Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan has told world leaders at the COP31 climate summit that climate shocks are costing her country between two and three per cent of its gross domestic product every year, and has urged richer nations to make climate finance easier for developing countries to reach.

Speaking at the World Leaders' Summit during the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, on Wednesday 11 November, President Samia said prolonged droughts, unpredictable rainfall and rising sea levels were placing growing pressure on Tanzania's economy.

“Tanzania, like any other developing country, is continuously experiencing unprecedented impacts of climate change that include episodes of prolonged droughts, unpredictable rainfall patterns, and rising sea levels, with climate-related shocks estimated to cost approximately two to three percent of our GDP annually,” she said.

A two to three per cent annual bill

The figure puts a price on a problem Tanzanians already live with. Farming, which employs most of the country's workforce, depends heavily on rainfall, so a late or failed rainy season quickly hits harvests, food prices and household incomes. Rising sea levels also threaten coastal communities and infrastructure.

President Samia's message was that countries like Tanzania did the least to cause climate change but are paying a steady economic price for it, year after year. That argument sits at the heart of the developing world's case at COP31: climate finance is an obligation, not charity, a point Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made in his own address to the summit.

What Tanzania wants from COP31

President Samia called for fairer carbon markets and energy justice for Africa, pressing for financial mechanisms that deliver real benefits to the countries bearing the greatest climate risks. She urged the conference to turn climate pledges into practical, measurable action and to speed up implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Tanzania is advancing its case under the theme “Tanzania's Inclusive Climate Action for Vision 2050: Building a Resilient, Green and Prosperous Nation”. The country is also pressing for stronger international cooperation on technology transfer and technical support, so that developing nations can act on their climate plans rather than simply announce them.

Clean cooking on the agenda

President Samia is also using COP31 to champion clean cooking in Africa, taking part in a high-level event on the issue and holding bilateral talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Under her leadership, Tanzania has made clean cooking a national development priority. In May 2024 the government launched a National Clean Cooking Strategy running to 2034, which aims to ensure that at least 80 per cent of Tanzanians use clean cooking solutions by 2034. At COP28 in Dubai in December 2023, she launched the African Women Clean Cooking Support Programme to speed up access to cleaner cooking technologies across the continent.

Millions of African households still rely on firewood and charcoal, which damage health and forests. Tanzania's argument is that shifting to cleaner cooking is both a climate measure and a public health measure.

The summit continues

COP31 is taking place in Antalya from 9 to 20 November 2026, with the World Leaders' Summit scheduled for 11 and 12 November. Negotiators now have just over a week to turn the leaders' speeches into agreed outcomes on finance, carbon markets and adaptation support.

For Tanzania, the test of the summit will be whether the promises made in Antalya reach countries like hers in the form of money, technology and practical help, rather than remaining words on a conference stage.

Source: People Daily; also reported by The Vaultz News and Tanzania Insight.