Transcript
Kosi Latu says the science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is beyond dispute.
He says 6,000 research papers and 91 authors from across 40 countries can't be wrong and everyone now needs to question themselves.
Mr Latu says keeping temperatures below 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels reduces many climate-related risks including to people's health, livelihood and security.
If we stuck at 1.5 it would mean lower water stress, less intense rainfall during tropical cyclones, less exposure to irreversible sea level rise. At 1.5 some coral reefs will still be able to adapt but at 2 degrees their chances of survival are next to none.
The report says coral reefs would decline by 70 to 90 percent under the 1.5 degrees scenario, whereas 99 percent would be lost with a 2 degree rise.
A marine scientist at the University of the South Pacific Stuart Kininmonth says the report shows coral reefs are like the canary in the coal mine.
He says the sensitive ecosystems need to be protected from ocean warming, acidification and cyclone damage especially as they're a main source of protein for the region.
The relationship between a dead weedy coral and fish is pretty clear. There's going to be all sorts of changes in the fish populations. We don't expect to see a massive fish crash as a result of corals changing their shape and form. But we do expect that the system will not be as resilient and not be as diverse.
Dr Kininmonth has been diving for 40 years in the Pacific and he says it's hard to fathom the decline in coral reefs over his lifetime.
So you'd hop in the water and there'd be just corals everywhere. All different shapes and sizes and colours and it was just fantastic. Very difficult to find those locations now. You can still and they still exist. But they're special now. Whereas previously they really weren't special, they were just sort of everywhere.
One of the New Zealand authors of the report the University of Canterbury's Bronwyn Hayward says global warming is not some mythical future anymore.
The associate professor says the science shows changes need to be deep, far reaching and in all aspects of life.
She says it's significant for those in the Pacific who've helped bring climate change to world attention but for others the information will be a stark shock.
And it will be a shock for them to realise perhaps 10 million people are going to be affected just by sea level rise alone if we can't hold the world's climate at 1.5. Perhaps another 420 million will be affected by heat stress. These are realities for the Pacific. This will be a shock for the rest of the world because it's the end of magical thinking that we can somehow put this off.
Kosi Latu says the Pacific is displaying global leadership as the next UN Climate Change Conference approaches.
But he says some countries appear ambivalent about the Paris Agreement and future commitments.
There's some good news in some of those countries. I mean we know that there are states in America that are very supportive of the objectives of the Paris Agreement. And would support efforts to increase the level of ambition. Those are the people that I think give us hope.
Bronwyn Hayward says New Zealand can support Pacific countries by bringing reluctant players into the climate conversation.
She says the 1.5 degree warming limit is possible if individuals and governments all do their part to make sweeping changes relating to fossil fuels, farming and transport.
We have to make these big deep cuts in every aspect of our lives in the next ten years. Now whether we can achieve that, scientists aren't gods. And I personally get a bit frustrated when everyone says no it's not possible. Because where you have a will, you have a way. And in the Pacific there is no option.
Kosi Latu says warming of 1.5 degrees is challenging enough, but compared to 2 degrees and above it offers a world of possibility and hope.
