The Maldives is Determined to Lead by Example – State Minister

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations and current President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, today opened the second annual meeting of the Global Humanitarian Forum under the theme: “Towards Climate Justice”. The Maldives is represented at the Forum by H.E. Mr. Ahmed Naseem, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. The meeting is one of the key milestone meetings on the road to this year’s crucial Copenhagen conference on climate change.

In his opening address, Mr. Annan talked about the “deep injustice at the heart of the climate crisis”, namely that climate change falls hardest on the poorest and most vulnerable – people who have also contributed least to the problem. He also noted that, since last year’s Forum, progress had been made in drawing attention to this injustice; but that much more needs to be done if Copenhagen is to result in an effective replacement to the Kyoto Protocol.

Echoing President Annan’s thoughts, State Minister Naseem, in his speech, noted that “although all of us are affected by climate change, the poorest and most vulnerable, including Small Island States, stand to lose the most”. The State Minister argued that climate change represents mankind’s historic rejection of the principle of sustainable development, which holds that economic growth, social development and environment protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. “No country feels this conceptual failure greater than the Maldives” said the State Minister. In the case of the Maldives, climate injustice “reaches its zenith in a situation that could conceivably see, within a generation, my homeland pay for the pursuit of wealth in the developed world by forfeiting its very right to exist”.

And yet, State Minister Naseem informed delegates that the Maldives was determined not to only bemoan failure, but rather to point the way towards the world’s future success. In this regard, he announced the Government’s drive to move towards a carbon-neutral economy by 2020, and in-so-doing, to “lead the world by example, into a new sustainable future”. Responding to this announcement, David Suzuki, internationally-renowned scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, said that he and other participants were “deeply humbled that a country which did nothing to create this mess, is taking steps to lead us out of it”.

The State Minister held bilateral meetings with Mr. Kofi Annan and Ashok Kholsa, President of IUCN, and also met informally with Anote Tong, President of Kiribati. During the meeting with Kofi Annan, Mr. Annan emphasized the importance of vulnerable countries getting together to form a strong alliance against climate change, and offered his help in that regard.

The Forum is being attended by five heads of state, around forty ministers, and senior officials and celebrities from international organizations, NGOs, the world’s media and cinema.

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