President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has called for concerted efforts at the national level to conserve nature and protect the environment. He made the call in a statement published on World Environment Day, which is marked across the globe on June 5.
In his message, President Solih highlighted that the Maldives’ low-lying archipelago faces the threat of increased weather events brought on by climate change. The president stressed that bold and urgent climate action was needed to ensure humanity’s survival and urged increased national-level efforts to protect coral reefs, beaches, oceans, and vegetation while promoting sustainable development.
The president stated climate advocacy is one of the strongest topics currently being debated across the globe, with the Maldives being one of the key voices for climate action. Noting no nation is immune to climate change, the president emphasised that taking immediate action to protect the planet is the responsibility of every human being.
President Solih also spoke about global warming in his statement. Warning that global temperatures are rising at an alarming rate, the president stressed that adapting to such unprecedented levels of global warming would be "near impossible." Speaking about technological advances, including clean energy technologies, the president said that concerted action was needed on the international and national level, irrespective of the size of the country.
Highlighting the youth, President Solih stated that their role in climate advocacy was essential to promote environmentally-friendly and sustainable lifestyles. The president highlighted the importance of phasing out single-use plastics and adopting cleaner energy sources to achieve the Maldives’ target of net-zero emissions by 2030. He also spoke about the importance of segregating waste at the source and ensuring more areas of our natural environment are protected.