The government wants the world to believe that the Maldives is a nascent democracy and a tourist paradise. But despite its expensive PR strategies, the world is not fooled.

From small island states to delta settlements, Asia is the climate frontline. Seven of the ten countries most vulnerable to climate change are in Asia and the Pacific. It falls to Asian governments, whose primary responsibility is to protect their citizens, to respond.

The conservative movement's pro-fossil fuel advocacy flies in the face of free-market economics. Why are we continuing to subsidize highly profitable and polluting fossil fuel firms while choking off support for clean energy? We are not supposed to be the fossil fuel industry's trade union.

Bad energy policy is not just polluting our planet; it is polluting our politics, and warping international relations. It is the invisible force holding nations in thrall to dictators, causing conflicts and repressing human rights.