Excerpt from theguardian.com
Developing countries vulnerable to the worst ravages of global heating have spent the past week at United Nations climate talks urging more support from wealthy nations. The Pacific state of Kiribati has a very specific and unusual demand – that its islands be physically raised up to escape the encroaching seas.
The plan to dig up huge clumps of sand and rocks from the seabed and layer them upon the thin coral atolls that make up Kiribati’s sparse landmass will cost “in the billions” of dollars, the country’s president, Taneti Maamau, told the Guardian.
Kiribati has secured a more modest amount from the World Bank to help protect its tenuous water supply but Maamau argues that the rich countries that have done the most to cause the climate crisis should pay out far more to help save this slice of Pacific island life.