Photo: World Vision. Retrieved from rnz.co.nz

Excerpt from rnz.co.nz

Vanuatu being battered by cyclones are not uncommon but this hit differently. It was yet another scary reminder that climate risks and impacts are intensifying – where our people, communities can no longer feel safe.

Anything can happen, anytime. This is our lived reality in Vanuatu. Our new normal. And this why as the world gears up for COP29 in Azerbaijan, the government and the people of Vanuatu continue to amplify the call for “1.5 to stay alive”, to ensure our efforts for survival are not in vain. We believe COP29 is yet another opportunity to collaborate and urge our global partners to act with urgency to safeguard the lives of the people of Vanuatu, and everyone around the world, who depend on it.

Our lived reality on the ground in Vanuatu in relation to climate change is clearly backed by Science. Recent reports confirm that 2023 was the warmest year on record in terms of global average temperatures. Projections indicate a 95 percent probability that 2024 will surpass this record, with the first six months of 2024 each setting new temperature records.