The Maldives took a major step towards carbon neutrality today, with the publication of an audit of the country’s carbon emissions. The Maldives ‘Carbon Audit’ includes detailed analysis of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2009 , projected emissions for 2020 under a ‘business as usual’ scenario and key areas where the Maldives can slash its greenhouse gas emissions. Next year, the Maldives will publish a Carbon Neutral Master Plan, which will detail precisely how the country intends to reach carbon neutrality.

President Mohamed Nasheed joined Baroness Ariane de Rothschild of the Rothschild banking dynasty and Flora Bernard of the environmental consultancy firm BeCitizen, to present the Carbon Audit during a ‘virtual press conference’ this afternoon, held online and involving participants based in Geneva, Paris and the Maldives.

The President was also joined by Vice President Waheed, the government’s climate change council and members of the local press corps.

On March 15, 2010, the Government of the Maldives, La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild and BeCitizen signed in Geneva a strategic partnership to implement the commitment entered into by the Maldives in 2009 to become carbon-neutral by 2020. Under this agreement La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild (CBR), BeCitizen and the Benjamin de Rothschild family are financing the country’s Carbon Audit carried out by BeCitizen. CBR and BeCitizen undertake, with the support of the Government of the Maldives, to look for the funding required to fulfil the Carbon Neutral Master Plan 2010-2020.

Speaking today, President Nasheed said: "Creating a carbon neutral economy helps combat climate change, enhances our energy security and safeguards our future development and prosperity. If the Maldives becomes carbon neutral, we believe other countries will want to do the same."

A new development model

To shift towards a carbon neutral economy, the Maldives will need to rely on four main thrusts: committed public programmes and tax incentives; technological solutions adapted to the geographic context of the country; awareness-raising and capacity-building work to win the support of the population and involve society at all levels; and innovative financing mechanisms. The Maldives will be able to rely in particular on public-private partnerships, use micro-finance mechanisms and benefit from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) provided for by the Kyoto Protocol to put in place the Positive Economy™ .

“Our commitment alongside the Maldives did not come about by chance”, explains Ariane de Rothschild, vice-president of the Edmond de Rothschild Group and president of BeCitizen. “Since its origin, our family has been involved in various environmental projects in the world by contributing its support or the financial expertise of our banking group. We are convinced that the model advocated by BeCitizen, which is capable of generating economic growth whilst restoring the ecological capital, is a winning concept. It relies on renewable energy forms and recovery of environmental assets. La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild will devote all its skills to achieving this ambition to help the Maldives fund this environmental development and set an example for the rest of the world, in order to avoid the worst. “

The Audit highlights the need for a radical shift from ‘business as usual’, fossil fuel based economic development: "Under a ‘business as usual’ scenario, by 2020 the Maldives would consume twice as much imported oil, its emissions would double and the country would be dangerously exposed to increases in the oil price, over which it has no control. " explains Flora Bernard, associate director of BeCitizen.

In 2009, the equivalent of 1.3 million tons of CO2 (tCO2eq) was emitted by the Maldives. This figure corresponds to the combustion of diesel fuel oil for power generation (50%) in the 200 inhabited islands and 97 resorts, domestic transportation (22%), the emissions from the fishing industry (13%) and waste treatment (15%).

In relation to the number of inhabitants (310,000) in the Maldives, these emissions correspond to 4.1 tCO2eq per individual. By way of comparison, India records 1.7 tCO2eq/per person/per year, China 5.5 tCO2eq, France 9 tCO2eq and the United States 23.5 tCO2eq.

In accordance with the rules of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), emissions from international air transport are not taken into account but BeCitizen estimates that the flights of the 650,000 tourists who visit the Maldives each year represent an additional amount equivalent to 1.3 million tCO2eq.

Immediate practical measures

The audit is very clear about the ability of the Maldives to achieve its ambition. "Achieving carbon neutrality by 2020 is possible”, affirms Flora Bernard. “It will primarily involve the country becoming energy-independent, while ensuring that the solutions also bring other environmental benefits in terms of carbon storage, resource management and biodiversity conservation.” To achieve this goal, BeCitizen recommends implementing actions in the following fields:


- Energy efficiency: reducing current consumption by means of appropriate equipment (solar air conditioners, thermal insulation, efficient domestic appliances);
- Renewable energy forms: solar, wind, biomass, marine energies…;
- Transport: rethinking the means of land transport (development of electric public transport in Male, cycling) and sea transport (e.g. solar ferries);
- Waste: waste recovery (biogas, compost ...);
- Carbon sequestration: notably in the biomass (e.g. mangrove);
- Offsetting: purchase of carbon credits resulting from projects that have a genuine positive impact on both the climate and social development.

These measures will need to be wholly part of a positive urban development and resort programme. This programme should set ambitious objectives for positive buildings and resorts that produce more energy than they consume, which they can then sell to neighbouring islands that cannot be positive.

Several measures can already be applied today, particularly as regards energy efficiency, decentralized energy production and transport.

Becoming energy-independent

In 2009 the Maldives was the most fossil fuel-dependent country in Asia. To correct this energy, economic and social vulnerability, the country now realizes how essential it is to gradually attain energy independence. The significant savings achieved by the Maldives becoming less oil-dependent will allow resources to be transferred to the development of the environmental economy: a situation that will foster the emergence of a new growth model. The environment in the form of net renewable energy production, net carbon storage, recovery of local water and waste resources, biodiversity conservation and reduction of the impact on health will then become a source of sustainable growth. This form of growth will have a real social impact by improving living standards and creating new jobs.

Today the publication and the conclusions of this audit allow the government of the Maldives to move on to the next stage, which is the precise definition of the public policies and actions to be implemented as part of the Carbon Neutral Master Plan 2010-2020.


Notes to editors

La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild, a pioneer in environmental and social finance, is one of the entities of the Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, a heir to one of the most prestigious names in world banking. On top of its action with its subsidiary BeCitizen, La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild’s expertise covers advisory and financial risk management, as well as setting up public-private partnerships.

BeCitizen is a strategic and environmental finance advisory firm that creates new opportunities for growth that restore the environmental and the climate, an approach which BeCitizen calls the Positive Economy™. BeCitizen has 30 experts covering all innovative technologies, finance and new environmental markets. La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild is a majority shareholder in BeCitizen.

The Republic of Maldives made a commitment under the Copenhagen Accord in January 2010, to become carbon neutral by 2020. This pledge is the toughest mitigation target of any country under the Copenhagen Accord.

The concept of the Positive Economy TM is developed by BeCitizen, a firm of strategic and financial environmental consultants established in 2000.



Click the link below to download the Maldives’ Carbon Audit 2009.