Tag: climate change

Week in review: May 10 – 16

The reverberations of the the deputy prosecutor general’s resignation continued to be felt across the criminal justice system this week.

Despite the Supreme Court’s order for confused state prosecutors to return to work, the majority of cases continued to be cancelled as the courts struggled to adjudicate on the leadership vacuum at the PG’s Office.

This confusion was typified by Drug Court Judge Mahaz Ali, who expressed his disagreement with the government’s suggestion that a ‘state of necessity’ existed, enabling the most senior state prosecutor to assume the office’s responsibilities.

While the Supreme Court announced the formation of a committee to review current judicial laws, the judicial watchdog said it would look into Judge Mahaz’s blogging.

Further examination into a large crack in the Meedhoo Island reef will be required as experts admitted that the long-term effects of the 13 metre fissure were unknown.

The discovery was made amid a mammoth 20 hectare reclamation project on the island conducted by Boskalis International. The Dutch company – currently conducting numerous projects in the country – came under this fire week for what local NGOs have called “environmental crimes” during its recent dredging activities.

The accusations did not stop authorities mooting Boskalis as the likely partner for the government’s second reclamation phase of the Hulhumalé development project.

Speaking at the launch of another Boskalis project in Thulusdhoo, President Abdulla Yameen urged the Anti-Corruption Commission to expedite stalled cases concerning infrastructure projects.

Reclamation projects could take on a new urgency should this week’s prediction from climate change experts prove true, as it was revealed that the collapse of antarctic glaciers has the potential to increase sea levels by 1.2 metres in coming centuries.

The completion of a Japanese sponsored solar energy project this week will be scant consolation to pessimists.

Pessimism regarding the buoyancy of the country’s democracy was evident in Transparency Maldives ‘Democracy at Crossroads’ survey this week which revealed extraordinarily high levels of cynicism within the electorate.

Skepticism was also evident at the Human Rights Commission’s ‘National Inquiry on Access to Education for Children with Disabilities’ as parents questioned the state’s efforts to provide education to all.

The Capital Market Development Authority meanwhile was optimistic that the country can be developed into a global financial centre, while the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)warned that further fiscal “slippages” would undermine the country’s debt sustainability.

The prospect of increased wage expenditure by the government receded once more, however, as the president returned the pay commission bill to the Majlis for the third time this week.

The MMA’s warning was not enough to prevent President Yameen pledging MVR1 million to the national football team, should it reach the last four of the AFC Cup – scheduled to start in Malé and Addu next week.

Visiting football fans who take a liking to the country’s southernmost atoll will soon be able to return to stay in one of the 2000 guesthouse beds that Addu City Council aims to develop via its Guesthouse Tourism Promotion Board.

Finally, suggestions by the US State Department that Maldivian authorities were aware of funds being raised for terrorism abroad were rejected, as were the Maldivian Democratic Party’s suggestions that the extremist ideologies were becoming prevalent within the security services.

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Maldives “not prepared” for repercussions of collapsing Antarctic glacier

The Maldives “is not prepared at all” for the projected acceleration of sea level rise caused by the collapse of a glacier system in Western Antarctica, local environmental groups have said.

Two separate studies, by Nasa and the University of Washington, reported on Monday that unstable glaciers in the Amundsen Sea contain enough water to raise global sea levels by at least four feet, or 1.2 meters, in the coming centuries.

The melting of the Thwaites glacier – caused by warmer global temperatures – has begun and cannot be stopped even with drastic action to cut greenhouse emissions, scientists have warned.

The Maldives archipelago is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, with 80 percent of its 1,200 islands lying no more than a meter above sea level.

The collapse of the glacier has prompted international concern for the future of the archipelago, with financial news organization Bloomberg advising readers to “take that Maldives vacation you’ve been promising yourself — before it’s too late.”

“The issue is very big, it cannot be ignored like this. The government is not doing very much,” Ecocare member Maeed Zahir said.

The unexpected acceleration of the rise in sea level puts both the land mass and the people of Maldives at risk, he said.

“Its not only about submersion, it is also about the livelihood of the people. There will be an alarming impact on fisheries,” he noted. “Health issues will also come under impact. When the tides and water flood the island there will be water borne disease.”

