Today, a representative of the Permanent Missions of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) emailed me to let me know of a resolution on the threat of climate change to international peace and security they will introduce to the United Nation’s General Assembly.
The co-sponsoring nations believe that the UN Charter charges the Security Council to assess and mitigate security threats. In their view, small island developing states are particularly vulnerable to security challenges, and have begun to experience sea-level rise that, if left unchecked, will destroy them.
“It is surely wrong for small vulnerable communities to suffer because of the actions of other, more powerful, resource-rich countries,” said Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives, to a recent General Assembly session.
You can read more about the resolution here, but the point of this post is to let you assess for yourself what the 2 foot rise in ocean level expected by the end of the century will do to communities like these:
The Alaskan village of Kivalina (courtesy of Islands First)
Kids wait out tidal flooding on Funafuti Tuvalu (courtesy of Islands First)
“King tides” crash through the sea wall on the island of Kiribati (courtesy of Island Breath)