Photo: Getty Images - Mario Tama
The small island states of the Pacific region intend to discuss these alarming prospects at a four-day preparatory meeting ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP31, which will take place from 9 to 20 November in Antalya, Turkey, reports RFI.
The meeting opened on 5 October in Fiji. Over the course of several days of negotiations, the region’s countries hope to develop a common strategy and ensure that their demands are heard at the year’s main climate forum. For the Pacific states, this is an opportunity to show world leaders the real consequences of global warming that they are already facing: rising sea levels, the threat of forced displacement and a lack of funds for adaptation.
As RFI notes, the low-lying island nations of the Pacific are particularly vulnerable. In Tuvalu, a nation comprising nine coral atolls, the highest point is situated just around two metres above sea level. Two atolls are already largely submerged, and the authorities are drawing up plans for the possible relocation of the population. In Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, the highest points are also only a few metres above sea level.
“Rising sea levels are not a future threat; they are a reality of the present,” French radio quoted Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo as saying at the UN General Assembly.
For the island nations, this meeting is not merely a preparation for COP31 in November. They are seeking to ensure that their concerns become one of the decisive factors when the international community adopts plans on climate finance, the oceans and emissions reductions.
This story was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.The translation was also reviewed by the Logos Press editorial team.
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