Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu used his COP31 address to seek grant-based climate finance and rules that recognize Small Island Developing States’ vulnerabilities as they set development priorities, the President’s Office said.
The office said Muizzu delivered the Maldives’ national statement on Nov. 11. He sought replenishment of the Green Climate Fund, adequate capitalization of the Adaptation Fund and sufficient resources for the Loss and Damage Fund.
Muizzu said climate-vulnerable countries should not have to borrow to respond to climate change despite contributing little to it. The office said he wanted assistance delivered as grants on a predictable basis, with new support added to existing funding.
He also called for international financial institutions and credit rating agencies to account for the vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) when assessing climate investments, the office said. Together, his proposals addressed both the supply of climate finance and the terms on which island states are evaluated for investment.
In an earlier report on Albanese’s COP31 call for climate finance for vulnerable nations, EconoTimes said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pointed to the Pacific Resilience Facility, established by Australia and other Pacific nations in 2025, as a regional channel for climate funding under Pacific leadership. Albanese said vulnerable countries need capital to confront climate risks.
The Maldives’ President’s Office also cited the country’s accreditation of its first national direct access entity to the Green Climate Fund. It described the accreditation as the first for an Asian Small Island Developing State.
Muizzu urged the international community to meet its climate obligations. He said adequate financing, technology transfer and political commitment are needed to turn climate ambitions into measurable progress, the office said.
A schedule from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change lists a Nov. 12 roundtable on implementing the Paris Agreement and access to finance.
