Minister attends the CCAC High Level Assembly
14.11.2017. Bonn. Minister Thoriq attended the High Level Assembly of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition held at the margins of UNFCCC COP23 here at Bonn, Germany.
Speaking at the assembly, Minister Thoriq noted that there was now a clear scientific case, as well as a human health and environmental need to take urgent and collective action against Short Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs). Minister Thoriq further highlighted the national efforts towards managing municipal solid waste management in the Maldives and reiterated the challenges of establishing adequate municipal solid waste management facilities in small island developing states such as the Maldives. The dispersed nature of the islands, as well as the significant investment costs required and the limitations to achieve economies of scale are some of the fundamental challenges countries such as Maldives face in this regard.
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations committed to improving air quality and protecting the climate through actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants. Maldives will soon begin calculating SLCP emissions in the country using the CCAC LEAP tool. This exercise will provide a baseline of SLCPs in the Maldives, which will then inform future policy directions.
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Minister Thoriq attends Canada’s Oceans and Climate Change Reception
14.11.2017. Bonn. Minister Thoriq attended a reception hosted by the Canadian government on Oceans and Climate Change. Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Thoriq emphasised that the impacts of climate change go beyond extreme weather events. Minister highlighted that “Small islands, as large ocean states, are also feeling the impacts of ocean acidification and coral bleaching as a consequence of climate change”.
Minister Thoriq urged the international community to focus on implementation of the Paris Agreement and in this regard, highlighted the efforts by small island developing states, such as the Initiative for Renewable Island Energy (IRIE). Maldives hosted a Ministerial Meeting of IRIE in October. The primary objective of this meeting was to enhance AOSIS political coordination and outreach to development partners with a view to mobilizing the resources – finance, technology, and capacity building – required for a rapid transition to renewable energy systems in SIDS.
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COP Presidency Event: ‘Policy coherence and Joint delivery: UN System’s support to low-emission and climate resilient development at the national level’
15.11.2017. Bonn. Minister Thoriq attended the high level policy dialogue organised by the UNFCCC COP23 presidency on ‘Policy coherence and Joint delivery: UN System’s support to low-emission and climate resilient development at the national level’.
As a panellist for the event, Minister Thoriq highlighted vulnerability of small island developing states to disasters and climate change. Furthermore, Minister Thoriq highlighted that disaster risk reduction strategies can have co-benefits for climate change adaptation insofar as building back better provides an important avenue to increase resiliency and enhance adaptation to the impacts of climate change. However, Minister Thoriq noted that the fallacy of equating adaptation measures as development projects have negatively impacted the resiliency of small island developing states and threaten their very survival. As such, Minister Thoriq called for enhanced global action, particularly in ensuring the availability of finance for adaptation measures.
The event was attended by the the President of Fiji H.E. Mr Frank Bainimarama, the Secretary General of the UN Mr António Guterres, UNDP Administrator Mr Achim Steiner, the Executive Director Erik Solheim, the Executive Secretary of UNFCCC Ms Patricia Espinosa, and the Minister of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Develop of St. Lucia Ms Gale Rigobert.
