Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology Aminath Shauna has stated the government will emphasise the need for further international support at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).
Speaking to PSM News, Minister Shauna said the Maldives is not receiving enough international aid when compared to the large number of resources and efforts dedicated to mitigating the effects of climate change in the country. She said the Maldives sustains more damage to its environment year by year but the country only received USD 1.6 million in foreign aid since 2015.
The minister noted the absurdity of allocating funds from the state budget to mitigate the environmental damage sustained due to actions that are beyond the control of the country. Preventing the global temperature from exceeding 1.5 degrees of warming is connected to the wellbeing of the country and its citizens, she added.
She highlighted how the continued increase in global warming will result in more floods in the islands, and negatively affects the fisheries and agricultural sectors.
Furthermore, Minister Shauna said the Maldives will advocate for two key points at COP 26, which are for the increase in support from large countries and for developed countries to increase their efforts to prevent exceeding 1.5 degrees of warming.
COP26 is the annual meeting of the 197 countries that have agreed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The purpose of the meeting is to assess how well nations are dealing with climate change.
Additionally, the overall goal of CO26 is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep the global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius due to climate change.