Nasheed continued to push for climate action, before losing power in an alleged coup. The national delegations agreed only to “take note” of a flimsy document that declared action on climate change to be important, with some vague promises from rich countries to support poorer ones. Addressing a crowd of cheering activists, he declared, “I am here to tell you that we refuse to give up hope . . . we refuse to believe that a better world isn’t possible.” Amid this atmosphere, the diminutive Nasheed made an outsized impact. Many hoped for an unprecedented international breakthrough in the Danish capital.
The stunt was intended to highlight the serious danger that, if carbon emissions continued at the same rate, the Maldives’ 1,000-plus atoll islands would be entirely submerged by a rising ocean.Ĭopenhagen was the first COP (Conference of the Parties) to take place during the presidency of Barack Obama, who had pledged to halt the world’s slide towards climate catastrophe. Ahead of the UN’s annual COP conference in Copenhagen in 2009, the president of the Maldives grabbed headlines worldwide by chairing an underwater cabinet meeting, with ministers attending in scuba gear.
It was a climate summit that made Mohamed Nasheed a star.
