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Our historic opportunity on climate change

 

A call to action for AOSIS members

October marks the 20th anniversary of the pioneering address of H.E. Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives, to the United Nations General Assembly in which he provided a stark and prescient warning of the dangers of global climate change, telling delegates in New York that rising sea levels would result in the death of his nation and many like it. The speech led, two years later, to the convening of the first ever Small States Conference on Sea Level Rise and the “Male’ Declaration on Global Warming and Sea Level Rise”. It further represented a first step in the formation of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

During the past two decades the international community has regularly convened to tackle the growing threat of climate change. Although there have been pockets of success, the overall trend remains grave. The threat to our economic, social and political stability, indeed to our very survival as viable states, is clear and present. The reports from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have concluded that global warming is unequivocal, accelerating and very likely caused by human activities. Today global climate change is no longer a projection of the future but a reality of the present. While we have made great strides in our scientific understanding of the climate system, our politics have too often seemed rooted in the debates and divisions of the past, indeed many argue that the greatest tragedy of climate change has been our inability to invent a politics to respond to the warnings of our scientists. It is time for that to change. This year all roads lead to the UNFCCC Conference in Bali between 3 and 11 December. We the Small Island Developing States, which are among the most vulnerable countries in the world to the consequences of global warming, feel the urgency to deal with this issue and so recognize the importance of this UN event. We also possess substantial moral authority in this global debate. The Government of the Republic of Maldives believes that this year represents our best window of opportunity to exercise this moral authority, apply coherence to our views, and develop a diverse portfolio of innovative policies with the full weight of AOSIS support to bring to our friends in the international community. One such innovative policy idea is to draw linkages between climate change and human rights. The basic premise of this approach is that everyone has the right to live in a safe, secure and sustainable environment. If such a right is violated by human-induced climate change, it will negatively impact on a range of other fundamental rights including the right to self-determination, the right to take part in cultural life, the right to use and enjoy property, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to water, the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to development, and even the right to life itself. Action on climate change is therefore more than sound environmental policy, it is vital in order to safeguard basic human rights and prosperity.

Twenty years on from President Gayoom’s landmark speech at the UN, it is vital for Small Island States to once again step forward and take a leading role in moving the world towards a comprehensive global agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In order to take advantage of this historic opportunity, the Maldives is convening an international Meeting of Small Island States on “The Human Dimension of Climate Change”. The Meeting will take place in the Maldives from 13 to 14 November this year. The Maldives hopes that the Meeting will play a part in mobilizing Small Island State action at this important time.

The Meeting has a number of objectives:
• To provide a forum for Small Island States to share views, experiences and best practices in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation;
• To provide a forum to allow all Small Island States to share and understand the real human impact of climate change in their communities.
• To discuss the threats and opportunities provided by the Bali Process and international climate change negotiations.
• To agree, at a high political-level, a Resolution on the four key pillars of mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer, and financing to bring to the Bali Conference.
• To discuss the human dimension of climate change and in particular the impact of global warming on the human rights of people living in Small Island States and other vulnerable countries.
• To agree, at a high-political level, a Declaration on the human dimension of climate change and discuss its use as an advocacy tool during the Bali Process.

Speaking in London in July H.E. President Maumoon Gayoom of the Maldives said “Let us say enough of expectation and promises – it is time to deliver. Enough of hesitation, it is now time for bold leadership”. We would like to echo his call and invite all of AOSIS to join us in the Maldives for this important Meeting.

His Excellency Ahmed Abdulla,
Minister of Environment, Energy and
Water of the Republic of Maldives
His Excellency Abdulla Shahid,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Maldives

 

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