Radical climate action urged to save Pacific nation

A former Kiribati president, Anote Tong, is urging radical climate action to save his island nation from the threat of rising sea levels. He warned that a 50cm increase in sea levels could inundate most of the archipelago, while half a meter would mean most of the land area would be overtopped. During the last high tide, the water was already coming over the islands, he told the Global Citizen Now conference in Perth.

Mr. Tong emphasized the urgent need for adaptation measures, such as raising all the islands or even creating floating islands, and called for technical experts to develop credible engineering solutions. The cost of these projects is high, but securing funding has become an emergency situation. He criticized Australia's climate change actions while the country continues to export coal and other fossil fuels, pointing out that it's not just local emissions that matter, but also those exported.

Mr. Tong also criticized some Australian attitudes following the recent pre-COP31 Tuvalu meeting, expressing disappointment that people who don't understand the situation in the Pacific region were commenting on the meeting.