Pacific Island Leaders meet Obama in Paris
Caribbean leaders have told their counterparts from all around the world who are gathered here for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), that their unique characteristics and special circumstances must be fully recognised and included as a cornerstone of a new agreement expected here next week. “But they have a right to dignity and sense of place… and their voice is vital in making sure that the climate agreement that emerges here in Paris in not just serving the interest of the most powerful”. The President warned that some if these nations may disappear entirely and he said, “As weather patterns change, we might deal with tens of millions of climate refugees in the Asia Pacific region”.
And the Maldives aren’t even the most vulnerable of island nations.
Countries such as Fiji and Kiribati have long argued for a 1.5 degree Celsius cap to ensure their countries survive the stronger storms and rising sea levels global warming will bring, as opposed to the 2C limit favoured by industrial nations. “And we have identified another 800 or so that needs to be relocated in the near future”, Mr Seruiratu said.
Leaders of poor nations most affected by climate change, meanwhile, shared their stories of global warming threats Tuesday with Obama and French President Francois Hollande, from deserts encroaching on African farmland to rising sea levels shrinking islands of the South Pacific.
Many more in Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu have been internally displaced by the effects of global warming, the report said, adding that migration is not a workable solution to the problem because many who move end up in already overpopulated cities with high unemployment – and eventual vulnerability to climate change.
While almost one quarter of people in Kiribati had already moved due to climate change, another 70 per cent said would look to migrate if the impact on their homes and country got any worse.
More than 100 countries are pushing for 1.5 degrees, but the United States, China and India oppose it.
Obama has talked about backing a “risk insurance” scheme that would help these countries recover after a disaster; the U.S.is also behind a Green Climate Fund that offers financial assistance to developing countries trying to wean themselves from fossil fuels. But they will also note what he did not say.
The report finds that 15 per cent of the population of Tuvalu, an island nation mid-way between Hawaii and Australia, have left in the past decade – that’s about 1,500 people and leaves the population at about 10,800.
Obama said he believed the global political landscape was shifting, boding well for Paris and beyond. We haven’t come to any agreement yet.
But the US doesn’t see it the same way.
As part of the fight against desertification and adaptation to climate change, Hollande said that France would triple its bilateral commitments gradually in Africa, to achieve 1 billion euros annually by 2020.