The European Union (EU) has signed its Financing Agreement of 5 million euros with Maldives, emphasizing its commitment to continue and strengthen cooperation on climate change.
The EU assured to support Maldives in implementing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), pledged by the government in fulfilling the obligations under the Paris Agreement in 2015. The agreement was signed in the side-lines of Maldives Partnership Forum 2019 by EU Ambassador to Maldives Tung-Lai Margue and Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer, in the presence of the Minister of Environment, Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan.
Reaffirming the role of EU as a like-minded partner in the global fight against the adverse impacts of climate change, Ambassador Margue said the organisation welcomes the opportunity to assist Maldives in fulfilling its international commitments, while supporting its citizens in adapting and building a climate resilient economy and society. He added the use of renewable energy resources will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but will have important energy security co-benefits, as it will help Maldives move away from an over reliance on fossil fuel imports, which makes the country highly vulnerable to global fuel price fluctuations.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ameer thanked the European Union for the generous assistance and stated the assistance will be a great contribution towards the ongoing Preparing Outer Islands for Sustainable Energy Development (POISED) project in Maldives, in implementation of solar diesel battery hybrid systems in two of the atolls.
The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Environment as part of the pledge for Maldives to lead towards a low carbon economy. The funding from EU, which falls under the Global Climate Change Alliance + Programme, will co-finance the on-going POISED project and will equip approximately 15-20 islands with hybrid PV-diesel systems to meet at least 30% of their daytime peak demand, thereby significantly reducing the requirement for diesel to generate electricity in the outer islands.
Moreover, Environment Minister Hussain Rasheed revealed the finance will surely speed up the implementation of the Maldives NDC and to achieve the low carbon development goals thanking the EU for working with the Ministry of Environment achieve the target.
Significant financial resources are needed to implement the Paris Agreement and help developing countries deal with climate change. Maldives remains one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change pressures, and its communities face an existential threat on a daily basis.
The EU, its member states and the European Investment Bank are together the biggest contributor of public climate finance to developing countries, giving 20.4 billion euros in 2017 alone.