COP26: Tuvalu FM expresses disappointment with outcome of climate conference

The foreign minister of the small South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has expressed disappointment with the outcome of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, fearing it will fail to contain global warming and exacerbate the threat posed by waters for countries at sea level.

Simon Kofe said the agreement reached at Saturday’s conference should include phasing out instead of gradually reducing coal use, a last-minute change at the request of India and China, which are dependent on coal. .

“We are disappointed with the last-minute change in the wording of coal use from ‘phasing out’ to ‘phasing out.’ Reuters.

Last week, photos of Kofe in a suit addressing a UN conference addressing the dangers of rising sea levels up to his knees, where there was once ground, made the rounds. of social network.

In this way, Simon Coffe wanted to show that this island nation in the Pacific is at the forefront of the risk of climate change.

“I hope he underlined the reality we are facing in Tuvalu,” he said.

For Tuvalu, whose highest point is four meters above sea level, any rise in sea level means that parts of some of its islands will be swept away by the sea and other parts will become uninhabitable.

“It’s basically about the survival of countries like Tuvalu,” he said.

According to Coffey, some of the major polluters, including neighboring Australia in the South Pacific, should have committed to more ambitious Glasgow emissions targets to help reduce global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

“I think there is information that is becoming known that even with the existing commitments we are talking about 2.4 points so I think we would like to see bigger countries make bigger reductions in their emissions,” Kofe said.

Tuvalu is considering legal avenues to retain ownership of its maritime zones and be recognized as a state if it sinks completely due to climate change.

SOURCE: AMPE