United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres issued a distress call Tuesday, saying global temperatures are rising three times the world average in the Pacific Islands.
Guterres spoke on Tuesday at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga, where he addressed a report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The WMO found that the South West Pacific was the worst hit by rising sea levels.
“I am in Tonga to issue a global SOS – Save Our Seas – on rising sea levels”, said Guterres, as reported on by Reuters. “Rising seas are amplifying the frequency and severity of storm surges and coastal flooding. These floods swamp coastal communities. Ruin fisheries. Damage crops. Contaminate fresh water. All this puts Pacific Island nations in grave danger”.
He also predicted that without cuts to global emissions, the Pacific Islands could face sea level rise 5.9 inches by 2050 and coastal flooding 30 days a year.
Guterres also called on more developed and industrialized countries to “massively boost climate adaptation investments”, in more vulnerable countries, as mentioned by DW News.
“Developed countries must deliver on their [financial] commitments—including the commitment to double adaptation finance to at least $40 billion a year by 2025”.
18 member states of the Pacific Islands Forum met in Tonga earlier this week at the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. Here Australia, New Zealand, and 16 other Pacific Nations hoped to foster collaboration and partnerships, with climate change and security being major topics of discussion.
Despite contributing 0.02% for all global emissions, Pacific Island nations are the ones most affected by a warming planet. Their geographic location and low-lying atolls do little against tropical cyclones and rising sea levels, with rising coastal inundations becoming an increasing threat.
As mentioned by Earth.org, these governments were some of the first to label climate change a dire threat in the early 1990s. Since then, they have repeatedly urged industrialized nations to “phase out fossil fuel production and include small island states at the negotiating table.”.
A “loss and damage” fund to help poorer nations combat climate disasters was approved at last year’s U.N. Climate Summit, after years of lobbying from Pacific Island nations. However, there has been a challenge to attract funds from wealthier countries.
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