Latest news with #SouthPacific
The Guardian
5 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Bateteba left what once felt like ‘the safest place in the world' to build a life in Australia. Thousands hope to follow
Bateteba Aselu describes her former life in Tuvalu as like living in the 'safest place in the world' where the community looked out for each other, there was no homelessness and you rarely heard the sirens of police or ambulances. But rising sea levels and extreme weather have created such an immediate existential threat to the tiny South Pacific island nation that when a new visa lottery to migrate to Australia closed last Friday, 8,750 people in 2,474 family groups – more than 80% of Tuvalu's population of 11,000 residents – had applied for the world's first 'climate visas'. 'The impact of climate change about two decades ago has become such a significant challenge to people's livelihoods,' says Aselu, who is doing a PhD in climate change at the University of Melbourne, focusing on small island states. She is one of those who has applied for the visa. The new visa allows 280 Tuvaluans to move to Australia annually, part of the Falepili Union treaty signed in November 2023, which also included a security pact and $150m in new commitments to improve livelihoods in Tuvalu. Aselu moved to Australia four years ago on a student visa. With her husband and two children, she lives in Melton South in Melbourne's northern suburbs, part of a small Tuvaluan community of just a few hundred – a figure set to grow dramatically as the new climate visa arrivals flow into Australia. Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Although the Australian High Commission in Tuvalu has been sharing promotional videos on social media to prepare people for the realities of life in Australia, Aselu says the transition is not easy. Four years in, adjusting to Australian life has been 'quite a challenging journey' for Aselu and her family, she says. 'It is a lot to take in and a process that requires time ... having the social network from families, colleagues from school and supervisors as well as spiritual space are crucial for us.' Despite the challenges, Asulu is confident Tuvaluan culture will 'persist no matter where we land or where we go'. 'We are collective and communal and we adapt as we go through this life. Already we have young people who are making waves in working to maintain and preserve our culture from technology to revival of Indigenous knowledge learning in school and community. That is hope for me and for my children and those after them,' she says. Frayzel Uale and his family are also part of the Tuvaluan community in Melton and among those who applied for the visa. Uale moved to Australia four years ago with his parents and is studying a certificate III in information technology. Uale says he doesn't want to move back to Tuvalu to live as he has memories of the extreme weather there frightening him as a child. 'Before they started the programs informing us about climate change, I remember waking up with water on the roads and [in] community buildings when the king tides would come on to the land – it was shocking.' Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion He now sees his future in Australia, where he has the opportunity to get a job, earn money and access everything he needs. But he says the small Tuvaluan community he is part of is actively working to protect and preserve his culture with 'regular community events and gatherings'. 'The older generation is keeping cultural life alive and the younger generation is willing to learn. We practise our culture of traditional dancing and singing to ensure the culture will survive here. We will 100% protect our culture here in Australia.' For Leni Malua-Mataka, a Tuvaluan mother living with her husband and children in Mount Isa in north-west Queensland, the new climate visa offers an opportunity to get ahead. 'Coming from such a small country with very limited employment opportunities and few ways to grow wealth or even provide for your family, this opportunity to work, live and raise your family in Australia is a dream,' she says. 'We already have well-established small Tuvaluan communities here in Australia that are more than willing to help, as is our custom.' A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said a range of support services would be made available to help new visa holders, including briefings on life in Australia, financial and digital literacy training and connecting visa holders with potential employment. Jane McAdam, professor of law at the University of New South Wales, says although the majority of the population applied, that shouldn't be read as everyone on Tuvalu wanting to leave due to the climate crisis. 'I think it's more that this visa opens up all sorts of possibilities for schooling and for work – and provides a safety net even if people do want to stay in Tuvalu,' she says. While recognising the merit of the Falepili Union treaty to allow people from Tuvalu the chance to migrate with dignity, Mahealani Delaney, Pacific community engagement coordinator at Greenpeace Australia, says the climate visa needs to be considered in context. 'Australia continues to produce and export coal, oil and gas, fuelling the climate crisis that is causing people to leave their homelands. It simply is not enough to offer up a solution while ignoring the issue. The most meaningful action that Australia can take is to address the root problem: rapidly and fairly phase out fossil fuels, including no new coalmines and no new dirty gas.' Malua-Mataka says on her recent visits to Tuvalu she noticed areas around the capital Funafuti where the sea has risen on the lagoon side, which was never the case when she was growing up. 'The impact can be very emotional to talk about especially when I think of my family still living in Tuvalu who face these issues on a daily basis. The impacts far exceed the physical environmental issues. It impacts our government, our global status and most alarmingly, it impacts our future as a nation.'
