Climate change in the Maldives

[3] By 2021, 90% of islands in the Maldives experienced severe erosion, 97% of the country no longer had fresh groundwater, and more than 50% of the national budget was being spent on efforts to adapt to the effects of climate change.

[1] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2007 report predicted the upper limit of the sea level rises will be 59 centimetres (23 in) by 2100, which means that most of the Maldives' 200 inhabited islands may need to be abandoned.

[7] Most people in the Maldives live on small, flat, densely populated atolls that are threatened by violent storms or even the slightest sea level rise.

Pioneering countries will free themselves from the unpredictable price of foreign oil; they will capitalise on the new green economy of the future, and they will enhance their moral standing giving them greater political influence on the world stage.

[16] The Maldives has implemented measures to combat sea level rise, including a wall around the capital Malé[17] and refurnishing local infrastructure, particularly ports.

[19] In 2008, Nasheed announced plans to look into purchasing new land in India, Sri Lanka, and Australia because of his concerns about global warming, and the possibility of much of the islands being inundated by the rising sea.

[25][26][27] Gayoom said in 2016, "to the three hundred thousand inhabitants of the Maldives none of these threats compare, in magnitude and likelihood, to global climate change and consequent sea level rise.

[8] A 2017 study of Maldivians' public opinion on climate change found that "more than 50% of respondents perceive future sea-level rise to be a serious challenge at the national level and they accept that migration from islands to other countries might be a potential option", although religious and cultural factors played a role.