San Francisco Frontiers - Leaders visit Pacific's Tuvalu on frontline of climate change

The trip took place on the sidelines of the Pacific "pre-COP" gathering hosted by Fiji and aimed at drawing the world's attention to life on the frontline of global warming.

The meetings are a precursor to the larger UN-sponsored global climate summit -- known as COP31 -- to be held in Turkey next month.

The South Pacific is among the regions of the world most vulnerable to global warming -- from rising seas jeopardising homes to increasing temperatures causing coral bleaching.

Tuvalu is deeply affected, already laying plans to relocate its population of 10,600 if the island nation is consumed by the ocean.

A marine heatwave in 2024 wiped out an estimated 99.9 percent of the coral that built the remote Tuvalu islands.

"The objective of this Tuvalu event is for you, leaders, to experience and feel climate change first-hand, from being in the frontline of the impact of climate change," Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo told visiting officials.

Only a handful of leaders, mostly from the Pacific, showed up to visit.

Among them was Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country is head of this year's climate negotiations but has faced accusations of hypocrisy given its role as a major coal exporter.

- 'Escalating climate crisis' -

With just a few hours on the remote archipelago before flying back to Fiji, there was a rush from organisers to get in as many events as possible.

Hundreds of people wearing traditional garments, floral headdresses and carrying umbrellas to shield them from the heavy rain gathered to greet the leaders, who were accompanied by a small media delegation including AFP.

The group then toured the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project, a landmark reclamation effort that aims to mitigate the impact of rising sea levels.

They also took part in a traditional dialogue session with locals.

"Our communities are not asking for charity," Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka of co-host Fiji told delegates.

"They are asking for a system that works with a speed required to deliver protection in the midst of an escalating climate crisis," he said.

"This is a global challenge that we must address."

Australia has taken a leading role in the pre-COP gathering and defended it as a critical diplomatic event in the face of criticism at home about the cost to taxpayers.

However, Albanese drew criticism from a Tuvalu government adviser, who accused him on Tuesday of disrespect by not wearing a traditional headpiece during an event and for overstepping during the running of the visit.

"Just because we signed the treaty doesn't mean they can take over our country and our sovereignty," the adviser told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"That's how it feels."

- Impact of climate change -

Tuvalu is one of the world's least visited countries, and the highest point in the capital Funafuti is just two metres (6.6 feet) above sea level.

Rising waters have already largely swamped two of Tuvalu's nine atolls, or ring-shaped coral islands, and scientists fear the entire archipelago could be unliveable by the end of the century.

"You can swim for hours and hours along the reef in the lagoon, just skeleton after skeleton. It's all dead," said marine biologist Austin Bowden-Kerby, who visited last year and documented the devastation.

"The very system that created the islands has died. It wasn't pollution. It wasn't overfishing. Just a direct result from climate change."

Local scientist Rajneel Singh told AFP climate change was already affecting the food sources that have long sustained Tuvalu's population.

"Elders used to fish for red snappers and other things," he said.

"It's no longer frequent in the catch. And the sizes of the fish has been reduced as well."

A.Clark--SFF