Maldives urges small states to form 'carbon neutral' lobby

The Maldives, which is one of the nations most vulnerable to rising sea levels, on Monday asked fellow endangered states to go carbon neutral and lead a drive to reduce global warming. Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed opened a two-day conference on climate change urging smaller countries, which are faced with the prospect of being wiped out, to adopt environmentally-friendly energy. Nasheed, 52, called the meeting of 11 of the world's least polluting smaller states, including Kiribati and Barbados, in a bid to hammer out a common stance ahead of the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen in December.