President Mohamed Nasheed (pictured) of the Maldives and 11 of his ministers held the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting. They were all in diving gear at a depth of 4 metres. It was a PR stunt to raise awareness of global warming which could result in sea level changes that could flood the Maldives and make it uninhabitable. The immediate target is to focus attention on trying to get a better deal at the upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen.
The ministers sat around a horseshoe shaped table at 10am surrounded by fish, and signed an “SOS” agreement, calling for carbon emission cuts.
The president, already a keen diver, told the BBC that “What do we hope to achieve? We hope not to die. I hope I can live in the Maldives and raise my grandchildren here,”
There is a video of the meeting and an article on the BBC’s website.
