Maldives Plans to Be The First Carbon-Neutral Country

Maldives' President Mohamed Nasheed announced that it is planning to become the first carbon-neutral country in the world by shifting to renewable energy and offsetting from the carbon market. Maldives is an archipelago with low-lying areas only about six meters above sea-level. As we blogged recently, President Nasheed raised eyebrows around the world when he announced that he intends to buy land in neighboring countries as a measure to address land loss due to rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Now, Maldives aims to make its mark as a leader in carbon neutrality within a decade by completely switching to renewable energy resources like wind turbines, rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels and a backup power plant fueled by abundant coconut husks. The proposal also includes retiring EU carbon credits to offset emissions from tourists flying to visits the nation’s popular vacation destinations. According to New York Times reporter, Andrew C. Revkin in Dot Earth this new plan, costing about $1.1 billion (USD) over the period of 10 years, is expected to pay itself off in the near future and reduce Maldives’ dependency on expensive oil imports in the long-run.

There have been plans to develop carbon-neutral cities and communities like Wellington, New Zealand; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and Rioja, Spain, but carbon-neutral country in the next decade will be an “ecotopia” in every eco-tourist’s dream destination list.