The Rothschild banking dynasty in Europe has agreed to help the Maldives towards its goal of carbon neutrality, following a meeting between President Mohamed Nasheed and Baron Benjamin and Baroness Ariane de Rothschild in their Genevan chateau.
In the first phase of the agreement signed on Monday, the family’s financial services arm La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild (CTBR) will secure international financing to fund a carbon audit of the Maldives.
CTBR is one of the arms of the US$137 billion Edmond de Rothschild Group, one of the world’s oldest banking dynasties and an early investor in the Shell Oil Company and the De Beers diamond firm.
The Rothschild’s website describes the banking family as “brokers and financers, as bankers to royal houses and governments, as railway magnates, personalities, patrons and philantopists, the Rothschilds have never forgotten how to walk with Kings – nor lost the common touch.”
In the second phase of the agreement, the company’s environmental and sustainability wing, BeCitizen, will spend two months assessing the report and analysing emissions from all sectors of the country’s economy, including transport, housing ,tourism, energy and waste management.
The final report, expected at the end of 2010, will contain a detailed plan of how the Maldives can reach carbon neutrality by 2020. In the third phase, CTBR will then help the government secure international financing to build the wind farms, waste recycling plants and sustainable transport solutions suggested in the report.
Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild said in a statement that the agreement between the family and the Maldivies “is not only important for reasons of moral leadership in tackling climate change – the greatest challenge facing the world today – but also because it places the Maldives at the head of the pack in the transition to a low-carbon world.
“The Edmond de Rothschild Group is convinced that, as well as helping Maldives becoming carbon neutral, the partnership will spur domestic economic growth and new revenue-generating business opportunities for the country,” the family said.
Presdient Mohamed Nasheed said the partnership would allow the Maldives to “make rapid inroads into our national carbon footprint”, and set an example for other developing countries.
“The Maldives wants to set an example, by demonstrating that a country can develop without having to pollute the planet. After all, it is not carbon we want but development, it is not coal we want but electricity, it is not oil we want but transport. The Maldives aims to grow but we want our growth to be green.”
Spokesman for the President Mohamed Zuhair said the project was a “win-win” and “won’t cost the Maldives money.”
“[Rothschilds] have financed other industrial revolutions, and for them the Maldives is an ideal partner for the green revolution,” he said.
Ali Rilwan, director of environmental NGO Bluepeace, meanwhile acknowledged the country’s need for a “carbon master plan” and said he did not believe the agreement with Rothschilds had strings attached.
Instead, the support of the banking dynasty could allow the Maldives to become a ‘proof-of-concept’ for carbon neutrality and alternate energy, he suggested.
“Carbon neutrality is very fashionable in Europe at the moment, along with corporate responsibility,” he said, “and the Maldives is the first to initiate [carbon neutrality] with such a short target. And as the country is small, the targets are achievable. The push to move main electricity from power stations to windmills is also encouraging.”
Rilwan explained that while the Maldives’ carbon emissions “are small on a global scale, we can set an example.”
“We won’t change the world’s climate but upmarket resorts are increasingly attracting toursists looking for green holidays. This will also help them,” he said.
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Maldives need to find ways to develop its economy, increase the standard of living rather than securing funds to mitigate the environmental pollution. A small nation like Maldives is not affordable to spend these enormous investments. Even the developed nations such as US, and China is even not willing to comprise. Even if Maldives is carbon neutral, there wont be any significant positive effect due to its disproportinate due to its relative small size.
The Rothschild's being Ashkenazi Jews I hope this doesn't spark another religious protests on the grounds that Maldives is being sold to the Jews.
Just like Gayoom, when the going gets tough at home Nasheed heads overseas and gives some fancy speech or signs an agreement on environment protection... comes back home and encourages local fishermen to abandon environmentally friendly practices in favour of environmentally destructive longlining.
Please President, stop blowing our money on overseas trips.
idiots. if maldives is clever, and president is, foreigners will pay for all our renewable energy
What happens to the work promised with Eden Project? This government has serious problems honoring promises.
high profile social responsibility projects are now a big selling marketing strategy. Rothschild's are not idiots and nor a we....
