UN General Assembly
2021

I wish to highlight one important aspect of the report — that the past five years have been the hottest on record since records started in the mid-nineteenth century. The rate of sea-level rise has tripled in comparison to the period 1901 to 1970. We have already caused a 1.1 °C increase in global warming. The recommendations are alarming given their urgency. Global emissions need to be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030, and reach net-zero by 2050, if we are to limit warming to 1.5°C. “Existential threat”, “cease to exist”, “climate vulnerable”, “risk of disappearing”, “loss of identity” and “environmental refugees” are all phrases commonly tossed around to describe the plight that the people of the Maldives and other island States like us would face if current trends continue unabated. The difference between 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees is a death sentence for the Maldives. One overarching fact remains — the state of environmental ruin that small island States endure now will, without a doubt, catch up with larger nations sooner rather than later. There is no guarantee of survival for any nation in a world where the Maldives ceases to exist.