Europe Listens: Navigating climate diplomacy with Shauna Aminath
Climate change is an immediate existential threat to the coral islands that make up the Maldives, one of the lowest-lying countries in the world. Recent predictions estimate that, by 2050, rising sea levels could render 80 per cent of the country uninhabitable. By 2100 – in just 77 years time – the entire country could be submerged. None of this is news to the Maldives.
To kick off this series of Europe Listens, ECFR’s Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin welcome Shauna Aminath, the Maldives’ minister of environment, climate change, and technology. What are the most pressing priorities for the Maldives in the fight against climate change? Is international climate diplomacy delivering for those nations on the climate frontline? And what to expect from COP28 later this year?
This podcast was recorded on 3 May 2023.
Other episodes of this series:
Episode 2 Europe Listens: Overhauling climate finance with Avinash Persaud
Episode 3 Europe Listens: Advancing green tech partnerships with Dhanasree Jayaram
Further reading:
Climate risk country profile: Maldives by the Asian Development Bank
Adaptation gap report 2022 by the UN Environment Programme
Decarbonisation nations: How EU climate diplomacy can save the world by Susi Dennison and Mats Engström