'Maldives can no longer wait for a solution to climate change'

Climate change is the biggest threat to the Maldives, says Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid.

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council meeting, Minister Shahid said the negative impacts of climate change are significant on island countries. Shahid noted that Maldives have been suffering the impacts of beach erosion, increasing salinity of ground water, reducing fish stock, which could lead to the destruction of the archipelago if no preventive measures are taken.

In his speech, Shahid recalled he was repeating the same message he gave during the first debate by the Security Council on the impacts of climate change in 2007. The same threats are still existential and poses the same risks 12 years later, noted Shahid.

He stressed that climate change threatened the very existence of the Indian Ocean island nation, reminding that even a sea level rise of two meters would suffice to virtually submerge the entire Maldives underwater.

Minister Shahid called on the council to speed up the implementation of the Paris Agreement by arranging the necessary investments. Countries like Maldives do not have time for the rest of the countries of the world to come to agreements on the matter, said Shahid, stressing that waiting and hoping was not enough for island nations which are under direct threat from climate change.

“The countries that are on the first line of impact, such as the Maldives, cannot afford to wait. We cannot wait until we can all agree with the effects on the ground. That climate change is a threat to international peace and security.”

At COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future, known as the Paris Agreement.