We must step up our efforts to transition to sustainable blue economies as global warming grows, says President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Solih made this assertion at the Blue Leaders Call to Action on Ocean and Climate Summit, a briefing session held in New York City, on key findings of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC).
At the summit, Solih said that the Maldivian government highly prioritizes combating negative impacts of climate change and enhancing climate resilience in the transitioning process into a blue economy.
“It was exactly four years ago this month, the world agreed to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to pursue the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 14 – Life Below Water is one of the most important to the Maldives, given that 99% of our national territory is ocean.”President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
Urging the international community to step up their battle against climate change, Solih assured that Maldives remains committed to battle plastic pollution as it is litter ruins Maldives natural beauty and destroys its precious coral reefs and marine biodiversity.
The ocean is being threatened for so many reasons including population growth, over-exploitation, pollution, plastic litter, and most importantly, climate change, said the President. He added that Maldives is the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and rising sea levels as its citizens depend on the ocean for sustenance to the country’s economy.
Highlighting that the government will soon begin implementing measures to phase out single-use plastic by 2023, Solih pushed the same commitment on other countries.
The president went on to stress that “blue economy” is almost defunct in the country and that Maldives is making investments to protect the country’s ocean, which is its economy, as an inheritance and a birthright for generations that will follow.
In this regard, Solih said that it is the younger generation that are most at risk of inheriting an uninhabitable planet, adding that we owe them urgent action to combat climate change and environmental degradation.
“I also call upon the Governments to support the conclusion in 2020 of a robust new international agreement for the conservation and management of the high seas that provides for the creation of fully protected Marine Protected Areas and robust assessment and management of human activities on the high seas to prevent significant adverse effects.”President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
Further, Solih urged governments to fully commit to protecting at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030 and to take steps to ensure the remaining 70 percent is “sustainable managed”. He added that Maldives intends to fully protect at least 20 percent of its ocean to boost fish stocks, safeguard people’s lives and enhance marine life on which the country heavily depends.
“This updated, more ambitious goal should be agreed at the 2020 UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming where new targets to protect life on Earth will be agreed.”President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
Adding that states must commit to “more ambitious” Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in 2020 in order to ensure faster emissions cuts that are needed to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius, Solih stated that it is essential to limit global heating to no more that 1.5 degrees Celsius to avert ecological disaster in the global ocean.
“We aim to build climate smart and resilient islands, significantly strengthen our Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, rapidly switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and move to low carbon transport. Just last week, I nominated two entire atolls as UNESCO biosphere reserves. If endorsed, three of the Maldives’ twenty atolls will be designated biosphere reserves.”President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
Leaders of small island states attended the event where they were briefed on the SROCC which details threats to the ocean and adverse consequences entailed by cryosphere.