Sea level rise is a real threat to the Pacific region and is an issue that scientists are using as tangible proof of climate change.
An academic at the University of the South Pacific (USP), Professor Elisabeth Holland, says the time to act is now and lobby for a legally binding commitment to fix global carbon emissions at the Paris COP21
“If Paris doesn’t work, if we don’t find a solution, is if France say diplomacy doesn’t work, if Fiji’s leadership doesn’t work, if the Republic of Marshall Islands leadership doesn’t work, we’re on the red line.”
Less than a 100 days from the Paris meeting on the Conference of the Parties, Professor Holland will lead a handful of experts from the region to lobby for an international commitment on a carbon emission quota..
In Fiji, more than 800 communities have been affected by climate change with 45 villages earmarked for relocation this year alone. In the Pacific, climate change destruction is displacing entire countries.