Mohamed Nasheed – Should the next COP be the last COP?

In the 11th episode of Planet A, Dan Jørgensen talks with the former Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed. 

Mr. Nasheed managed to put his country on the map of global climate politics during his tenure as President of the Maldives (2008-12) and became one of the strongest global voices on climate action.

After being ousted in 2012, Nasheed was exiled to England where he was granted political asylum. However, two years ago, he returned to the Maldives and last year his party (The Maldives Democratic Party) won the parliamentary election in a landslide victory. Today, he serves as the Speaker of the Maldivian Parliament.

Despite of his stature as an international luminary of the international climate negotiations, Mr. Nasheed believes that next year’s COP in Glasgow should be the last COP.

He argues that the COP-process is so constrained by its consensus-based decision-making process that it has run its course. He further contends that the general approach to climate action, based on the premise that people should give up economic development is misguided.

Mr. Nasheed reasons that the developed world simply does not have sufficient means to finance the developing countries green transition. Thus, he calls for a new approach to economics that combines high employment and GDP growth with a low carbon strategy.

During the conversation, Mr. Nasheed also call for a radically different approach to climate adaptation, that advances nature based solutions. Not only should the Maldives use natural reefs or mangrove as infrastructure to cope with rising sea levels. Mr. Nasheed also emphasizes the need to double down on “assisted evolution” and the use of genetically modified corals.

He also touches upon the Maldives ambition to become carbon neutral, the importance of public-private partnerships and the possibility of resettling the Maldivian population on artificial, floating islands.