Climate change more serious than Islamic radicalism: Maldivian prez

NEW DELHI: The very existence of Maldives is threatened by climate change. So for Mohammed Nasheed, its young president and now the poster boy for climate change advocacy, global warming is a "more serious threat to the international order than Islamic radicalism, piracy or sharing of resources".

Addressing a think tank on `environment and conflict resolution', Nasheed said India's position on climate change was acceptable. But he appealed to India to make use of renewable energy to provide energy to over 300 million people without electricity. "Why do you want to go to yesterday's diesel when you can go for tomorrow's renewable energy and new technology? The world is on the threshold of new technology and you will be in the forefront if you use them," he said, advocating smaller, smarter power grids to provide cheaper energy.

Nasheed said climate change was a real threat. "If we believe in science, and two plus two is four, then climate change is happening and it is a great threat to the world," he said.

Amid indications that Copenhagen may prove to be a damp squib, the Maldives president said, "We don't want Copenhagen to come out with an empty piece of paper. We want a solid piece of paper, with the guarantee for our security and the security of the world."