‘Climate funding target unlikely to be met’

{ INTERVIEW } MOHAMMED NASHEED, FORMER MALDIVIAN PRESIDENT

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Climate change scepticism is hurting vulnerable nations particularly hard, former Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed said in an interview to Shashank Mattoo, referring to US President Donald Trump's remarks at the UN last month.

Speaking to HT on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings, Nasheed acknowledged that the $300 billion a year climate funding target agreed during last year's COP29 summit in Azerbaijan was unlikely to be met. Nasheed, who currently heads the Climate Vulnerable Forum , called for developed countries to aid developing nations by cutting interest rates on green loans and defer repayments of climate related debt. He also welcomed the recent improvement in India-Maldives relations, crediting the upturn in ties to India's willingness to bear criticism and stay engaged with the government in Malé

You've been in Washington for the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IME. Do you leave these meetings with a sense of optimism or pessimism about the future of climate action?