Countries like Maldives do not have the luxury of waiting and hoping for action on the catastrophic impacts of climate change, says Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid.
FM Shahid made this statement while delivering his keynote speech on “Climate Change, Migration and Displacement”, at the Berlin Climate and Security Conference.
As such, the Foreign Minister stated that situations like losing their home to a climate change induced disaster, having to rebuild a life from zero after losing the only source of livelihood to climate change is something that is very real to Maldivians.
Following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, over half of the capital city Malé was flooded, many islands were wiped out and tourists resorts which are the “major source of income” were destroyed, said FM Shahid. He went on to stress that some islands had been submerged to the extent that they are no longer inhabitable.
FM Shahid stated stressed that it is important to imagine the tragedy and put ourselves in the shoes of victims of the disaster. Else, he said that the whole community fighting for action on climate change will forever be quarreling about who has a “bigger responsibility” to do more and to mitigate the negative impacts it causes.
The minister stressed that if there was even a mean sea-level rise of two meters, Maldives "would suffice to virtually submerge its entire archipelago under water."
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s report release in October last year, even if global temperature is stabilized at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the global sea-level will continue to rise, which means that low-lying countries such as Maldives would still have to suffer disastrous impacts.
“It could mean, the displacement of our entire population. It could mean the death of our nation” said Shahid.
Recalling the United Nations Security Council's first-ever debate on the impact of climate change on peace and security in 2007, the minister reminded them that "climate change is not only an everyday fact of life for the Maldivians, but an existential threat."
FM Shahid said that he has had to repeat the message twelve years later, due to the worsening of conditions worldwide. As such, he highlighted that fresh water lakes are drying up in some parts of the globe, entire islands are sinking under water and unseasonal droughts are leaving millions homeless.
Further, Shahid stated that the Maldives is encouraged by initiatives such as the Paris Agreement, and the Katowice Rulebook, which aims to combat climate change and accelerate actions and investments needed to implement said actions.
“We hope that our positive action globally, will ensure that global warming stays well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, or even better, at 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, for Maldives, waiting and hoping is not enough. We must drastically reverse the current trends in climate change, to ensure that we are able to leave behind a country, for our children and the children after them” said Shahid.
The minister went on to highlight that Maldives will always be at the forefront of global action and to reverse the negative effects of climate change. Maldives is fully committed to achieve its nationally determined contributions and will make meaningful contributions to the upcoming High-level Climate Action Summit scheduled to be held in New York later this year, added Shahid.
As recent news has it, there are hundreds of environment related protests happening all around the world some of which are led by children and youth who are frustrated with the inaction by adults. FM Shahid state that participation of youth in the global discourse on climate change is an integral part of the future of the work on climate change.
“If we grownups cannot do the job, perhaps we should let the children do our jobs for us. Either way, decisive and urgent action to reverse the trends of climate change must happen now. Otherwise, we may not have a planet to save” said Shahid.
The foreign minister traveled to Germany on Monday, after the conclusion of the Islamic Organization Cooperation (OIC) Summit in Saudi Arabia, to attend the Berlin Climate and Security Conference.
