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Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically elected President of the Maldives and a globally recognised advocate for climate action, has called on the United States to resume its leadership role in addressing the climate crisis. His remarks come in response to the Donald Trump-led US administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, a move he described as “disappointing” but not irreversible.
This is the second instance of Trump withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement, with the first announcement made during his first term in 2017. The recent move leaves the US among only four nations globally that are not part of the accord, drawing sharp criticism from global leaders and environmental groups.
While his successor, President Joe Biden, reinstated the US into the Paris Agreement in early 2021, Trump’s decision disrupted global climate efforts and weakened the country’s reputation on the international stage. It signaled inconsistency and a step back from global leadership at a time when decisive action on the climate crisis is most needed.
Nasheed, also a former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience and Secretary-General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), underscored the importance of the Paris Agreement for the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. “For our member countries, 70 of the most climate vulnerable developing countries, Paris is a lifeline,” he said. “It enshrined a threshold for global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees for safety to be restored.”
The Paris Agreement, he emphasised, not only set crucial climate thresholds but also symbolised a commitment by historical big emitters to make amends for the damages suffered by vulnerable nations. Nasheed urged the US to rise to the occasion, stating, “This has always been about leadership and the US must be a tide of change — to be exceptional — because climate change impacts are drowning, burning, and washing away the future of the poor and vulnerable — our future — and the worsening impacts cannot just be wished away.”
Nasheed urged the 47th US President to see the devastating effects of climate change up close. The Maldives, one of the world’s lowest-lying nations, faces existential threats from rising sea levels and extreme weather events.
“I invite President Trump to see some of the challenges we are facing on the frontlines, including my home country of Maldives. I invite the President to witness the actual impacts from storm surges to heatwaves to melting glaciers to massive crop failures, so that he may reconsider the position of his administration,” he said.
He reiterated the need for collective action and science-driven policies to tackle the escalating crisis. “We must do all we can to protect and raise international unity so we can tackle the climate crisis together, collectively, with each doing their fair share,” he stated.
He also expressed confidence that the US would eventually return to the Paris Agreement, saying, “ Step by step, we must be guided by science, the most effective weapon utilized by US institutions, that leads the way towards the greater good. I am sure the US will be back in Paris.”
Nasheed’s call for action highlighted the urgency of the climate crisis and the critical role of international cooperation. As the leader of CVF, he pledged to work with other nations to build a clean, prosperous future. “Meanwhile, we must continue to build our future with those nations determined to help safeguard a better future for everyone,” he concluded.