Contingency Plans

Meanwhile, environmental advocacy group Bluepeace has called on the government to make contingency plans immediately.

Bluepeace founder Ali Rilwan argued “elevated adapted islands” where islands are raised by three meters through reclamation or buildings are raised on three-meter high stilts are the only solution for the Maldives.

“We cannot depend on the outcome of the international negotiations,” he said. “We have to find our own survival.”

Other measures include creating water villages, he added.

The organisation has recently also called for better conservation and management of reefs, wetlands, sea grass beds, and coastal vegetation as global warming pushes the Maldives into “uncharted waters.”

Former President Mohamed Nasheed had previously suggested relocating the Maldivian population to higher ground.

He told the Guardian in 2008 “We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere,” naming Sri Lanka, India and Australia, as possible spots for a refuge. “It’s an insurance policy for the worst possible outcome,” he added.

The Minister of Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Climate Change policy

The current administration’s policies on climate change have been hard to define.

The Environment Ministry has announced a number of initiatives to minimize the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, including a pledge to convert 30 percent of all electrical use to renewable energy, and the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) set to “transform the Maldives energy sector.”

However, President Abdulla Yameen has also pledged to explore for crude oil in the Maldives as an alternative means of diversifying the economy and supplementing fuel supply.

Criticising Yameen’s policies, Rilwan said: “Politicans are always likely to focus on economic development. They are totally aware [of climate change] but because of short term political gain, they do not think of long term survival.”

The Thwaites Glacier

Researchers said that although sea level rise could not be stopped, it is still several centuries off, and potentially up to 1,000 years away.

Speaking to the Guardian, The University of Washington researchers stated that the Thwaites glacier acts as a dam that holds back the rest of the ice sheet. Once Thwaites goes, researchers said, the remaining ice in the sheet could cause another 10 to 13ft (3 – 4 meters) of global sea-level rise.

The latest report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that the effects of global warming are “Risk of death, injury, and disrupted livelihoods in low-lying coastal zones and small island developing states, due to sea-level rise, coastal flooding, and storm surges.”

The report projected sea level to rise between 0.22 and 0.44 meters by the mid 2090s based on projections of thermal expansion and melting of alpine glaciers.

In light of the Thwaites discovery, the rate of sea levels will double compared to the original IPCC predictions, glaciologist for the British Antarctic Survey Hamish Pritchard predicted.

Photo by Jim Yungel/NASA Photograph

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Environment Minister pledges to minimize Maldives dependence on fossil fuels

Minister of Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim has called for increased investment in clean energy in the Maldives and pledged to minimize the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.

The government is working on a low carbon development strategy to improve energy security and strengthen the economy, Thoriq told participants of a one-day workshop at the Nasandhura Palace Hotel this morning.

The Environment Minister’s announcement comes at a time when President Abdulla Yameen has called for investment in oil exploration in the country.

Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Mohamed Shainee told Minivan News in late April that at least one investor is scheduled to visit the Maldives for discussions on exploration. Shainee had assured potential investors of presence of oil in the Maldives at a recent investment forum in Singapore.

However, Thoriq today expressed concern over “the vulnerability of the Maldivian economy due to high dependence on fossil fuels.”

The country spends 30 percent of its GDP on importing fossil fuels, he said. In 2012, the Maldives had spent US$ 486 million on oil imports, and the figure is estimated to increase to US$ 700 million by 2020.

Lying just a meter above sea level, the Maldives is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change impacts such as sea level rise, ocean acidification and extreme weather events.

Thoriq has previously said the government will convert 30 percent of daily peak electrical load to renewable energy.

“Maldives is committed to introduce cost-effective renewable energy as part of a diverse, low carbon and secure energy mix in our low carbon development. We are determined and actively working towards making 30 percent of daily peak electrical load of all populated islands to renewable energy within next five years,” he said in a statement on April 14.

The workshop at Nasandhura was held to present an assessment – carried out by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) – on the potential of low carbon development in the Maldives. Minivan News was unable to obtain the document from the Environment Ministry at the time of press.

According to a press release, the assessment will help the government “make an informed contribution to climate negotiations ongoing or the new climate agreement set to be agreed in Paris in 2015.”

An official from the Environment Ministry told Minivan News that the Maldives policy on climate change has not yet been set, but said that a draft is currently under review. He said the climate change draft policy framework consists of five goals; sustainable financing, low carbon development, adaptation and opportunities, advocacy and awareness, and sustainable development.

Thoriq has previously said the Maldives will call for global temperature rise to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celcius.

In 2009, Global leaders recognized “the scientific view that the increase in global temperature should be below two degrees Celsius” to combat climate change.

Earlier this week, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that too many stakeholders are still “sitting on the fence”, as he challenged participants at a climate conference in Abu Dhabi to make bold political decisions to combat climate change.

“Change is in the air. I challenge you to be part of that change – to be at the head of the race,” he encouraged.

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Averting climate change catastrophe is still possible, says environment minister

Minister of Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim has called for a cap on global temperature rise, and pledged to increase renewable energy to 30% in the next 5 years.

“Averting catastrophe is still possible,” said Thoriq in a statement released yesterday (April 14).

“The impacts of climate change are already being felt, and that is why we are calling for a cap of 1.5 degree Celcius.”

Thoriq’s pledges were made in response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report entitled ‘Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change’, released on March 31.

The IPCC report contends that the world, in many cases, is ill-prepared for risks from a changing climate. However, it also argues that there are opportunities to respond to such risks, though the risks will be more difficult to manage the higher the levels of warming.

The report confirms that carbon emissions have risen more rapidly during the last decade, and that a rise in our current temperature would make the effects extremely difficult to manage. It further urged leaders to invest in low carbon energy projects in order to limit global warming to 2 degrees celcius.

The statement by Thoriq explains that the Maldives – with its low lying islands vulnerable to a rise in sea levels – has been actively campaigning the impacts of climate change for 27 years.

“We are determined and actively working towards increasing our share of renewable in the electricity production of populated islands by 30% within next 5 years,” stated Thoriq.

“The Maldives is committed to introduce cost effective renewable energy as part of a diverse, low-carbon and secure energy mix in our low carbon development.”

The IPCC report prompted calls from Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon for the international community to switch from ” ‘business-as-usual’ mode to ‘action now’ “.

“Let this report be the much needed impetus for this September’s Climate Summit in New York, and let us all put our names in history books for saving the planet for our children, in Paris next year”, said Dunya shortly after the report’s publication.

Policies in progress

In keeping with these statements, the Ministry of Environment had recently revealed plans to set up a climate research institute in the Maldives.

Speaking as the guest of honour at the second forum on climate held in the Maldives, Minister Thoriq said that this forum was an important step in mitigating the risks of climate change that low-lying island states experience, reported local media outlet CNM.

Introduced in the Maldives in July 2012, the Monsoon Forum has taken a multi-hazard approach, integrating issues on forecasts and warning information with concerns regarding geological hazards like earthquakes and tsunamis.

This forum – organised jointly by the Maldives Meteorological Service and the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems – is geared as an opportunity for dialogue between hydro-meteorological scientists, who generate climate information and promote the application of forecasts and warning information for enhanced management of climate change risks.

Thoriq said that these meetings were crucial as different institutions have to anticipate possible impacts and develop a set of potential responses or management strategies to minimise them. He was also reported to have highlighted the importance of having a climate research institute in the Maldives.

In addition, the ministry recently held an international renewable energy investor’s conference, focusing on the development of solar energy, in a bid to transform the Maldives’ energy sector.

Held on March 26, the ministry reported that a total of 78 participants from government organisations, the World Bank, foreign consultants, and investors discussed photovoltaic systems at the conference.

The conference came after the government last week outlined it’s strategic aims for renewable energy in a proposal named ‘Accelerating Sustainable Private Investments in Renewable Energy programme’ (ASPIRE).

Published March 21 2014, this report detailed some of the difficulties faced by the Maldives, as well as future plans to increase the proportion of sustainable energy consumed in the country.

After the publication of the IPCC report, Thoriq stated that there was “no room at all for any hesitancy”.

“Bold and urgent actions are the order of the day. Now is the time for world leaders to show leadership, implement bold and urgent actions and avert future generations from impending danger before it’s too late. Humanity cannot afford further delay.”

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Lighting the way: Youth and the environment

Last night (March 29), the Maldives took part in celebrating the international event, Earth Hour. In the press statement prior to the event, the Ministry of Environment and Energy confirmed that the activities planned around Earth Hour Maldives 2014 were to be “mainly focused on children and youths.”

As the next generation is invited to take responsibility for climate change, some still wonder if the young people of the Maldives are being equipped to tackle one of the biggest threats to the archipelago.

“There needs to be a lot more dialogue on climate change,” argues Ahmed Shaam from NGO Dhi Youth Movement, who helped organise a youth-led flash mob to promote Earth Hour Maldives. “Apathy comes from lack of understanding.”

According to its statement, Earth Hour’s mission is three-fold: to bring people together through a symbolic hour-long event, to galvanise people into taking action beyond the hour, and to create an interconnected global community sharing the mutual goal of creating a sustainable future for the planet.

From 8:30pm to 9:30pm local time on the last Saturday of March every year, Earth Hour is celebrated in all countries by encouraging people to turn off all the lights and electrical appliances in a “massive show of concern for the environment”, according to the event’s website.

Earth Hour 2014 in the Maldives was a joint venture by the Scout Association of Maldives, with support from the Ministry of Environment and the State Electric Company Limited (STELCO).

The activities included an impressive firework display followed by bands and DJs performing on the main stage – equipped with stage lighting and PA system. Organisers confirmed that they were expecting around 470 attendees, but estimate that the number was much higher than that.

However, while young people attended in their hundreds, the question remains as to whether people really engaged with the subject at the heart of the campaign – or were the bright lights of the stage the main attraction?

“I think people who work on Earth Hour have really good intentions and did a really good job,” said Project Co-ordinator for Dhi Youth Movement Shaam. He added, however, “I think Maldivians are not in the right place to take initiative on their own, the government needs to do a lot more work in terms of creating awareness.”

Youth-led action

Dhi Youth Movement is one of the Maldives most popular youth led NGOs, but also the newest – having only been officially established in 2012. In spite of this, the “new kids on the block” have an impressive resumé of events, including the Kittu Hivaaru Festival – a platform for aspiring young artists and musicians to showcase their talents.

Priding themselves on thinking outside the box, Dhi Youth Movement organised an alternative to the official Earth Hour activities, with an estimated 60-70 young people attending the Dhi Youth Earth Hour campaign called ‘Simon Says’ – an interactive ‘flash mob’ which took over the streets of Malé last night.

The pioneering event invited attendees to download a track from the internet via social media, and directed them to a central meeting point. Once there, participants play the audio track from their mobile phone at exactly 8pm. The activities are based on a mixture of fun, and environmental conscience – with one instruction being to go into a shop which has not turned off the lights for Earth Hour, and slow-dance with a mannequin. On leaving the shop, young people would inform the perplexed owners about Earth Hour, and some of the issues behind the project.

Speaking about why their event was a welcome supplement to the official activities, Dhi Youth’s Shaam explained that “people sometimes forget the actual reason why they are doing it, and there needs to be more emphasis on why we are doing it. In our event we make sure there is an environmental component to it.”

“I think there still needs to be a lot more of a dialogue when it comes to climate changes– people in the islands don’t see how climate change can affect us.”

Political Change vs Climate Change

Under the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives had pledged to become carbon neutral by 2020.

As one of the lowest-lying countries in the world, with an average elevation of 1.5 meters above sea level, the country is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as sea level rise.

Based on the findings of a 2013 report on the effects of climate change, the World Bank highlighted the urgent need for concerted efforts to support the Maldives in adapting to climate change.

Nasheed sought to highlight the need for the Maldives to be a key model for other countries seeking to become more sustainable, and that an inability to meet the unilateral commitments would prove detrimental to wider arguments around the globe for adopting law carbon initiatives.

The government of Nasheed’s successor Dr Mohamed Waheed also said that it was committed to “not completely“ reversing the Nasheed administration’s zero carbon strategy: “What we are aiming to do is to elaborate more on individual sustainable issues and subject them to national debate,” said Waheed.

Speaking to Minivan News in October 2012, the government assured that they were adhering to their commitment to become carbon neutral by 2020 in spite of political uncertainty.

More recently in the news, the International Renewable Energy Investor’s conference, focusing on the development of solar energy in the Maldives, took place on March 26 at Bandos resort.

The one-day conference – organised by the Ministry of Environment and Energy with the World Bank – aimed to transform the Maldives’ energy sector by reducing the dependency on costly fossil fuels for power generation.

Meanwhile, further confirmation has come in recent weeks from President Abdulla Yameen that that the government will commence work on locating crude oil in the Maldives.

According to local media, Yameen had said that if the government is indeed successful in finding oil in the Maldives, the outlook for the entire country would change for the better.

“The previous government [Maldivian Democratic Party] had a lot of emphasis on environment and climate change, they tried a lot of advocacy and awareness, but I think the current government needs to do a lot more to create awareness,” said Shaam.

“They don’t understand why they need to do this. Apathy comes form lack of understanding – if the people involved can pass on information to the public there will be less apathy.”

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Asia can no longer follow West’s polluting ways: South China Morning Post

“For decades, Asian leaders largely ignored climate change. It’s a Western problem, we said. They caused the problem by dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; let them clean it up,” write former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed and former President of East Timor José Ramos-Horta in the South China Morning Post.

“Instead, we Asian leaders focused on reducing poverty by growing our economies. We were not responsible for the pollution, we argued; so we should not have to pay for it. Yes, Asia’s industrialisation was quietly building up toxic stores of carbon, but we were only following the rich world’s prescription for success. Carbon equals growth, it said; and, like those who took up smoking on the doctor’s orders, we were not to blame.

There was a time when the assumptions underpinning this line of thinking were true. Not any more.

Climate change has become malignant. It threatens to blunt Asia’s growth and upend our development. Climate scientists are increasingly certain that catastrophic weather events – such as the 2011 floods in Thailand, one of history’s costliest disasters, or last year’s Typhoon Haiyan, which killed thousands of people in the Philippines – will become more frequent and intense.

From small island states to delta settlements, Asia is the climate front line. Seven of the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change are in Asia and the Pacific. Millions of Asians are at risk. It falls to Asian governments, whose primary responsibility is to protect their citizens, to respond.”

Read more

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Climate injustice an opportunity for more sustainable justice: Nasheed

“I see the injustice created by climate change as an opportunity,” said former President Mohamed Nasheed stated in his keynote address at the “Women Rising for Climate Justice – A Day of Action” event held in Male’ on Thursday night.

Women, poor women in particular, face greater hardships and challenges from climate change injustices, he noted, adding that Nasheed said that three women died for every man who died in the 2004 tsunami.

The event was organised by local NGO Voice of Women (VOW) with Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network (WECAN). It was also in collaboration with ‘One Billion Rising for Justice‘ (a global campaign to end violence against women, calling for justice and gender equality).

Recalling his visits to temporary shelters for victims of the tsunami in Maldives, Nasheed said that hardships faced by women after such a disaster were also far greater. Commenting on the impact of climate change on health, he said the effects were also felt more strongly by women, as individuals and as caregivers.

Conflicts and wars that result from that scarcity of natural resources caused by climate change also have a greater impact on women, Nasheed said.

“We see that women stand up when they face hardships. When women stand up and take action, I believe things improve in a more sustainable manner,” he continued. “I have found their [women’s] work, courage, and willpower to be of an amazing level, especially because of how my life turned out to be in the past two or three years. I am sure you will work to find a solution for this issue. And I believe you can find those solutions. And I believe you can save this world.”

In addition to Nasheed, Minister of Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim also spoke at the event, pledging to raise his voice on behalf of women in climate change issues. He also said increasing women’s participation and protection of women’s rights in social and economic planning is very important to minimise the impacts of climate change.

A statements of encouragement and solidarity sent from female leaders involved in climate change justice was also delivered at the event.

Among those who sent the message were former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, the founder of WECAN Osprey Orielle Lake, and Director of Climate Wise Women Tracy Mann.

A song produced by VOW ‘Climate Justice, Vow with us’ was performed live at the event, before all attendees signed the WECAN declaration ‘Women of the World Call for Urgent Action on Climate Change & Sustainability Solutions’.

The declaration

The declaration was ratified at the International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit held in New York in September 2012. Described as “the clarion call to the women and men of the world” – the declaration targets the global women’s movement for climate action and sustainable solutions “to put the world on notice that women will take action at all levels”.

