DUBAI - At the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, one of the smallest nations has one of the most powerful voices in calling for climate action.
For Vanuatu, there is a good reason to push hard for an ambitious outcome from the talks. Such is the scale of devastation being wrought by climate change that the future of the Pacific island nation is at stake, said Climate Change and Environment Minister Ralph Regenvanu.
"We can see a future that's very bleak for our children and grandchildren," he told The Straits Times' Green Pulse podcast at COP28 in the United Arab Emirates.
Vanuatu, about 1,750km east of northern Australia, is a volcanic chain of about 80 islands with a population of just more than 300,000.
Over the years, it has forged a strong international coalition with other island nations and has led a global campaign to push the fossil fuel industry and big emitting nations to face up to the impacts of their greenhouse gas pollution.
Burning fossil fuels is the main cause of global warming.
And it achieved a major win at the COP28 talks - an agreement to initialise a fund to pay for the irreparable loss and damage suffered by poorer nations caused by climate change.
Vanuatu launched the idea of a loss and damage fund in 1991, and faced years of pushback from rich nations fearing compensation payments.
The nation achieved another win in 2023.
Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin December 10, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin December 10, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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