Climate-related disruptions affecting fisheries, tourism and small businesses can have wider economic consequences, including lost wages, interrupted pension contribution flows and increased financial risks.
Pension Office
The Maldives must translate its growing focus on environmental sustainability into viable investment opportunities to strengthen economic resilience and safeguard the financial security of future generations, Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Office, Yazmeed Mohamed, said at the 13th Maldives Finance Forum.
Organised by the Pension Office in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Maldives, this year's Forum is themed ‘Green Finance: Sustainable Investment and Financial Security in the Maldives’, bringing together policymakers, financial institutions, regulators and development partners to explore opportunities for advancing sustainable finance.
Highlighting the country's vulnerability to climate change, Yazmeed noted that approximately 80 per cent of the Maldives' islands lie less than one metre above sea level. Climate-related disruptions affecting fisheries, tourism and small businesses can have wider economic consequences, including lost wages, interrupted pension contribution flows and increased financial risks.
Yazmeed emphasised that strengthening national economic resilience is therefore essential to protecting the long-term performance of the Pension Fund and the retirement security of its members.
As the country's largest institutional investor, with the Pension Fund surpassing MVR 30 billion in net assets this year, the Pension Office has a significant responsibility to safeguard and grow the savings of Maldivians across generations.
Yazmeed said the Office remains committed to diversifying domestic investments, optimising portfolio allocation and strengthening long-term resilience. As part of this strategy, it is actively exploring opportunities to support environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, including climate financing.
However, Yazmeed stressed that sustainable investment must remain firmly aligned with the Office's fiduciary responsibilities.
"Green investment must never mean compromising financial discipline," Yazmeed said, emphasising that every investment must be supported by sound governance, clear risk assessments and demonstrable financial viability. The priority, Yazmeed added, is to identify opportunities where environmental resilience and financial sustainability reinforce one another while generating durable returns for the fund.
The address also highlighted encouraging developments in the Maldives' sustainable finance landscape, including national financing strategies, climate-risk assessments, climate investment pipelines, sustainability reporting requirements, stronger environmental auditing capabilities and new pathways for accessing international climate finance.
These developments are helping establish the foundations for a credible green finance market, with opportunities to mobilise capital towards renewable energy, climate-resilient infrastructure and the blue economy.
However, Yazmeed noted that policies and frameworks alone would not be sufficient. Unlocking these opportunities will require bankable projects, appropriate financial structures, effective risk management and investor confidence to translate the potential of green finance into viable investments.
Yazmeed called for stronger collaboration among the Government, regulators, financial institutions, investors, businesses and development partners, highlighting the importance of collective action in advancing sustainable finance.
The 13th Maldives Finance Forum aims to build on these discussions by examining financing gaps, exploring practical solutions and identifying financial instruments and partnerships that could help advance green finance in the Maldives over the next two to three years.
Established in 2012, the annual Forum continues to bring together stakeholders to address issues shaping the country's financial future. This year's discussions build on the previous edition's focus on developing a resilient and inclusive capital market, placing greater emphasis on the role of sustainable investment in strengthening national economic resilience and long-term financial security.
