On October 24th, 2009, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed and his cabinet will sign a document underwater calling for global cuts in carbon emissions prior to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. At the conference, world leaders will attempt to create a replacement agreement for the  (largely ineffective) 1997 Kyoto Protocol that is set to expire in 2012.

Much of the Maldives is less than a metre (3ft) above sea level and the lowest lying island country in the world will be wiped out if ocean levels rise or tsunamis occur in the area.