spanning public works, cash transfers, and food assistance. Additionally, ALL ACT’s Comprehensive Climate Impact Quantification (C-CIQ) toolkit has quantified the fiscal impacts of climate shocks, highlighting gaps in existing response mechanisms and the urgent need for innovative financing solutions.

To address these challenges, ALL ACT is facilitating the development of country platforms to scale social protection, enhance debt sustainability, and leverage climate finance for resilience and sustainable development. Complementary mechanisms like the Debt Sustainability Support Service (DSSS) can alleviate debt pressures, redirecting resources to resilience and nutrition programs, while Climate funds like GCF and FRLD and philanthropies such as ClimateWorks, CECG, and the Gates Foundation, alongside development banks like the World Bank and local NGOs, can bridge financing gaps and ensure community-level delivery.

The event aligns with FfD4’s focus on mobilising finance for sustainable development by addressing the climate-debt-food security nexus, promoting innovative financing, and ensuring equitable access to resources for FCAS, SIDS, LDCs, and LLDCs through country platforms, supported by evidence from 39 SIDS, 10 LDCs, and FCAS.

Key Objectives of the Event

1. Social Protection as a climate resilience and food security solution: Demonstrate how anticipatory and shock-responsive social protection builds resilience and ensures food security in FCAS, SIDS, LDCs, and LLDCs, using evidence from Somalia’s and Mali’s drought response and the ASPIRE toolkit’s analysis of 30 programs across 10 countries (Malawi, Ghana, Senegal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Uganda, Ethiopia, India, Somalia, and Haiti).

2. Highlight FRLD’s role via Country Platforms: Show how the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) can enhance these efforts by funding pre-emptive and long-term resilience interventions, with country platforms ensuring equitable and efficient distribution of funds to protect livelihoods and food access, supported by FRLD framework evidence from 39 SIDS, 10 LDCs, and FCAS.

3. Position country platforms as catalysts for sustainable finance: Explore how country platforms, as locally led coordination hubs, can scale social protection, enhance debt sustainability, and leverage climate finance, including FRLD funds, to address food security and resilience needs across FCAS, SIDS, LDCs, and LLDCs.

4. Leverage DSSS for financing through country platforms: Illustrate how the SIDS DSSS creates fiscal space by addressing debt distress, enabling investments in social protection and food systems, with country platforms facilitating implementation, as recognized in FfD4 discussions.

5. Advocate for Systemic Financial Reforms: Use evidence from 39 SIDS, 10 LDCs, and FCAS to advocate for integrating climate risks and resilience investments into sovereign credit rating methodologies, enabling vulnerable regions to access affordable capital for sustainable development through country platforms.

6. Catalyse momentum for international support: Produce actionable recommendations for stakeholders to scale integrated approaches through country platforms, linking to FRLD and FfD4 processes to ensure sustainable finance for resilience and food security.

Event format and agenda

1. Welcome and introduction (5 Min): Overview of the event's objectives and background. Abdihakim Ainte, Senior Climate & Food Security Advisor, Office of Prime Minister, Federal Republic of Somalia

2. Opening Address: (10 min)

   1. - HE Bihi Iman Egeh, Minister of Finance, Federal Government of Somalia

3. Presentation of the proposed approach (10 minutes): Ritu Bharadwaj, Director, Climate Resilience and Loss & Damage / ALL ACT, IIED

4. Panel discussionwith the expert (50 min):

   1. Santiago Alba Corral, Vice President, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Government of Canada

   2. Dr. Nasser Alkahtani, Executive Director, The Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND)

   3. Katherine Stodulka, Programme Director, Quadrature Climate Foundation

   4. Afshan Khan, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Coordinator

   5. Mosab Alomar, Vice President of Strategy, OPEC Fund for International Development

5. Interactive audience engagement (10 min): Open floor for audience Q&A

6. Closing remarks(5 minutes): Mahamuud Moallim Abdulle, Commissioner, Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA)