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Last night, at COP 21 in Paris, the Maldives held a side event focusing on the country’s island resiliency programme. Resiliency has become a larger issue at the climate negotiations in recent years as the impacts of the crisis take an ever large toll on vulnerable communities. The event featured Maldives environment minister, Thoriq Ibrahim, Lexumbourg’s environment minster,… Continue reading Maldives talks climate resilience

In a nod to the particular vulnerabilities faced by Small Island States, US President Barack Obama declared, “I am an island boy,” referring to his childhood years spent in Hawaii and Indonesia during a meeting with AOSIS  member states, St Lucia, Barbados, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, and Papua New Guinea. President Obama met with the leaders… Continue reading Obama: “I’m an island boy”

By Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives This week, world leaders are gathered in Paris for what is hoped to be the culmination of a 25-year effort to effectively address climate change. The event has special meaning for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a coalition of low- lying island… Continue reading AOSIS: A history of leadership at the UNFCCC

Distinguished Co-Chairs, Excellencies, Colleagues, The Maldives has the honour to speak on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States, a coalition of 44 coastal and low-lying islands states that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Let me begin by thanking you for your hard work over the course of the year.… Continue reading ADP Statement Paris

FROM REUTERS Abdullahi Majeed was a young delegate for the Maldives when low-lying island states warned for the first time in 1989 that climate change and rising seas could “threaten the very survival” of some nations. Now a 60-year-old veteran, Majeed is still repeating that message, one of a handful of delegates to this month’s… Continue reading Maldives’ Veteran Climate Negotiator

Photo: King Tides lapping at the doorstep in Funafuti Island, Tuvalu By Sima Enele Here we go: it’s the final stretch on the road to Paris. Tensions are high, blood pressure readings are high (mainly due to the excess coffee), heads are spinning in the spinoff groups, and delegates are frantically trying to find common… Continue reading Climate change doesn’t get any realer than this

By Ismail Raushan Zahir Ahead of the highly-anticipated United Nations climate change conference in Paris next month commentators have been touting “unprecedented political momentum” they say is building for an agreement. For certain, the international community seems to have learned valuable lessons from the infamous Copenhagen talks in 2009. But, as a citizen of a… Continue reading This is no time for complacency

This first-of-its-kind UNDP negotiators’ guide offers pertinent information about the UNFCCC for old delegates and new alike, just  in time for COP 21 in Paris. It looks at the history of the process through the lens of AOSIS participation and island needs–providing key background for negotiators to understand the historical, political, and legal context of… Continue reading New: Negotiators’ Guide for COP 21

By Rennier Gadabu The Dalai Lama wasn’t talking about the United Nation’s climate change negotiations when he said, ”a lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.” But he could have been. For certain, here at the latest round of climate talks in Bonn, Germany, the last before the international community tries… Continue reading Putting the Trust Back in Transparency

By George Uzice This week delegates from around the world will meet in Bonn, Germany for the last five negotiating days before a once-in-a-generation United Nations climate change conference in Paris next month. There are many issues in these complex negotiations, but one that is particularly important for my group, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS),… Continue reading Technology Key to Emissions Cuts and Island Resilience