Maldives To Introduce Green Tax

The Maldives has announced that it will introduce a new environment tax on tourists who use its resorts that provide a major economic lifeline for the tiny nation.

Famous for its white-sand beaches and luxury high-end resorts, the Maldives has made a name for itself as a major voice in the fight against climate change as it is predicted that rising sea levels will submerge most of the nation’s islands by the year 2100.

The Maldives $850 million gets more than a quarter of its GDP from tourists, but does not yet tax the tourists to help battle climate change.

Maldives president Mohammed Nasheed has announced plans for the island nation to become the world’s first carbon-neutral nation within the next 10 year, and said an environment tax of $3 per day will soon be charged to all tourists.

Given annual averages of 700,000 tourists spending three days on the islands, it works out to be about $6.3 million annually.

Earlier this year, President Nasheed launched a $1.1 billion initiative to covert the islands solely to renewable energy from fossil fuels, and buy and destroy EU carbon credits to offset emissions from tourists visiting the islands.