President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has called for COP29 to adopt a new, ambitious climate finance goal to ensure that vulnerable nations are not left behind in the fight against climate change.
Speaking at the High-Level Roundtable on "Enabling Climate Finance - The Make-or-Break Moment for a Sustainable Future," held alongside COP29, President Muizzu urged a reimagining of the global financial system to better support climate resilience, especially for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like the Maldives.
In his address, the President highlighted innovative solutions, including linking debt forgiveness to climate milestones, to help transform financial commitments into meaningful actions. He emphasized that SIDS' vulnerabilities should be viewed as opportunities for investment in global security rather than liabilities, and he urged private lenders to work with official creditors to offer favorable terms and extended maturities for climate projects.
President Muizzu noted that the Maldives has already translated commitments into actions and called for empowering SIDS by linking debt relief to climate goals and encouraging private sector engagement through targeted incentives.
“This is a make-or-break moment,” he said. “Inaction, or even delayed action, is not an option for countries like mine. Let’s not break it; let’s make it—for the future.”
The high-level roundtable, part of the COP29 World Leaders Summit hosted by Azerbaijan, provided a platform for leaders, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to discuss advancing the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to drive forward the Paris Agreement’s objectives.
Speaking at the High-Level Roundtable on "Enabling Climate Finance - The Make-or-Break Moment for a Sustainable Future," held alongside COP29, President Muizzu urged a reimagining of the global financial system to better support climate resilience, especially for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like the Maldives.
In his address, the President highlighted innovative solutions, including linking debt forgiveness to climate milestones, to help transform financial commitments into meaningful actions. He emphasized that SIDS' vulnerabilities should be viewed as opportunities for investment in global security rather than liabilities, and he urged private lenders to work with official creditors to offer favorable terms and extended maturities for climate projects.
President Muizzu noted that the Maldives has already translated commitments into actions and called for empowering SIDS by linking debt relief to climate goals and encouraging private sector engagement through targeted incentives.
“This is a make-or-break moment,” he said. “Inaction, or even delayed action, is not an option for countries like mine. Let’s not break it; let’s make it—for the future.”
The high-level roundtable, part of the COP29 World Leaders Summit hosted by Azerbaijan, provided a platform for leaders, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to discuss advancing the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to drive forward the Paris Agreement’s objectives.