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Science
- News.com.au
‘Entire reef' under threat by pest on Cook Islands
Divers clutch wooden spears as they plunge beneath the waves, hunting hordes of hungry starfish destroying the coral reefs around the Cook Islands. These makeshift tools are their best weapons in the war against crown-of-thorns starfish, a coral-munching species eating through tropical reefs already weakened by climate change. The Cook Islands, a South Pacific nation of about 17,000 people, is in the grips of a years-long outbreak, says marine biologist Teina Rongo. 'It can completely kill off the entire reef, right around the island,' said Rongo, who organises volunteers protecting the reefs fringing the isle of Rarotonga. 'I think there seems to be a Pacific-wide outbreak at the moment, because we're hearing other countries are facing similar challenges.' A single crown-of-thorns adult can eat more than 10 square metres (110 square feet) of reef each year, squeezing its stomach through its mouth to coat coral in digestive juices. They pose a major threat to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where scientists have developed robots that hunt down the prickly invertebrates and inject them with poison. 'At the moment, you basically kill them by injection,' said researcher Sven Uthicke, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. 'It could be vinegar, it could be lime juice or ox bile. 'Others are building chemical attraction traps. It's all very promising – but it's in the development stage.' Rongo finds it quickest to pry the feasting starfish loose using a wooden stick cut from the dense timber of the Pacific Ironwood tree. 'Basically, we use a stick with a hook at the end,' he said. 'We've made some modifications over time because we were getting pricked by these starfish. 'It's painful.' Named for their hundreds of venomous spikes, crown-of-thorns starfish have as many as 21 fleshy arms and can grow larger than a car tyre. They are typically found in such low numbers that they are not considered a problem, but sporadically populations explode in a feeding frenzy that rapidly strips the life from reefs. They spawn in 'plague proportions', according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and are a major driver of coral loss. From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean, crown-of-thorns outbreaks appear to be becoming both more frequent and more severe. 'Some argue that the crown-of-thorns has become chronic in the last few decades,' said Rongo, talking about the reefs of the South Pacific. Scientists suspect these outbreaks are triggered by a mix of factors, including nutrients leached into the sea from agriculture and fluctuations in natural predators. But the damage they can cause is getting worse as reefs are weakened by climate change-fuelled coral bleaching and ocean acidification. 'This is why it's important for us to help the reef,' says Rongo. Scuba divers scour the Cook Islands' reefs for hard-to-spot starfish wedged into dimly lit crevices. Once peeled off the coral, the starfish are pierced with a thick rope so they can be dragged back up to a waiting boat. The day's haul is dumped into a plastic chest before the starfish are lugged ashore to be counted, measured and mulched for garden fertiliser. They are known as 'taramea' in Cook Islands Maori, which loosely translates to 'spiky thing'. The volunteer divers working with Rongo and his environmental group Korero O Te Orau – or Knowledge of the Land, Sky and Sea – remove thousands of starfish every year. Rongo is spurred by the devastation from the nation's last major infestation in the 1990s. 'I was part of that eradication effort. 'We were too late when we did decide to do something about it. It went on and ended up killing the reef.'
