Former President Mohamed Nasheed has invited President Donald Trump to see some of the challenges faced on the frontlines by vulnerable countries such as the Maldives.
Nasheed, who is also the Secretary General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), welcomed the opportunity to work with the new US administration but expressed disappointment over the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
"For our member countries, 70 of the most climate vulnerable developing countries, Paris is a lifeline. It enshrined a threshold for global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees for safety to be restored, and provided scales of justice to be rebalanced by the historical big emitters to, in some way, make amends for the climate damages we suffer daily," his statement read.
Nasheed stated that the work against climate change impacts "has always been about leadership."
"... the US must be a tide of change – to be exceptional – because climate change impacts are drowning, burning, and washing away the future of the poor and vulnerable – our future – and the worsening impacts cannot just be wished away," he said.
Nasheed invited Trump to see the impacts of climate change in the Maldives and other vulnerable countries.
"I am sure the US will be back in Paris, and meanwhile we must continue to build our clean, prosperous future together with those nations that are determined to help safeguard a better future for everyone."
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was negotiated by 196 parties at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Nasheed played a leading role at the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit when he was the President of the Maldives where world leaders agreed to a political accord to address climate change.
Nasheed has also done remarkable work to raise awareness of the impact of climate change in Maldives and other island nations. In October 2009, Nasheed held the world's first underwater cabinet meeting.
“We are trying to send our message to let the world know what is happening and what will happen to the Maldives if climate change isn't checked” Nasheed told the press at the time.
“What we are trying to make people realize is that the Maldives is a frontline state. This is not merely an issue for the Maldives but for the world. If we can't save the Maldives today, you can't save the rest of the world tomorrow”, he added.
