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.