Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of reports that climate change is exacerbating conflict in Mali; and if he will make a statement.

​We agree that climate change is exacerbating conflict in Mali and the broader Sahel region, particularly by increasing competition over land and resources. The causes of conflict in Mali are, however, wider than climate change and include in particular issues around governance, demography, terrorism and organised crime.