Small island nations are pressing for climate action at the U.N., warning rising seas threaten their land, culture and survival. Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. said two-thirds of Helen Island was gone when he returned, 40 years after his last visit.
Earlier in the week, the U.N. adopted a resolution calling for small island states to retain sovereignty and marine rights regardless of rising seas. Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo said the country may have only 26 square kilometers of land, while being responsible for 750,000 square kilometers of ocean.
Island nations helped tighten the Paris climate pact’s warming goal in 2015, from 2°C to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. Scientists and the U.N. say the world is expected to exceed 1.5°C in the next year or two; the threshold is a multiyear average. They say cutting coal, oil and gas use to zero in coming decades offers the best hope of later bringing temperatures back below it. Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said industrial nations caused climate change and called for restitution, citing destroyed schools, saltwater-poisoned wells and disease outbreaks linked to environmental change.
