United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has raised an alarm about the escalating climate crisis, urging countries to “Save Our Seas” as he warned of a situation of “unimaginable scale” resulting from greenhouse gas emissions and rising sea levels, Al Jazeera reports.
“This is a crazy situation: Rising seas are a crisis entirely of humanity’s making. A crisis that will soon swell to an almost unimaginable scale,” Guterres said at a gathering of Pacific Island leaders in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, on Tuesday.
Guterres stressed the urgent need for drastic action as he addressed over 1,000 international delegates attending the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, which runs until August 30. Climate change, particularly its impact on the low-lying Pacific communities, is a key focus of the agenda, given that these nations are among the most vulnerable to environmental changes.
With about 90 percent of the Pacific population living within 3 miles of the coast and an average land elevation of just 3.2 to 6.5 feet above sea level, Guterres said that the Pacific Islands face unique risks. He is also expected to visit Samoa during his time in the Pacific region.
“Without drastic cuts to emissions, the Pacific Islands can expect at least 15 centimeters [6 inches] of additional sea level rise by mid-century, leading to more than 30 days per year of coastal flooding in some areas,” Guterres warned. “But if we save the Pacific, we also save ourselves. The world must act and answer the SOS before it is too late.”
Among the region’s initiatives to combat climate change is the Pacific Resilience Facility, a financial institution designed to enhance the resilience of local communities. Although it is scheduled to begin operations in 2025, it is currently facing significant funding shortfalls from international donors.
Guterres reiterated his appeal to the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, particularly the Group of 20 (G20) nations, to provide financial assistance to the most climate-vulnerable countries.
“We need a surge in funds to deal with surging seas,” he stated.
His remarks coincide with the release of two reports from UN agencies on Monday, which warned of worsening sea level rises. A report from the World Meteorological Organization and another from the UN Climate Action Team outlined the critical situation. Guterres noted that sea levels in Nuku’alofa have risen by 8.3 inches from 1990 to 2020, more than double the global average increase of 3.9 inches.
“Today’s reports confirm that relative sea levels in the Southwestern Pacific have risen even more than the global average—in some locations, by more than double the global increase in the past 30 years,” he said.
The UN General Assembly is scheduled to hold a special session on September 25 to discuss the existential threat posed by rising sea levels.
