The legacy of a famous underwater photoshoot

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🗞️ Driving the news: A 2009 underwater cabinet meeting in the Maldives — once dismissed as a publicity stunt — has become a landmark moment in global climate politics
• Eleven government ministers donned scuba gear and signed a climate declaration on the seabed to dramatize the existential threat sea-level rise poses to low-lying island nations
• Sixteen years on, its impact on public perceptions, climate diplomacy and the push for the 1.5°C target remains deeply felt, though not without controversy

🔭 The context: The Maldives, the world’s lowest-lying country, faces catastrophic risk from projected sea-level rise of roughly 50 cm by 2100
• In 2009 the nation was campaigning to shift global ambitions from the then-standard 2°C limit to 1.5°C. The underwater photo — showing ministers seated at desks beneath the waves — helped humanize climate impacts, moving the narrative from polar bears to people and frontline states
• It inspired similar symbolic actions by other vulnerable nations, including Nepal and Tuvalu
• Yet critics argue that portraying the Maldives solely as a victim ignored its expanding aviation-driven tourism footprint, which contributes to global emissions

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The stunt helped elevate the “1.5 to stay alive” message, contributing to the scientific review that ultimately secured the 1.5°C goal in the 2015 Paris Agreement
• While 2024 was the first year to exceed 1.5°C over a full calendar year, scientists note the threshold is defined by long-term averages
• Researchers stress that—even amid likely overshoot—pursuing 1.5°C still matters, requiring both steep emission cuts and large-scale carbon removal
• The photo’s legacy underscores how powerful imagery can reshape climate urgency, but also how quickly political momentum can fade without sustained action

⏭️ What's next: Small island states continue to demand more rapid emissions cuts, more ambitious finance and stronger protections for climate-threatened communities
• As COP30 unfolds, calls to safeguard nations like the Maldives are escalating, even as global emissions continue to rise
• Former officials say a new image might now focus on the next generation — children who may no longer have a homeland if climate action fails

💬 One quote: “Oh, this is going to be much bigger than we thought.” — Shauna Aminath, former Maldivian official who organized the stunt

📈 One stat: 10 million — the estimated number of people worldwide who could avoid flooding this century if warming is limited to 1.5°C instead of 2°C

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