Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland has praised the Maldives for its efforts to work towards alleviating the effects of the climate emergency. She made the remarks at a side event at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) called Rediscovering Nitrogen: Solutions and Synergies for Climate Change, Health, Biodiversity and Circular Economy.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih attended the event with Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology Aminath Shauna, and Secretary of Foreign Relations at the President's Office Ibrahim Hood. The event was joined by several high-level delegates and state leaders from around the globe including the President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Speaking at the event, Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said the Maldives is a nation that delivers on the efforts to advocate and actively work towards alleviating the effects of the climate emergency. The Rediscovering Nitrogen side-event at COP26 was hosted by the Sri Lankan government and the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS), as part of the Nitrogen4NetZero series of events.
The theme reflects the upcoming 250th anniversary of the scientific discovery of nitrogen in Scotland and offers a key moment to re-evaluate nitrogen for climate and environmental action. Nitrogen4NetZero is a developing international initiative that highlights the need for sustainable nitrogen management as part of climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The goals of the Nitrogen4NetZero events are to raise awareness on the importance of nitrogen for climate action and to work with governments to prepare their positions related to nitrogen for COP26.