Calling for the fulfilment of existing international agreements on women’s equality and climate change, the declaration makes a number of demands from governments and communities.

Notable demands of the declaration include the call for a binding climate treaty to reduce carbon emissions under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), demands to bring atmospheric CO2 concentrations to below 350ppm, to protect 20 percent of the world’s oceans by 2020, and 40 percent by 2040 in marine preserves and sanctuaries.

In terms of energy, it demands the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies and the introduction of carbon taxes, increasing investment in conservation, energy efficiency, and safe energy, divesting from “dangerous and dirty” fossil fuel developments (such as fracking and deep-water oil drilling) while also rejecting greenhouse gas emissions reductions through high-risk technologies (such as nuclear energy, and geo-engineering).

In climate funding, the declaration demands prioritising and increasing of adaptation funding to build community resilience for ‘”those most affected by climate change” and making them more accessible for community-based groups, including women’s groups.

The declaration also calls for “common but differentiated responsibilities” between the global north and global south in resolving the climate crisis and implementing new economic indicators and structures that encourage sustainability and abandon models for limitless economic growth.

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Maldives awarded US$6 million loan for clean energy projects

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has pledged Dh22million (US$6 million) in concessionary loans for clean energy projects in the Maldives, Abu Dhabi media has reported.

The announcement came as Abu Dhabi hosted the Fourth Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – attended by a delegation from the Maldives.

“Maldives does not have the luxury of time to sit and wait for the rest of the world to act and that Maldives has started the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” Maldivian Minister for Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim told the assembly.

Local newspaper ‘The National’ has reported that the loans will provide half of the funds for a waste to energy project that will address both environmental and health issues in the Maldives.

The project will benefit 120,000 people, with a reduced need for landfills, the generation of 2MW of clean energy, and the production of 62 million litres of desalinated water per year.

The states selected to receive the ADFD loans were chosen upon the advice of IRENA – an intergovernmental organisation mandated by its 124 state members to promote the adoption of renewable energy.

Amongst the other states receiving a share of the Dh150 million (US$40.8 million) package of loans – selected from 80 applicants – were Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Ecuador ,and Samoa.

“These projects show the real impact of Irena in the world,” ‘The National’ quoted Chairwoman of the IRENA Advisory Committee Ilona Antoniszyn-Klik as saying.

“The selection criteria used in the project review ensured that these six projects selected are representative of geographic spread of the agency membership and cover a variety of renewable-energy technologies,” said Antoniszyn-Klik.

“The criteria also ensured that the projects were technically sound, they had to be innovative, replicable and improve energy access and security.”

The Maldives – a member of the group since 2009 – was represented at the forum by a delegation including Minister Thoriq, Minister of State for Environment and Energy Abdul Matheen Mohamed, Ambassador to the UAE Dr Aishath Shahenaz Adam, and Director General of Ministry of Environment and Energy Ahmed Ali.

Addressing the the high level IRENA plenary session, Thoriq noted that despite being an insignificant contributor to climate change, the Maldives was taking bold steps to move towards renewable energies.

“He assured that Maldives stands and will continue to be at the frontline combating climate change,” reported the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

The delegation will be in attendance throughout Adu Dhabi Sustainablility Week, which features an array of exhibitions and conferences in the wings of the 7th World Future Energy Summit. The week is expected to be attended by over 30,000 people from 150 countries.

Last month, the European Union pledged a further €4million to address climate change in the Maldives, bringing its total contributions to €38million over the past four years.

December also saw the signing of a climate protection agreement between the Maldives and German governments. The agreement consists of a €3million grant to be split between a solar panel project and the development of low-carbon guidelines for local businesses.

In a recent report titled ‘Turn Down The Heat’, the World Bank reasserted the urgent need for concerted efforts to support the Maldives in adapting to climate change, due to a projected sea level rise of 115 centimetres by 2090.

In the document, a 4 degree Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) global temperature increase was predicted by the end of the 21st century unless concerted action is taken immediately.

Based on the report’s findings, the World Bank has highlighted the urgent need for concerted efforts to support the Maldives in adapting to climate change.

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Comment: Corruption must not capsize a sinking state

This article first appeared on the Transparency International blog. Republished with permission.

