Sept. 8: The President of the Maldives said on Monday he plans a $3-a-day green tax for all tourists at its popular island resorts to help pay for the country’s ambitious goals in fighting climate change.
Since taking office last year, President Mohammed Nasheed has emerged as an important voice on the impact of climate change amid fears that within a century, rising ocean levels could swamp this Indian Ocean archipelago. Its islands average 7 feet above sea level, making the Maldives the lowest-lying nation on earth. Mr Nasheed has announced plans for a fund to buy a new homeland if the 1,192 low-lying coral islands are submerged. He also has promised to make the Maldives, with a population of 350,000, the world’s first carbon-neutral nation within a decade.
On Monday, the President also told foreign reporters that rich and poor countries need to look beyond national interests if the world is to reach a deal on fighting climate change.
Countries will meet to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol at talks scheduled for Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.
Wealthy nations want broad cuts in emissions from all countries, while poorer countries say industrialised countries should carry most of the burden.
Mr Nasheed said the issue of climate change is too important to allow such disagreements to stop a deal and it will be soon seen as a national security concern, not just an environmental one.
