Memo to COP27 from the Maldives

If your homeland is running out of fresh water and empty plastic water bottles wash up on the shore from half a world away, the stakes are high for what world leaders can accomplish at the COP27 climate summit. The message we heard on our recent Nekton Maldives Mission was clear: Act Now – before it’s too late.

When a young marine biologist on the frontline of the climate crisis tells you coral reefs cannot survive and neither can her native land unless world leaders at COP27 reduce carbon emissions, you stop and pay attention. Nekton met Aya Naseem on its recent mission to the Maldives – her message is stark.

As leaders gather in Egypt for the COP27 climate summit, take a moment to listen to a voice who knows more than most what the impact will be if the world warms by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Shauna Aminath is the Environment Minister of the Maldives – the lowest lying nation on earth.