New York Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Climate Science Is Now the Law
The science on climate change has long been settled. Now the law is, too. On Wednesday, the International Court of Justice, the judicial branch of the United Nations, recognized for the first time that there is no way to solve the climate crisis or atone for its devastating consequences without confronting its root cause: the burning of fossil fuels. Back in 2023, the South Pacific archipelago nation of Vanuatu and other climate-vulnerable countries, with the help of Pacific Island students, secured a United Nations resolution asking the International Court of Justice to clarify what existing international law requires governments to do about climate change and what legal consequences they face if their failure to uphold the law causes serious harm. The court's conclusion comes on the heels of two other international advisory opinions on climate change and a growing number of national judgments. Earlier this month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared that the climate crisis is a human rights emergency, triggering human rights obligations for nations and businesses. Its sweeping opinion acknowledged the outsize role the oil and gas sector plays in generating planet-warming emissions, and emphasized the duty of governments to regulate and control these polluters. A 2024 climate opinion from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea likewise affirmed that greenhouse gas emissions pollute the marine environment and that countries have a duty to prevent environmental harm that affects other countries, whether it comes from public actors or private companies. The I.C.J.'s unanimous opinion reinforced these conclusions and broadened their reach, stating that countries must protect citizens from the 'urgent and existential threat' of climate change. When a country fails to curb greenhouse gas emissions — whether by producing or consuming fossil fuels, approving new exploration to find them or subsidizing the industry — it may be held liable for 'an internationally wrongful act,' the court's 15 judges said. This makes it much harder for any government or company to say that rules don't apply to them or they don't have to act. Read together, these three landmark legal rulings leave no doubt that continuing fossil fuel production and use, let alone expanding it, violates the law. It is a cease-and-desist notice to fossil fuel producers. Governments, industry and scientists have known for decades that fossil fuels are the principal cause of climate change. Oil, gas and coal account for nearly 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, and science shows that it is impossible to prevent a rise in global temperatures unless new fossil fuel projects are stopped and existing ones shut down. But fossil fuel companies have systematically delayed climate action, first by denying the science, then by derailing the most aggressive regulations and goals with intense lobbying. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Cook Islands wages war on 'plague' of hungry starfish
Divers clutch wooden spears as they plunge beneath the waves, hunting hordes of hungry starfish destroying the coral reefs around the Cook Islands. These makeshift tools are their best weapons in the war against crown-of-thorns starfish, a coral-munching species eating through tropical reefs already weakened by climate change. The Cook Islands, a South Pacific nation of about 17,000 people, is in the grips of a years-long outbreak, says marine biologist Teina Rongo. "It can completely kill off the entire reef, right around the island," said Rongo, who organises volunteers protecting the reefs fringing the isle of Rarotonga. "I think there seems to be a Pacific-wide outbreak at the moment, because we're hearing other countries are facing similar challenges." A single crown-of-thorns adult can eat more than 10 square metres (110 square feet) of reef each year, squeezing its stomach through its mouth to coat coral in digestive juices. They pose a major threat to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where scientists have developed robots that hunt down the prickly invertebrates and inject them with poison. "At the moment, you basically kill them by injection," said researcher Sven Uthicke, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. "It could be vinegar, it could be lime juice or ox bile. "Others are building chemical attraction traps. It's all very promising -- but it's in the development stage." Rongo finds it quickest to pry the feasting starfish loose using a wooden stick cut from the dense timber of the Pacific Ironwood tree. "Basically, we use a stick with a hook at the end," he said. "We've made some modifications over time because we were getting pricked by these starfish. It's painful." Named for their hundreds of venomous spikes, crown-of-thorns starfish have as many as 21 fleshy arms and can grow larger than a car tyre. They are typically found in such low numbers that they are not considered a problem. But sporadically populations explode in a feeding frenzy that rapidly strips the life from reefs. - 'Plague proportions ' - They spawn in "plague proportions", according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and are a major driver of coral loss. From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean, crown-of-thorns outbreaks appear to be becoming both more frequent and more severe. "Some argue that the crown-of-thorns has become chronic in the last few decades," said Rongo, talking about the reefs of the South Pacific. Scientists suspect these outbreaks are triggered by a mix of factors, including nutrients leached into the sea from agriculture and fluctuations in natural predators. But the damage they can cause is getting worse as reefs are weakened by climate change-fuelled coral bleaching and ocean acidification. "This is why it's important for us to help the reef," says Rongo. Scuba divers scour the Cook Islands' reefs for hard-to-spot starfish wedged into dimly lit crevices. Once peeled off the coral, the starfish are pierced with a thick rope so they can be dragged back up to a waiting boat. The day's haul is dumped into a plastic chest before the starfish are lugged ashore to be counted, measured and mulched for garden fertiliser. They are known as "taramea" in Cook Islands Maori, which loosely translates to "spiky thing". The volunteer divers working with Rongo and his environmental group Korero O Te Orau -- or Knowledge of the Land, Sky and Sea -- remove thousands of starfish every year. Rongo is spurred by the devastation from the nation's last major infestation in the 1990s. "I was part of that eradication effort. "We were too late when we did decide to do something about it. It went on and ended up killing the reef." sft/lb/tym
