- President Muizzu travels to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, to push for grant-based climate funding that avoids adding debt for small island states.
- The Maldives will work with the Alliance of Small Island States to demand faster climate finance, quicker loss and damage fund access, and tripled adaptation finance.
- The national climate plan prioritises coastal protection and aims to cut emissions by 1.52 million tonnes by 2035, conditional on international support.
The Maldives will press for more grant funding to help small island states adapt to climate change without taking on additional debt, as President Dr Mohamed Muizzu travels to Antalya, Türkiye, for the United Nations climate conference, COP31.
President Muizzu departed on Tuesday and will deliver the Maldives’ national statement, take part in high-level discussions and meet other leaders. First Lady Sajidha Mohamed and a senior delegation are accompanying him. The conference runs from 9 to 20 November, with the Antalya Leaders’ Summit taking place on 11 and 12 November.
At a press briefing on 9 November, President Muizzu said the Maldives would call for developed countries to provide more funding to help vulnerable nations recover from climate-related damage, MMTV reported. He also said the Maldives would push for faster implementation of the climate finance agreement reached at COP29 in Baku. Under that agreement, developed countries are to lead efforts to mobilise at least USD 300 billion a year for developing countries by 2035.
The Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy represented the Maldives at the opening plenary on Monday. In the negotiations, the country will work with the Alliance of Small Island States and seek quicker direct access to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, which helps vulnerable countries respond to climate impacts they cannot avoid.
Türkiye holds the COP31 presidency, while Australia leads the formal negotiations. A focus in Antalya is how to deliver on commitments made at earlier summits, including the call agreed at COP30 in Belém to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035. The UN Environment Programme estimates that developing countries will need about USD 305 billion a year for adaptation by 2035, compared with USD 28.2 billion to USD 31.7 billion in international public adaptation finance in 2024.
The Maldives’ national climate plan identifies coastal protection as a priority, with airports, harbours and utilities exposed to rising seas and coastal flooding. The plan also aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1.52 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2035 against projected levels, conditional on international support including finance and technology.
