Island ex-president Mohamed Nasheed still making waves

Toronto star: Mohamed Nasheed’s current status makes The Island President a misnomer. The star of the acclaimed documentary is now the ex-president of the Maldives, the island paradise in the Indian Ocean that is in danger of sinking due to high waves caused by climate change. Nasheed was forced to resign this past February, in a coup that saw Vice-President Mohammed Waheed Hassan succeed him.

The situation could soon change again. The Commonwealth has called for new elections before the end of this year. In the meantime, Nasheed is continuing to make waves to stop the waves. He answered seven questions from the Star sent to him via email:

Q: The Island President speaks of a 10-year period for halting global warming before devastation strikes the Maldives. That statement would have been made about two or three years ago. What do you see as your window today to avoid calamity for your country?

A: The scientists talk of a relatively short window of opportunity, some seven-to-eight years, for the governments of the world to reach an agreement that will start to reduce carbon emissions. If we fail to reach such a deal within this time period, it may be too late to stop the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees from pre-industrial levels.

Anything more than a 1.5-degree rise in temperature would spell long-term disaster for the Maldives, and other low-lying countries such as Bangladesh, and for ecosystems such as coral reefs. So we really don’t have much time to get a strong deal on climate change and this is why I keep pushing politicians around the world to take this issue more seriously. What happens to the Maldives today will happen to your country tomorrow.

Q: What’s your best-case scenario for the Maldives, and what would be the worst-case scenario, should your relief efforts fail?

A:The worst-case scenario is that the rising seas will swallow the Maldives by the end of this century. We would become a sort of modern-day Atlantis. Climate change is our greatest security threat. The best-case scenario for the Maldives is the best-case scenario for mankind, namely, that we stop polluting our atmosphere and ensure that the climate remains stable. And we can achieve this, it isn’t impossible. We don’t have to give up the good life, or forgo luxuries and resort to wearing horsehair shirts, far from it.

We already have all the technology we need to solve the climate problem and continue to enjoy rising living standards. We have renewable energy, electric and hybrid cars, energy efficient lighting and building designs and I am sure we will soon see carbon neutral fuels for aircraft. We just need to adopt these new technologies faster than we are at the moment and leave highly polluting fuels, such as tar sands, in the ground.

Q: Are you working on a ‘Plan B,’ whereby you and your people are forced to evacuate your islands and move elsewhere? Is such a move at all feasible, and have any countries offered your people sanctuary?

A: When I was first elected president, I raised the prospect that Maldivians may need to find a new homeland, should the worst-case climate scenario occur. But the more I speak to my people, the more I realise that, for many at least, this isn’t an option. Many Maldivians would refuse to abandon their homeland. They would rather stay. I once met an elderly lady who said to me: “Mr. President, the people can move, but where will the butterflies go? Where will the colours go? Where will the sounds go?” You can move a people but you cannot move a country, or a culture, or a civilisation.

Q: Mention is made in the film how the 2004 tsunami wiped out 50 per cent of your country’s GDP. How much of a recovery has there been? Have you had to change the goods and services produced by your country to cope with environmental disasters?

A: The Maldives, in large part thanks to the help offered by the international community, was able to bounce back from the tsunami relatively quickly. While the tsunami, which was caused by a massive underwater earthquake, was not linked to climate change, it did underscore the fragility of human life in the Maldives. It doesn’t take much to seriously upset nature’s balance, with catastrophic consequences for humans.

Q: Do you feel that the world takes your problem seriously?

A: I remain optimistic about our ability to avert a climate disaster because I am optimistic about human nature. I don’t think humans are stupid. We will rise to the occasion. I just hope we don’t leave it too late. It is important that citizens pressure their politicians to act on climate change.

      We need our politicians to sign up to a strong global agreement on carbon emissions, and we need politicians to implement the reforms at home that will pave the way towards a low-carbon economy.

But the problem with politicians is that they rarely act until the people act first. We politicians always have our eye on the next election! We need people to push us to act. We need people to say, “We won’t vote for you unless you take environmental issues seriously.” We need people to go onto the streets and demonstrate and demand change. And, particularly in North America, we are not seeing enough people-power action over climate issues.

Q: Do you feel that the 2009 Copenhagen Accord offered any lasting benefit for the Maldives, and for the world?

A: The Copenhagen Accord is a document in which, for the first time, the United States, China and India all agreed to reduce their carbon emissions. I think it was an important step forward. But clearly, much more needs to be done. At the moment we are sleepwalking into a climate disaster. We’ve got to get carbon emissions down and fast, for all of our sakes.

Q: How do you manage to stay so positive, in the face of so many personal and public challenges?

A: You carry on; you keep going. You take a step forward and then the next day, you wake up and take another step. If you fail, or if you are beaten back down, you never give up. You get back on your feet again and keep trying. One day, when we have run out of all of our failures, the only thing left will be success.