The government of Maldives has urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to act with greater urgency in the face of the ongoing climate emergency.

These remarks were made by Chargé d'affaires Dr. Ali Naseer Mohamed, who delivered the Maldivian government’s statement at the UNSC open debate on ‘The impact of climate change and food insecurity on the maintenance of international peace and security’.

The debate was held on Wednesday, at the UN Headquarters in New York.

In his statement, he noted that the Maldives has steadily highlighted the security dimension of climate change.

He went on to urge the UNSC to act decisively and urgently to reduce emissions and compensate for the victims of climate change.

Stressing that Small Island Developing States or SIDS are first and hardest-hit by the impacts of climate change, Mohamed stated that SIDS have to struggle with challenges which directly affect the livelihoods of the people.

Further, these challenges also worsen the existing vulnerabilities of SIDS.

The statement also noted that climate change has cross-cutting implications for the international community as a whole, adding that that countries with less developed economies and growing populations including the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and SIDS, are excessively affected while being the least responsible for the crisis.