President calls for ‘60s style direct
action’ over climate change
President Mohamed Nasheed has told
an audience at a British literary festival that “grassroots, 1960s style,
street action” is needed to force progress on tackling climate change,
particularly in the United States.
The President made the comments, via a live video link from Muleeage on
Saturday evening, during an event at the Hay Festival, Britain’s premiere
cultural festival. The event, entitled: Maldives – Dispatches from the
Climate Change Frontline, was a conversation between the President and Ed
Miliband, the former British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate
Change, in front of a packed out festival audience.
In a wide-ranging, one-hour discussion, the President noted the country’s
recent shift towards democracy and explained why the Maldives is planning to
move towards a low carbon economy.
The President said that electricity prices are very high in the Maldives
because imported diesel is extremely expensive. The President said it makes
economic sense for the Maldives to break its over-dependence on foreign oil
and utilize energy resources the country has in abundance, namely, the sun
the sea and the wind. The President noted that a number of wind farms and
solar power plants are being developed in the Maldives.
Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said the Maldives’ participation in
international events, such as the Hay Festival, “are excellent ways to
promote tourism and investments in the Maldives, as well as highlight the
urgent need for international action on climate change.”
The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, held each year in Hay-on-Wye, Wales,
attracts ten of thousands of people, including dozens of journalists and
politicians from around the world. Bill Clinton attended the festival in
2001, describing it as “a Woodstock for the mind”.
The Maldives will host its own three-day Hay Festival in October. The
festival, to be held on Aarah Island, will be a celebration of Maldivian
history, culture and arts, involving Maldivian and international authors and
artists.