With around 10 000 inhabitants, Tuvalu is the 4th smallest country in the world. Situated in the Pacific Ocean between Australia and Hawaii, the islands were first discovered to Europeans by voyager Álvaro de Mendaña from Spain in 1568. Due to the impact of climate change the country has come under direct threat of completely disappearing from the face of our maps.
The prime minister of Tuvalu Enele Sopoaga came to Brussels today, as part of his European tour, to inform decision makers of the direct threats his small island nation is facing and to rally support before the 21st climate change summit takes place in Paris in December 2015. He calls on leaders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the aim to keep global warming down to a preferable 1.5 degrees Celsius, following recommendations by recent science reports.
Tuvalu is comprised of flat islands and rises no more than 4 meters above sea level. “If this island disappears under water, it is not the end of climate change. And I ask you what future do we hold?” The Prime Minister emphatically said.
The Tuvaluvian Prime Minister would like to partner with the European Commission and the whole of the international community to reach a new sustainable agenda. “We need to collaborate as one human face to save humankind. To make an agreement in Paris in December a meaningful one. We are told that even 2 degrees global warming is too dangerous as it would mean that Tuvalu would disappear under the water. Yes we can move the Tuvalu inhabitants to other peoples’ lands but it will not stop climate change. We need to save Tuvalu to save the world.”
By Jonadav Apelblat
