The low-lying Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives demanded on Saturday international money to combat rising sea levels, claiming they were being unfairly left out of the most generous support measures.
“The Maldives is liable for just 0.003 percent of global emissions, but is one of the first countries to endure the existential consequences of the climate crisis,” President Mohamed Muizzu wrote in Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
“Wealthier nations have a moral responsibility to communities like ours.”
His remarks coincided with the opening of a once-every-ten-year summit of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Antigua and Barbuda, which he will co-chair. Many of these states are renowned for being upscale travel destinations, but they are also at risk from rising sea levels.
According to him, SIDS only receive “roughly 14% of the finance that the least developed countries receive.”
The GDP per capita of the Maldives is higher than that of Chile, Mexico, Malaysia, or China, according to the IMF, although Muizzu referred to GDP as a “legacy metric.”
“Thanks to the Maldives’ healthy tourism industry, we are ranked as an emerging economy and therefore shut out from the cheaper financing set aside for the lowest income countries.”
According to Muizzu, his nation requires roughly $500 million to lessen the effects of climate change, and the economy, which is heavily reliant on tourism, was unable to generate the funds on its own.
The Maldives’ then-president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, issued a warning five years prior that his atoll nation of 1,192 tiny coral islets would face extinction if sea levels rose by one meter (3.3 feet), which prompted the inaugural SIDS summit.
With the use of land reclamation, Gayoom was able to construct an artificial island that was double the size of his crowded capital of Male, which was two square kilometers (0.8 square miles) and two meters above sea level.
After winning in September, Muizzu revealed intentions to build a larger artificial island called “Ras Male” with 30,000 dwellings in order to combat sea level rise.
He regretted that, however, the project was not eligible for climate money because it was classified as infrastructure work.
Muizzu is perceived as being pro-Beijing, and government representatives anticipate that Chinese companies will handle a large portion of the building work.
