President Nasheed of Maldives is literally fighting with his back to the wall to ensure that his 1,200-island state does not sink because of the rising sea levels.
A two-day visit to India saw Mr Nasheed stress on how Maldives has been described as “one of the most vulnerable countries due to the impact of climate change” by the prestigious Portugal-based Climate Vulnerable Monitor 2010.
Recognising this vulnerability, Mr Nasheed is determined to make his island state carbon neutral by 2020. “If India can take the lead in building a carbon neutral economy, it would create so much momentum that other major economies would start to follow suit,” he said.
Elaborating on this crucial subject, Mr Nasheed explained, “India now has the political and economic power to take the world over a tipping point where the transition to clean energy sources would be unstoppable,” he said.
“Low carbon development patterns will have to be followed and I believe it is possible to follow this path for our three lakh population. Relying on fossil fuel is foolish, we can’t afford it. We must find other ways to develop our livelihoods,” he said.
Maldives is already spending 20 per cent of its infrastructure costs on adaptation since they are facing coastal erosion and water contamination.
Since it does not fall under the category of the “least-developed country”, Maldives is not eligible for grants and has therefore gone in for a slew of cost-effective measures by changing its economic systems and fiscal policies.
Mr Nasheed praised MoEF’s positive role in the climate negotiations that took place in Cancun.
“COP 16 was a success because of Jairam Ramesh’s positive engagement to get the conference moving,” he said.
He could not understand the criticism of several African states who opposed India’s role in Cancun. “I find it difficult to understand why we should not have an agreement on carbon emission. We will all die anyway if immediate steps are not taken. We have a historic responsibility to make emission cuts and we should take them immediately,” he added.