With the increasing frequency of extreme weather, the disaster of climate warming has also been reported frequently. It may be a far cry from the vast majority of people, but for the Pacific island of Kiribati, which is about to disappear by 2050, it is an imminent survival crisis. The true voice of the local people who live in the countdown is the alarm of the human race.
Island countries less than 30 years away
The Republic of Kiribati (The Republic of Kiribati), situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Australia, consists of 33 atolls and reefs and is the only place in the world to span south, north and east. A country of four hemispheres. It became fully independent from British rule on July 12, 1979.
Most of Kiribati's population is concentrated in the Talawa atoll in the Gilbert Islands, the site of the famous US-Japanese battle of Tarawa during World War II, with most islands and atolls averaging about 1.8 metres above sea level. With global warming, sea levels rising and coastlines moving backward, the rest of the land in the 81-metre-high country is getting less and less. By 2050, 18 to 80 percent of North Tarawa and 50 percent of South Tarawa will be submerged, meaning that most Kiribati citizens will lose the homes on which they live. Some islands outside Kiribati may disappear faster, according to government.
Strauss (Ben Strauss), who is responsible for sea-level and climate impacts at the Climate Center, said the rise in sea levels was 1.5 times faster than 20 years ago, and that was no longer a frightening future, but a brutal fact. If the water level exceeds one meter, or half the current elevation of Kiribati, residents will inevitably be evacuated and become "climate refugees." Kiribati, including Tuvalu, Maldives, the Marshall Islands and other low-lying Pacific island nations will face the same experience, as fierce storms and tides will make them uninhabitable in decades.
Kiribati weightlifter Kateoteu (David Katoatau) dances after lifting a barbell at the men's weightlifting competition at the 2016 Rio Olympics, drawing world attention to the extreme climate of Pacific island countries.
All kinds of efforts have been tried, and eventually only the whole country has to emigrate.
As rising waters pollute fresh water and erode crops and land, Kiribati are now the only choice but to migrate. Some residents have even applied for "Pacific resident Special residence" visas 10 times in a row, only for direct permanent immigration to New Zealand.
The only existing road on the island of Nantalawa.
In 2014, Kiribati spent nearly 9.3 million Australian dollars to buy 8000 square miles (20720 square kilometers) of land on Fiji's second-largest island, under the leadership of former President Tomano (Anote Tong), to allow the country to migrate if necessary. Current President Epeli Nailatikau (Ratu Epeli Nailatikau) has promised that Kiribati people will have a new home in Fiji even if their homes are swallowed by seawater. While the mass migration is not unprecedented-Papua New Guinea has settled its nationals on (Carteret Islands), the Katrit Islands, off the coast, Kiribati is likely to be the first country to emigrate throughout the country.
In 2015, former Kiribati President Tomano (Anote Tong) thanked Fiji at the Paris Summit.
Kiribati, of course, does not forget to blame those countries that "add to the mess". In 2015, Kiribati joined other Pacific countries facing extinction, accusing Australia of calling on the government to stop funding the mining industry. That would worsen Oceania's warming problem and lead to fish poisoning. That same year, at the United Nations Climate change Conference in Paris, Kiribati joined forces with other island countries to put pressure on 195 other countries. Eventually, many countries agreed to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius a year (rather than the original 2 degrees Celsius) and to develop a front-line defense against rising water levels in Pacific island countries. Increase mangrove marshes to slow coastline erosion and improve Rain Water's collection system to enhance water quality.
People are calling on the streets for a "1.5 degrees Celsius" proposal from Pacific island countries.
Despite persistent opposition and resistance, Kiribati understand that the fate of immigrants will not be avoided, and that the cold reality lies ahead of them: they will have to leave their homes with their children in the next few decades. According to the United Nations, there will be 250 million "climate refugees" around the world by 2050. Former President Anno Tong said it was not just a problem for Kiribati, it was also a global crisis at a time when the world needed someone to lead the response to the climate crisis.
"our country is very fragile," said Erietera Aram (left, a local fisheries worker. Just one tsunami, and our country is gone. "
The plight of Kiribati today, the reality of tomorrow's human race
Anger and despair from Kiribati are not for nothing. As a small country with a population of just one hundred and thirteen thousand, like other Pacific island countries, their economies have been dependent on the fishing industry. As a result, carbon emissions are minimal compared to developed countries, but the consequences that do not belong to them put them at the brunt of their homes. In other words, they are paying for industry in other countries. Last June, Trump, the producer of 1/4 of the world's total carbon emissions, just decided that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Compact signed in 2015. Immediately, many Kiribati residents told CBS that the United States thousands of miles away was responsible for what they had experienced.
What is even more chilling is that there are people who dare not believe or even refuse to believe that there will be countries in the world that will be really completely erased from the map at once. The Washington Post points out that Kiribati's status quo is a microcosm of the world, where residents are reluctant to accept the upcoming facts, as humans stubbornly dare not imagine, refuse to face reality and actively respond. This disappearing country is the cruel reality that mankind will face in the future.
People watched their homes instantly swallowed up by the sea.
If the country's actual territory no longer exists, does it still exist as a Political entity? In other words, when the mountains run out, Kiribati will be forced to move to Fiji and other countries, and how to retain its status as a independent country will become a problem that humanity has never faced, and the daunting fact is that No one knows what will happen.