On the brink of ruin due to climate change, Pacific Islanders know who is to blame

Flood fears in Yavusania

Yavusania, a village near Fiji’s west coast, faces recurring flood threats from the Nadi River. Lessy Rokocoko remembers four homes her neighbours have lost and says her family lives with the fear that flooding could take her house.

“We are scared, but we are always ready,” Lessy says. The river supports fishing and agriculture, but village headman Ben Qoro warns that flooding or a landslide could strike without warning and urges residents to find safer places.

Land, ancestry and identity

For Lessy’s family, losing a home would mean more than losing a building. Their connection to the land, known as vanua, is tied to ancestry and identity. The article describes the family’s close ties to their village and the impact displacement could have. Flooding also cuts off a cousin’s home from the rest of the community, requiring him to wade through water for daily tasks.

A regional climate threat

All 14 Pacific island nations are under threat, including Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands. Rising seas threaten coastal communities, powerful storms can cause severe flooding, and warming oceans are damaging marine ecosystems.

The Pacific accounts for 0.02 to 0.03 per cent of global emissions and 0.16 per cent of the world’s population, according to the World Meteorological Association. The article says the United States produces 11 to 13 per cent of emissions and China around one third.

Calls ahead of COP31

Pacific communities are calling for stronger action before the COP31 summit in Antalya in November. A recent UN warning says the world is on course to exceed the 1.5C target, with warming potentially reaching 2.8C by the end of the century.

The reporting contrasts threatened village homes with resort development on Denarau Island, where construction is underway on the Vatu Talei resort. The article’s final sentence is cut off while describing mangroves, so it gives no further details about them.