President His Excellency Dr Mohamed Muizzu called for urgent coordinated global action to address climate change and rising sea levels. He made these remarks while delivering the Maldives statement at the Plenary of the High-level Meeting on Sea Level Rise, held during the ongoing High-Level Week of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In his remarks, the President proposed three key actions:
1. Increase Adaptation Finance: He urged an immediate rise in adaptation finance, addressed the imbalance between mitigation and adaptation efforts, and called for simplifying access to funds and integrating the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) into global financing.
2. Operationalise the Loss and Damage Fund: He highlighted the need to fully implement the Loss and Damage Fund to support vulnerable nations like the Maldives facing severe climate-induced disasters.
3. Facilitate Technology Transfer: The President stressed the moral responsibility on advanced economies to facilitate technology transfer to SIDS and developing countries on favorable terms to enhance climate action effectiveness.
The President also emphasised the need to enhance the adaptive capacity of vulnerable coastal communities and low-lying island states, and the role of private sector to boost technological capacity.
In conclusion, President Dr. Muizzu highlighted the necessity for the Maldives to allocate a significant portion of its budget, which could have been used for other development areas, towards climate response instead, due to the nation’s efforts and commitment for survival.