In 2011 the then-president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, held a televised cabinet meeting underwater. Armed with oxygen tanks and waterproof pens, ministers signed a document calling on countries to slash their carbon emissions.

Nasheed also pledged to make the Maldives fossil fuel-free by 2020, and announced his intent to buy land in neighbouring India or Sri Lanka so that Maldivians could repatriate rather than become climate refugees.

Nasheed’s motives were clear. The Maldives’ archipelago looks like paradise defined – sand-laced islands sprinkle the Indian Ocean like a starry sky of azure blue. But its peace is precarious. Comprised of nearly 1,200 low-lying islands, it has no in-built life raft to the rising waters and fierce, frequent storms that global warming portends.

When the 2004 tsunami hit the Maldives its waves were barely a metre high. One hundred people died and 11,000 were displaced.

Maldivians have not been relocated. Instead they are left with the task of transforming their country into a fortress – building dykes, reinforcing coastlines and safeguarding natural coral reef defences, all the while forging the transition to a low-carbon lifestyle. This won’t come cheap. In 2010 government estimates suggested that that US$279.5 million would be needed for climate change adaptation by 2020.

Climate money is a dove of hope to those whose skies and seas are turning against them. The trouble is that in many cases it is entering countries and sectors characterised by risk.

The last time the Maldives featured on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index – in 2011 – it scored 2.5 out of a possible 10, alongside Cameroon, and up one decimal place from Russia. Ninety-six per cent of Maldivians surveyed in our 2013 Global Corruption Barometer believed that their government was run by a few elites acting in their own interests.

These statistics are brought to life through tales of cronyism and back-door dealing. In 2011, the Maldives’ Anti-Corruption Commission began investigations into a US$21 million public infrastructure project aimed at developing a stretch of coastline.

A construction company had reportedly been hired to carry out the work without following the required procedures. The company in question was co-owned by Moosa Manik, chair of the country’s ruling party, meaning that, in the words of the Anti-Corruption Commission, the project would “illegally benefit a particular party”.

Rural communities left clueless

Against this backdrop, Transparency Maldives has been investigating possible entry points for corruption in the climate sector. Their new report, ‘An Assessment of Climate Finance Governance’, articulates a number of concerns.

For a start, government information on climate projects, their budgets and progress can be hard to come by in the Maldives. Accessibility is improving, but it will often involve official written requests, persistent phone calls and visits to ministries. This creates a situation of stark information asymmetry.

In the capital Malé, citizens with time, resources or friends in high places may acquire information. Further afield, communities whose water supply is being desalinated will likely be clueless about what to expect from the project or how much it’s worth.

Anyone tenacious or privileged enough to access government data will then face the unenviable task of making sense of it. Information made available was often out of date or inconsistent – the names of projects changed from year to year in the national budget, as had financial data.

Frustratingly, different ministries have their own systems for reporting and disclosure, resulting in very divergent accounts of how much climate money is being spent where.

As for where climate funds end up, some Maldivians have questioned why certain islands have been favoured over others. In the absence of clear criteria for project selection, it could be that a decision-maker is guided by personal or political concerns rather than factors such as population size or climate vulnerability.

Discretionary decision-making is a problem further downstream, too. Implementing agencies in the Maldives tend to appraise their own projects rather than reporting to a central monitoring body, meaning that they are effectively their own auditor, police and judge.

Transparency Maldives’ report isn’t entirely damning. In some respects the Maldives emerges as a standard-setter when compared to other countries – in its attempt to maintain a centralised database on all national development projects, for instance. Systems like this should be promoted, in the Maldives and elsewhere. Other mechanisms merit attention of a different kind – be that extra staff, increased information disclosure, third-party monitoring or more rigorous procedures for consulting the public on their needs and ideas for climate development.

The prospect of a stormy sea is significant when you live 1.5 metres above sea level, and the furthest from the coast you could possibly be is three kilometres. Both are true of Maldivians.

A country that is bracing itself for disaster needs to know that the dykes will hold when the storm surge bears down upon them. It cannot afford for bribery, nepotism or embezzlement that equates to shoddy workmanship, cheap materials or phantom projects. Our chapter’s research will, we hope, act as a prophylactic to such eventualities. Tackled now, systemic or institutional shortcomings might be shored up before the Maldivian cabinet has no choice but to meet underwater.

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