In light of the European Union’s commitment to continue strengthening cooperation on climate change with the Maldives, a Financing Agreement of EUR five million has been signed.
While it is the first of its kind to be signed between EU and the government of Maldives, a press release by the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and Maldives revealed that EU will be supporting Maldives to implement its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), a pledge by the country if fulfilling the obligations that come under the Paris Agreement in 2015.
The Financing Agreement was signed by Maldives Minister of Finance, Ibrahim Ameer on behalf of the government and Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Tung-Lai Margue on behalf of EU on the sidelines of the Maldives Partnership Forum which kicked off on Monday morning.
During the signing ceremony which was attended by Maldives Minister of Environment, Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan, Minister Ameer had expressed gratitude on behalf of Maldives for the generous assistance.
He had further stated that it will be a great contribution towards the ongoing projects such as preparing outlying atolls for sustainable energy development (the POISED project) and for the implementation of solar diesel battery hybrid systems in two atolls.
The press release went on to highlight that Ambassador Margue had reaffirmed the EU’s role as a like-minded partner in the global fight against the adverse impacts of climate change.
"The EU welcomes the opportunity to assist the Government of Maldives in fulfilling its international commitments, while supporting its citizens in adapting and building a climate resilient economy and society. The use of renewable energy resources will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but will have important energy security co-benefits, as it will help Maldives move away from an over reliance on fossil fuel imports, which makes the country highly vulnerable to global fuel price fluctuations,"Ambassador Margue
RaajjeMV understands that the project is to be implemented by the Ministry of Environment as part of the pledge for Maldives to lead towards a “low carbon economy”.
According to the delegation, the EU's funding, which falls under the Global Climate Change Alliance and Programme, will co-finance the ongoing POISED project and will equip approximately 15 - 20 islands with hybrid PV-diesel systems to meet at least 30% of their daytime peak demand, thereby significantly reducing the requirement for diesel to generate electricity in the outer islands.
Regarding the agreement, Minister Hassan had stated that this generous assistance will speed up the implementation of the Maldives NDC and to achieve low carbon development goals.
While Maldives remains one of the “most vulnerable” countries to climate change pressures and its communities face an “existential threat” on a daily basis.
