'We can't cut a deal with nature'

Abu Dhabi: The Maldives, a country at risk of being one of the first to be submerged if sea levels continue to rise, on Monday issued an emotional appeal to the world for urgent action in tackling climate change.

Maldives President Mohammad Nasheed said serious, concerted efforts were required as soon as possible.

"Talks on climate change are not like trade or disarmament talks that could go on year after year in endless negotiations. We cannot cut a deal with mother nature," Nasheed said.

He was speaking at the opening session of the World Future Energy Summit that opened in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

"Low-lying countries like [the] Maldives will slip beneath the rising sea within this century unless global efforts are undertaken to tackle climate change," he said.

The country is made up of about 1,200 islands located in the Indian Ocean. On average, the islands are just 2.1 metres above sea level, making them the lowest-lying nation on Earth and the most vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by climate change.

Underwater Cabinet

Last October, the government held a Cabinet meeting underwater to highlight their plight to the rest of the world.

While acknowledging that last month's Copenhagen Climate Change Summit was an important step, Nasheed said the summit, in its current form, would not be able to curtail the devastating impacts of climate change.

Greenhouse gases, released through the use of traditional energy sources, have been blamed for causing global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere. This trapped heat has led to the melting of glaciers, releasing huge amounts of fresh water reserves that have made sea levels rise.

"Smart money is green money," Nasheed said, calling on countries worldwide to invest in clean energy if they were looking at long-term benefits.

In the short term, fossil fuels and traditional forms of energy may be profitable, he said.

He said that as renewable energy is taken forward with new technologies and innovation, renewables will take centre stage.

"Those who continue to rely on traditional energy will have to pay the price at some stage in future," he added.

The Maldives government has invested in various renewable energy sources with the aim of completely eliminating the use of fossil fuels by 2020.

Leaders who spoke at the summit pushed for further acceptance of renewable energy sources.

Karolos Papoulias, the President of Greece, said that renewable energy will play a pivotal role in bringing about energy democracy in the world and increasing energy security.

"The pursuit of alternative energy is the only credible solution to the rising energy demands of the world," he said.

Addressing leaders, policymakers, scientists and industry experts at the summit, Crown Prince Frederik André Henrik Christian of Denmark said: "Renewable energy will be as defining for this decade asthe internet was for the last decade."

Narrating his own personal experience, the Danish prince said he had observed the effects of climate change first-hand through the changing ways of life for the people in Greenland during his visits over the years.

Changing lives

The entire lives and the way of life of Greenlandic people are being altered due to climate change, he said.

He also noted that there was an increased interest in investing in renewable energy these days, unlike earlier when investing in such projects was considered a gamble.