The Foreign Minister of the Pacific nation of Tuvalu would not leave a millimeter of doubt when he was to tell climate summit COP26 about the danger of disappearing into the sea.
Therefore, he came from the Pacific to Glasgow with a speech that was recorded on video, which later went viral.
Foreign Minister Simon Kofe is standing in water well above his knees.
THE SEA TAKES OVER: Tuvali’s Foreign Minister Simon Kofe came to the climate summit in Glasgow with a video speech from home where he could stand dry-shod 30 years ago. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tuvalu / Reuters / NTB.
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Just over 30 years ago, the Foreign Minister and others could have stood barefoot in exactly the same place outside the capital Funafuti.
A research report from 2011 shows that the sea has risen on average half a centimeter a year since 1993. This means that the nine coral islands that make up the land of Tuvalu (formerly the Ellis Islands) midway between Australia and Hawaii is about 15 inches closer to disappearing into the ocean.
Peaks: 4.50 meters
And it can go fast. No climate meeting participants in Glasgow have said publicly that they have misunderstood the Foreign Minister’s pictorial message.
THE CAPITAL: Funafuti is one of the nine islands in Tuvali between Australia and Hawaii. Photo: Alastar Grant / AP / NTB.
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The highest peak above sea level in Tuvalu is just under 4.50 meters.
Nor has anyone said that they misunderstand the priority requirement of the same foreign minister to prevent his 11,000 compatriots from disappearing into the sea, literally: the big countries must stop using fossil fuels abruptly and pump up oil.
Land under water?
But there was no clear answer in Glasgow to his surprising question, according to international media:
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– Is Tuvalu and other countries right down by the sea still considered land when it is no longer a dry spot?
Tuvalu is one of the four to five lowest nations in the world. The very lowest is Maldives in the Indian Ocean with the highest point above sea level of two meters.
The Secretary of State received a question back in Glasgow:
– What does the population of Tuvalu do when the sea flows over all land?
– The oldest generations join in respecting the ancestors. And the other half escapes, was the Foreign Minister’s response.
As of today, Tuvalu is one of the 193 member states of the UN.
Is the climate summit really meaningless?
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