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Tuvalu is seeking legal ways to assert its claim to its waters and recognition as a nation even if the Pacific island nation is completely submerged due to climate change, its foreign minister said on Tuesday.
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“We are actually imagining the worst-case scenario, which is that we are forced to relocate or our land is flooded,” Minister Simon Coffey told Reuters.
“We are looking for legal ways to retain our ownership of the waters and retain the recognition of our country under international law. So these are the steps we are taking with an eye to the future,” he said.
Kofe recording speech picture UN COP26 Climate Summit Images of people standing knee-deep in water have been widely shared on social media in recent days, delighting the small island nation which is pushing for aggressive action to limit the impact of climate change. climate change.
“We didn’t expect it to go viral as quickly as it has in the past few days. We are very happy about it and hope that it will get the message across and highlight the challenges we are facing in Tuvalu at the moment,” Kofi said.
Tuvalu is an island nation of about 11,000 people with its highest point just 4.5 meters (15 feet) above sea level. According to a 2011 Australian government report, sea levels have been rising by about 0.5 centimeters (0.2 inches) per year since 1993.
Kofi said he delivered a video speech from a place that was once land, which is scheduled to be broadcast at COP26 on Tuesday, adding that Tuvalu has been through a lot. Coastal erosion.
When asked how the people of Tuvalu feel about rising sea levels, Koffi said some of the older generation say they are happy to go down with the land, while others are choosing to leave.
“One thing that’s clear is that people have a very strong connection to their land,” Coffey said.
(Reuters)
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