Tuvalu joins New Zealand christians to talk climate change

Transcript

The founder of the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network is appealing to the New Zealand Christian community to support the call for immediate action on climate change.

Tafue Lusama is embarking on a public speaking tour of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch organised by New Zealand civil society groups.

Reverend Lusama, who is from Tuvalu, says people in his country are still struggling to recover from cyclone Pam and are now facing out of season stormy weather.

He told Koroi Hawkins that the time for debating the effects of climate change is over.

TAFUE LUSAMA: I have been invited to talk on behalf of the churches including my church, the Christian church of Tuvalu, on the issue of climate change and the plight that our people are facing.

KOROI HAWKINS: And what is the message that you are bringing?

TL: Well, the main message that we are bringing in is to plead with the New Zealand people, especially the church communities as believers to recognise that we have a moral obligation to tackle the issue of climate change and realise that it is a very human issue. It is far beyond the debating table, it should be tackled now.

KH: And how is the situation in Tuvalu at the moment?

TL: Well, Tuvalu has just gone through a tropical cyclone earlier this year and we are still recovering from that. And historically, this is the first cyclone that has struck the country and affected all of the islands in the country. In history, a cyclone will affect us but it will hit some of the islands but not all. This cyclone (Pam) struck the whole country, from the last island to Kiribati down to the southern island, next to Fiji. The whole group were affected. When I left, Tuvalu was going through a stormy season but this is our dry season, and it is affecting the traditional skills of the people on how to plant, when to plant, where to fish, when to fish. The unpredictable weather patterns that we are facing right now are very challenging.

KH: At the end of this year world leaders go to Paris for climate change talks. If your voice could be heard there, what would your message be to the leaders of the world?

TL: well I am fortunate that I will be there and I will voice my voice when I arrive there as usually when I get to the COP meetings. I will say the same thing: climate change is not a piece of cake that everyone is fighting to get a piece of. we should realise the humane side of  the issue and the risk that the low-lying countries are facing, especially to their very existence. Countries like New Zealand, Australia, the US and Europe as well, need to realise that if we don't do anything now, tomorrow, Tuvalu goes down today, tomorrow will be Kiribati and then it goes on and then it will finally arrive to your shores. So you might as well do something now when it is cheaper and affordable rather than waiting too late, sacrificing the lives and the identities and the existence of so many, and then at the end, everyone will suffer.