Pacific islands at risk of being ‘wiped out’ by climate change, UN chief warns

He calls for “resolute international action”. Visiting Apia, the capital of the Samoan Islands, the UN Secretary General warned on Thursday 22 August that some Pacific territories risked, in the long term, being ““annihilated”, due to global warming. He notably cited “the enormous threat” what represents “high and rising sea levels” for these island states.

UN chief judges them “on the front lines of the climate crisis”, regularly confronted with “extreme weather events, from raging tropical cyclones to record heat waves in the oceans”, without forgetting to point out that these Pacific countries only contribute to 0.02% of global carbon emissions.

Recalling the commitment made by 200 countries to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era, Antonio Guterres urged the richest to finance more of the consequences of global warming in developing countries.