Hassaan Mohamed, the Deputy Minister of Climate Change, Environment and Energy of the Maldives, has expressed deep concern about the severe impacts of climate change on his country. Rising sea levels and freshwater shortages pose an existential threat to the Indian Ocean archipelago, which is the lowest-lying country on Earth. About 80% of the Maldives, a collection of 1,190 coral islands, lies within one meter of sea level, making it highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. “Climate change impacts are the most severe things we face right now,” Mohamed said recently. “It is definitely a danger to our existence, so we need to adapt.” The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which comprises hundreds of leading climate scientists, has warned that sea levels could rise by up to 1.1 meters by 2100 due to melting glaciers and expanding oceans caused by warming temperatures.
Despite significant reductions in greenhouse gases, sea levels will continue to rise by 60 cm. Both scenarios would submerge large parts of the Maldives and contaminate the country’s limited drinking water with salt water. In response to this threat, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is helping the Maldives develop a climate change plan. The Maldives is also one of the first countries to benefit from a UN project to implement early warning systems for weather-related disasters, such as storms and floods. Pointing out the urgency of these actions, Mohammad said: “We need to work faster to adapt to these problems.” In the future, things will get worse.” By 2023, the Maldives is one of 58 countries committed to the UNEP Environment Fund, which supports efforts to address climate change, the loss of the environment and biodiversity, such as pollution and waste In 1973, the Fund could UNEP pursue a long-term strategic approach to tackling environmental challenges. The project supports UNEP’s efforts to identify new environmental issues, translate science into policy and advocate for the global environment through key reports to raise awareness. more than these challenges and support governments to face environmental threats “Investing in the Environmental Fund means that we are working towards the same goal,” said Mohammad. “Protecting the planet is all we have.” The Maldives is also working on waste management, a long-term challenge for the country of hundreds of inhabited islands. The government has partnered with donors and voluntary organizations to increase waste collection and promote household waste segregation. An important part of this process is the plan to eliminate single-use plastics. Currently, about 8% of the Maldives’ waste is plastic, and only 1% is recycled. Mohamed welcomed the ongoing discussions on the global agreement to eliminate plastic pollution conducted by UNEP. He said these comments strengthened the Maldives’ voice on the issue, and the country hoped it would take it seriously. Mohamed also emphasized the importance of UNEP’s ability to create global consensus on global problems. He pointed out that at a recent UNEA meeting, countries agreed to resolutions that address issues ranging from sand to the environmental impact of mining. “UNEP has created an environment where countries can come together and negotiate,” Mohammad said. “This could be the basis for achieving something that has never happened before.” As a funding partner of UNEP, the Maldives’ contribution to the environment budget helps support smart and innovative global solutions to climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution . It continues to call for greater international cooperation to meet these major challenges and protect the Planet Earth for future generations.