Somalia may be one of the poorest countries in the world and beset by violence, but it is \u201cfixable\u201d, according to its top climate official.<\/p>\n
The country has been torn apart by more than 30 years of overlapping conflicts – including an Islamist insurgency, a civil war, and a series of regional and clan confrontations. Yet Abdihakim Ainte, the Somali prime minister\u2019s climate advisor, still regards his country as \u201cas story of potential – of promise\u201d.<\/p>\n
What makes his optimism all the more surprising is the fact climate change is amplifying virtually all the challenges his country faces.<\/p>\n
One commentator described climate change as a \u201cchaos multiplier\u201d, because it exacerbates existing tensions and entrenches conflict in fragile states like this.<\/p>\n
Listen to Justin Rowlatt\u2019s reporting from Somalia on <\/strong><\/em>The Climate Question<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n But Somalia, the easternmost country in continental Africa, can\u2019t be held responsible for our changing climate. The figures are staggering. Somalia has emitted roughly as much carbon dioxide from fossil fuels since the 1950s as the US economy does in an average three days<\/span>.<\/p>\n The most obvious effects of climate change here have been in agriculture. Somalia is still overwhelmingly an agricultural economy, with about two thirds of the population depending on farming and animal herding for most of their income.<\/p>\n