'Support received is inadequate to tackle climate change' - Environment Minister

Environment Minister Hussain Rasheed Hassan has stated that the Maldives is not receiving enough financial support from foreign nations to achieve the targets of the Climate Change Action Plan or the NDC targets.

Addressing at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) ongoing at Madrid, Spain on Tuesday, Minister Hussain Rasheed said additional funds are required to implement and enforce the Paris Agreement, and that additional financial support is necessary for developing countries to increase the ambitions of and implement the targets of the climate change action plan.

However, adequate support has not been received thus far, noted the minister, and acknowledged that it would be meaningless to add more ambitions to the action plan without receiving the required support.

"It is unacceptable that we face so much difficulty in receiving even the smallest amount of funds," said the Minister.

Hussein Rasheed further stated the "Loss and Damage" policy established as a solution to address the damages caused by climate change should not just remain in writing, but that it must be enforced by all countries. The Minister policies must be established at the earliest on how to respond to the disasters that occur in the face of climate change.

Cop 25 has been ongoing since Monday last week and will conclude on Friday.