President Mohamed Nasheed reiterated the call for legally binding greenhouse gas emission cuts to arrest global warming, delivering the key note address at a ceremony hosted by former Irish President Mary Robinson.
He urged all countries to be more responsible regarding carbon emissions and also cited his plans to make the Maldives the world’s first carbon neutral country by 2020.
The Maldives should stop using fossil fuel, which causes collateral damage to the environment, and instead start making use of other possible resources such as solar power, wind and the ocean as our main sources of energy, he told the delegates of the conference organized by the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice (MRFCJ) in the UK.
The MRFCJ works to secure global justice for the victims of climate change, especially the poor, the disempowered and the marginalised, across the world.
Nasheed also expressed concern over the fact that water is contaminated in more than 70 out of nearly 200 inhabited islands in his country due to sea salt intrusion into fresh water sources.
And the state has doubled its expenses to provide water desalination system to all the islands, he added.
President Naseed is a staunch campaigner against climate change. His country stands barely 1.5 metres on average from the sea level.
A strong advocate for legally binding emission targets, Naseed is to take it up at the upcoming eight member South Asian grouping (SAARC) in November this year.
