President: Maldivians face mounting threat of becoming climate refugees

President Ibrahim Mohamed warned on Tuesday that the Maldivian people are faced with mounting threat of becoming climate refugees. 

He made the statement at the Commonwealth Leaders at the World Leaders’ Summit, a side-event of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). 

Speaking at the event, President Solih stressed that the Maldivian people deserve a safe place to live as much as anyone else in the room. 

He said that he was not just speaking about bleached corals or acidified oceans when referring to the adverse effects of climate change on Maldives, but also of the struggles of real people, Maldivian citizens, attempting to live dignified lives while faced with the mounting threat of becoming climate refugees. 

“We may be small in numbers, but in no way are we any less deserving of the right to live in our own country, without the threat of impending disaster," he said. 

President Solih stressed that climate change was a threat to global security, prosperity and socioeconomic development, and that now was the most crucial time for worldwide friendship, inclusivity and cooperation. 

He said that while Maldives contributes very little to global greenhouse emissions, the small island state continues to show leadership and advocate for greater efficiency.  

He highlighted on Maldives’ ambitious plans to achieve net zero by 2030, and questioned why other nations are not as ambitious as the Maldives in their commitments and plans. 

President Solih also stressed the need for easier access to climate financing.  

The current climate finance landscape is a maze that deters the very countries that it is meant to support, he said.  

He implored the Commonwealth to step in to make the funds more accessible, which he said is currently hindered by strict eligibility criterion and high transaction costs, among others.  

He also urged to scale up the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub. 

Concluding his statement, President Solih entreated world leaders to make the right decisions, underlining the urgency of the situation at hand and warning of the dependency of millions across the world on the decisions made at COP26.  

“If we fail to make the right decisions here and now, billions more will suffer, including the entire population of the Maldives," he said. “My people would be stripped of their livelihoods, their identity and their homes. I plead you to make the right decisions.”