Climate change is no longer solely an environmental concern but an escalating security issue, Foreign Minister Dr Abdulla Khaleel told an international audience in Munich yesterday, as the Maldives sought to frame rising sea levels as a multidimensional global risk rather than a distant ecological problem.
Speaking at a side event co-hosted by the Global Centre for Climate Mobility and the Robert Bosch Stiftung during the 62nd Munich Security Conference, Dr Khaleel addressed the implications of sea-level rise for vulnerable states. The discussion, titled Rising Seas, Rising Risks: How to respond to the multidimensional security challenges posed by sea level rise, brought together policymakers and experts examining how climate change intersects with geopolitics, migration and national security.
Dr Khaleel argued that while climate change is a global phenomenon, its consequences are unevenly distributed. Small island developing states such as the Maldives, despite contributing minimally to global emissions, are confronting accelerating sea-level rise and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. For low-lying countries, he indicated, the issue extends beyond environmental degradation to encompass territorial integrity, economic stability and long-term habitability.
The Minister outlined the Maldives’ approach to strengthening resilience, citing the development of Rasmalé, an elevated safe city designed to withstand projected sea-level rise, alongside broader investments in infrastructure aimed at climate adaptation. These measures form part of a wider national strategy to safeguard communities and critical assets against future shocks.
However, Dr Khaleel cautioned that adaptation alone would not be sufficient to address the scale of the threat. He called for concrete global action supported by sustained political commitment, suggesting that climate risks, if left unmanaged, could compound existing security vulnerabilities.
Concluding his remarks, the Minister reiterated the Maldives’ commitment to climate advocacy on the international stage and urged greater solidarity in protecting climate-vulnerable nations, framing the challenge as one that requires collective responsibility to secure a sustainable future.