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Top U.N. court says treaties compel wealthy nations to curb global warming
The United Nations' highest court on Wednesday told wealthy countries they must comply with their international commitments to curb pollution or risk having to pay compensation to nations hard hit by climate change. In an opinion hailed by small island states and environmental groups as a legal stepping stone to make big polluters accountable, the International Court of Justice said countries must address the "urgent and existential threat" of climate change. "States must cooperate to achieve concrete emission reduction targets," Judge Yuji Iwasawa said, adding that failure by countries to comply with the "stringent obligations" placed on them by climate treaties was a breach of international law. The court said countries were also responsible for the actions of companies under their jurisdiction or control. Failure to rein in fossil fuel production and subsidies could result in "full reparations to injured states in the form of restitution, compensation and satisfaction provided that the general conditions of the law of state responsibility are met." "I didn't expect it to be this good," Vanuatuan Climate Minister Ralph Regenvanu told reporters after the unanimous opinion by the ICJ, also known as the World Court, was read out. Vishal Prasad, one of the law students that lobbied the government of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean to bring the case to the ICJ, said, "This advisory opinion is a tool for climate justice. And boy, has the ICJ given us a strong tool to carry on the fight for climate justice." U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed the opinion and said it affirms that the Paris climate agreement goal needs to be the basis of all climate policies. "This is a victory for our planet, for climate justice, and for the power of young people to make a difference," he said. "The world must respond." Human right to clean environment Judge Iwasawa, who presided the panel of 15 judges, said that national climate plans must be of the highest ambition and collectively maintain standards to meet the aims of the 2015 Paris Agreement that include attempting to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Under international law, he said, "The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is essential for the enjoyment of other human rights." While the decision was stronger than most expected, its impact may be limited by the fact that the United States, the world's biggest historical greenhouse gas emitter, and second-biggest current emitter, behind China, has moved under President Donald Trump to undo all climate regulations. Vanuatuan Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu speaks to the media after the ICJ issued its advisory opinion on Wednesday. | AFP-JIJI "As always, President Trump and the entire administration is committed to putting America first and prioritizing the interests of everyday Americans," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in response to the opinion. With skepticism over climate change spreading in the U.S. and elsewhere, Judge Iwasawa laid out the cause of the problem and the need for a collective response in his two-hour reading of the court's opinion. "Greenhouse gas emissions are unequivocally caused by human activities which are not territorially limited," he said. Historically, rich industrialized countries have been responsible for the most emissions. Iwasawa said these countries had to take the lead in addressing the problem. Political and legal weight The court's opinion is nonbinding, but it carries legal and political weight and future climate cases would be unable to ignore it, legal experts say. "This is the start of a new era of climate accountability at a global level," said Danilo Garrido, legal counsel for Greenpeace. Harj Narulla, a barrister specializing in climate litigation and counsel for Solomon Islands in the case, said the ICJ laid out the possibility of big emitters being successfully sued. "These reparations involve restitution — such as rebuilding destroyed infrastructure and restoring ecosystems — and also monetary compensation," he said. Two questions Wednesday's opinion follows two weeks of hearings last December at the ICJ when the judges were asked by the U.N. General Assembly to consider two questions: what are countries' obligations under international law to protect the climate from greenhouse gas emissions; and what are the legal consequences for countries that harm the climate system? Developing nations and small island states at greatest risk from rising sea levels had sought clarification from the court after the failure so far of the 2015 Paris Agreement to curb the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The U.N. says that current climate policies will result in global warming of more than 3 C above preindustrial levels by 2100. As campaigners seek to hold companies and governments to account, climate-related litigation has intensified, with nearly 3,000 cases filed across almost 60 countries, according to June figures from London's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
