Small Island Nations Meet On Climate - "Time Running Out For Survival Of Future Generations" - AFP

MALE (AFP) — Dozens of small island nations opened talks in the Maldives Tuesday to draft a strategy to combat rising water levels in the world's oceans, which are threatening their very existence. Delegates from 26 low-lying nations at risk -- including Tonga, Micronesia and Kiribati -- are meeting to craft a proposal ahead of global climate change talks on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in December. "Time is running out for us to ensure the survival of our future generation," Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said in a speech to open the two-day meeting.

The low-lying nations fear not enough is being done to cut the greenhouse gases that are said to cause global warming, which experts warn could melt glaciers and polar ice caps, leading to a sharp increase in sea levels before the end of the century. A United Nations climate panel recently forecast that world sea levels are likely to rise up to 59 centimetres (23 inches) by 2100.

With millions of lives at stake, Gayoom warned that climate change was about much more than the environment, science or politics, telling delegates: "It is fundamentally an issue about people." He said the tidal surges experienced on 80 of the Maldives' 200 inhabited islands earlier this year were "a grim reminder of the devastating tsunami of 2004 and a clear warning of future disasters."

"There is no greater problem in the world today than climate change," added Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid. "The problem is getting worse -- there seems to be a lack of political will by world leaders to address this issue."

EDIT

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ghtZo7BHcIS-e_som1hCWwBW857Q

But under his leadership the Maldives have become heavily fossil-fuel dependent. While the vast majority of the islands are inhabited only by Maldivians (and foreigners are forbidden to travel to these islands) and agrarian in nature, tourism and industry are confined to Malé and a few selected resort islands. Malé is a super-urbanized island packed to the beaches with development, requiring imported fuel to power the island. A typical vacation to the Maldives requires a plane flight to Malé, followed by a powerboat trip to a resort island where you hotel requires fossil fuel to power its electricity and air-conditioning. Sure, the Maldives carbon output is miniscule when compare with the industrial giants, but there is something hypocritical about Gayoom telling everyone else to cut back while he increases.

"No one could have foreseen..."