14 Nov 2017

Tuvalu tells COP23 of climate change attack

3:04 pm on 14 November 2017

During the Global Climate Action Day on Oceans and Coastal Zones Tuvalu's prime minister has said his nation is under attack from the effects of climate change.

Enele Sopoaga

Enele Sopoaga Photo: AFP or licensors

The event is part of the COP23 meeting on climate change in Bonn and it was told about the impacts of ocean warming, acidification, de-oxygenation, sea-level rise and increased storm activity.

It also discussed how these impacts made people more vulnerable to migration and displacement.

Enele Sopoaga said it was time to insist on global action to save the oceans.

"Oceans is a source of life for Tuvalu. But now it's being attacked by the impacts of climate change. The coral reefs are bleaching, acidification and also the ocean is causing a lot of erosion. So I think we must continue to insist that those who are causing green house gas and global warming to stop doing that."

Tuvalu's United Nations mission has also proposed a legal framework be created for people displaced by climate change.

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