President Nasheed has pledged the Maldives’ backing for the ‘Cancun Agreements’ on climate change, which were adopted last week at a United Nations meeting in the Mexican seaside resort.
In a letter sent to Mexican President Felipe Calderón, President Nasheed said that the Maldives “strongly supports” the Cancun Agreements and expressed hope that decisions in Cancun will “form the basis of a new legally-binding treaty to tackle climate change.”
The Cancun Agreements build on the success of the Copenhagen Accord, which was brokered at a UN climate summit in the Danish capital last year.
The Cancun Agreements include key elements of the Copenhagen Accord, such as emissions reductions pledges from all countries and $100bn of funding per year from 2020, to help developing countries adapt to climate change and pursue low carbon growth.
The President congratulated President Calderón for his government’s “remarkable achievement in successfully brokering the balanced package of decisions now known as the Cancun Agreements.”
The President’s letter said that the COP16 climate change meeting in Cancun had “restored faith in the UNFCCC process.”
The President welcomed, in particular, the inclusive and transparent manner in which the Mexican Government organised the talks and the strong leadership shown by Mexican Foreign Minister Ms. Espinosa, acting as the President of the COP16 talks.
President Nasheed noted that the Cancun Agreements reflect the Maldives’ view that all countries share the responsibility in tackling climate change; and developed countries should help developing countries shift towards low carbon development.
The President said, he was delighted that this “progressive and cooperative outlook underpins the Cancun Agreements.”
