Maldives committed to carbon cut-out plan in spite of domestic strife: PRI

Three years on from unveiling plans to make the Maldives the world's first carbon neutral nation by 2020, President Mohamed Nasheed has told reporters that he remains “confident” his ambitions will be met as more inhabited and resort islands begin considering embracing greener technologies.

Speaking to international media, the president's optimism concerning the nation's eco-aims comes despite a continued national reliance on fossils fuels and ongoing constitutional upheaval in the country, which has at times threatened to directly impact the lucrative tourism industry.

The Public Radio International (PRI) news service reports that with the Maldives spending an estimated 15 percent of its total GDP on diesel fuel, the country, which has recently re-branded its identity to global visitors as being “always natural”, is still hoping to make significant investments in renewable energy and green technology.

President Nasheed has in recent years strived to put the country at the centre of international dialogue over reducing the potential ecological impacts of climate change.

Nasheed says his government remains confident that carbon-based fuels can be “squeezed out” of the national economy amidst fears over the nation's long-term survival against predicted rises in sea levels.

“The Maldives is ground zero when it comes to climate change. It’s the lowest lying country in the world with an average elevation of just 1.5 metres above sea level. And if global carbon emissions continue unchecked, much of the 1,200 island archipelago could be underwater by the end of this century,” writes the PRI.  “So the Maldives wants to lead by example in hopes that others will follow suit. Diesel engines drive almost everything in the Maldives, from the ferries that run between the country’s islands to the electric generators that provide power to its 350,000 citizens.”

Resort commitments

However, secluded in a seemingly different world, the country's almost entirely island resort-based tourism industry – as the largest generator of revenue for the nation – has itself seen some local and multinational hospitality groups look to adopt more sustainable, not to mention fashionable, operations.

One such group is the Six Senses company, which operates a number of properties around Asia including the Soneva Gili and Soneva Fushi resorts based in the Maldives.

Sonu Shivdasani, the company's founder, says that he hopes to meet similar carbon neutral aims at all his resort properties and wishes to see more of a local focus on what failing to become a sustainable nation could mean for the Maldives.

“I think initially [the president's] promotion has been very global,”Shivdasanitold PRI. “[like an] underwater cabinet meeting that’s shown around the world, and quoted on CNN. So that’s really what he’s been doing so far. But he’ll need the support of every individual Maldivian if we’re going to meet the target.”

Dictatorship?

However, since Nasheed became the country's first democratically elected leader in 2008, the Maldives' transition from a dictatorship has not been plain sailing, particularly considering its young, fractiously partisan party political system.

Nasheed presently has faced weeks of protests and demonstrations from certain sections of the public regarding a dispute between himself and opposition politicians over the morals and ethics of the country's judiciary, which has seen him being accused of acting as a dictator after a senior judge was seized by the military.

The government has sought to consult the UN over the dispute, which it has labelled an “impasse”, in an attempt to obtain international assistance over its concerns about the conduct and political impartiality of the nation's judicial system.

Shivdasani suggests that domestic support from politicians and civilians could be the difference to ensuring the success of any carbon neutral schemes in the country.

Scale of the challenge

However, PRI reports that despite drives by the government to research technological projects based around renewable energy, the geography of a country spread over hundreds of individual islands presents huge challenges relating to costs, logistics and local needs.

Even with willing international assistance, a one-size-fits-all approach to adapting and preventing climate change is seen as an inefficient method by organisations such as the UN, which says it favours working with local communities and government to better ascertain what developments are needed at island level across the country.

From its own perspective, the government has pledged to back research programmes aimed at identifying what renewable energy projects may be best suited to specific parts of the country, as well as providing incentives for individuals and business adopting renewable practices. Yet despite these commitments, the price of political wrangling is reported to be a limiting factor on wider environmental aspirations espoused by the Maldives government.

“Shoring up Nasheed’s political support has sometimes meant making decisions that undercut his energy agenda. Among other things, he’s maintained an energy subsidy that keeps prices down but also reduces the incentive to use less,” the PRI news agency adds.  “And to keep up with current demand for electricity, the president is sticking with a plan inherited from the previous president to build a new diesel-fired power plant. It’s a difficult balance in a place that’s already on the edge.”

Speaking to PRI, President Nasheed concedes that as a small nation, the Maldives is limited in the overall contribution it can make to cutting global climate emissions, especially when compared to international power houses like China, the US and even India.

However, Nasheed claims that an important example can still be set by the country if it gets its own sustainable commitments right.

“We are 99 percent sure that we will be carbon neutral by 2020. And I believe that it’s not just going to be us. The economics will drive other countries also to do the same,” the president explains.

PRI reports that a number of nations such as Norway, Ethiopia and Costa Rica have all since pledged to similar carbon emissions reduction schemes.

“They’re small fish in the climate change picture, but President Nasheed said it’s a start,” concludes the report.