President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has called on developed countries to fulfil their climate finance obligations, stressing that the Maldives and other vulnerable island nations cannot be expected to borrow their way out of a crisis they did little to create.
Addressing the High-Level Segment of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, President Muizzu said climate finance must be new, additional, predictable and grant-based, rather than adding to the debt burden of countries already facing the consequences of climate change.
We cannot be expected to borrow our way out of a crisis we did little to create. Resilience must not come at the cost of unsustainable debt
The President outlined three priorities requiring urgent international action: climate finance, reform of the international financial architecture and effective implementation of climate commitments.
On financing, he called for the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund, adequate funding for the Loss and Damage Fund and greater resources for the Adaptation Fund, stressing that developed countries must honour their obligations under international climate agreements.
He also urged reforms to the international financial system to better recognise the vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
President said international financial institutions and credit rating agencies must change how they assess climate investments, arguing that spending on resilience should be recognised as an investment in the collective future rather than a financial liability.
Turning to the Maldives' domestic climate efforts, the President said the country was strategically deploying its limited international and domestic resources to strengthen food, energy and water security.
He said the Maldives was progressing towards its renewable energy targets through the expansion of clean energy across its islands and had made advances in improving access to climate finance.
President Dr. Muizzu also highlighted the recent accreditation of the Maldives' first national direct access entity to the Green Climate Fund, describing it as a first for an Asian Small Island Developing State.
He said the accreditation demonstrated the country's institutional readiness to access and deliver climate financing.
Ambition without implementation is merely a promise
calling for finance, technology transfer and political commitment to translate international pledges into measurable progress.
He further stressed the importance of allowing Small Island Developing States to determine their own development pathways through a global system that recognises their specific circumstances and challenges.
The Maldives is not asking for sympathy. We are calling for justice, responsibility and action
He called on countries participating in COP31 to demonstrate that multilateral cooperation could deliver meaningful results rather than commitments that remain unfulfilled.
Let COP31 demonstrate that multilateralism can deliver, not through promises alone, but through meaningful results
The President also thanked Türkiye for hosting the conference and commended Brazil for its leadership at COP30, held last year.
COP31 brings together world leaders, government representatives and climate stakeholders to discuss international cooperation and measures to address the growing impacts of climate change.
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