A special thanks to our President and Dr Shaheed for saving us atlast through your pact with the Rothschild dynasty, the so called "King of Jews". Who cares whether they have contributed to the suffereing of the Palestinans and aquired wealth through slave trade as reported by Reuters! As long as we get our fix, I mean money, we are happy.
In the online article "'Exposing’ Slave Practices of Rothschild Deflects Real Crime" some loony has said that today the Rothschild family "uses not chains to put people into submission, but carbon credits and other global taxation policies". What hogwash!
@ Adam
“The Edmond de Rothschild Group is convinced that, as well as helping Maldives becoming carbon neutral, the partnership will spur domestic economic growth and new revenue-generating business opportunities for the country,” the family said.
There is your concern answered:)
As Zuhair says, its an absolute win-win to Maldives! I commend Foreign Minister Shaheed and President Nasheed for their tremendous work in securing new investments and establishing stronger partnerships within the Europe.
Mr. Nasheed and his government is not doing this for the benefit of the environment he does not have any concern at all. Just like gayoom he is trying to get money and power so that MDP could remain in power.
I say this because this government had protected the sharks in the beginning but now again they are introducing lonline fishing which will endanger pelagic shark population and it will effect pelagic fishery two.
Next it was president office who issued and green signal to cover some brackish swamps in Ha.Baarah.The locals had already covered some part when environment ministry intervened.Baarah brackish swamps are unique Eco systems which harbors different species of animals.
These are signs that Mr.Nasheed and his governments intentions are not good.
@adam
Its very vague to say "partnership will spur domestic economic growth and new revenue-generating business opportunities for the country" tell me any single economic benefit that would prosper to Maldives.
If there is any single potential to make profits, the larger economies in the world would have invested in it as there are more advance in R&D. This is just basic knowledge of economics. I do not wish to rebuke the attempt of president but comparatively it would be more useful to Maldivians, if president could find ways to increase the income of the poor ordinary Maldivians.
Our President seems to have made us the cheapest country for big companies to market their most 'fasionable' social responsibility pipe dreams.
Time to come down to sea level Mr. President.
Stop escaping from real issues like your predecessor did. Start attending to the basic needs of Maldivians that you fought for. And stop using OUR money on these corporate gimmicks.
I have been to HA. Baarah and the island's folk desperately want something to be done with that 'kulhi'. Otherwise they said they themselves will do it because of the mosquitoes which breeds there. And the best way to keep the place as it is to do something like prawn culture.
I really commend what HEP and the minister is doing; work for development through environment strategies.
Mr President, my family doesnt have a home to live and we struggle with our daily living despite the fact everyone except the children in the family are working full time. Can you make our lives better rather than roaming around in Europe, talking big and enjoying your life in fancy hotels and big restaurants in the world? I dont care if some stupid jewish bank makes Maldives carbon neutralor not. All I want is a better life for me and my family in my country. I need a place to live and a life without poverty and struggle. This what you should be concentrating on to give us. So far you have failed to do so. Its been more than a year you became the leader and you have proven nothing better than the previous dictator of the Maldives.
Enough MOU's. Lets see some results please.
For Centuries we lived in Maldives and individual citizens built their houses and found means and ways of surviving. Till now No Government or President has spoken about providing houses.
At last President Nasheed started talking about providing housing which will be a dream come true when and if it happens.
Our youth has been traveling around the world and they have witnessed the housing schemes provided by government and real-estate companies and NOW we also know that it is the responsibility of the Government.
Lets work with the Person who came up with the dream to make it true instead of talking non sense and making it difficult in every way to the Government
How do you make life of the people better. By fishing? but renting a few resorts? Do we make enough money out of all this to make your life better? Do you think we have oil wells or billions in reserve?
This whole thing about environment is good in all the senses. It promotes Maldives, thus bringing in more tourists. Gets the attention of people like EU and others for major projects with heavy funding that we need to get your children a shelter and a better life. Stop thinking just for today and yourself and shut the F* up.