There are few scientists who would argue that the production of carbon dioxide from human activities has begun a progressive warming that we are still doing too little to slow down and stop. There are many people who would prefer to look away, and pretend that nothing is going to happen.
The 2,600 people who live on their idyllic coral islands, the Carteret Islands, in the South Pacific, cannot look away. With a high point less than six feet above sea level, their homes and gardens are being washed away around their feet. Now they are having to look to the nearby island of Bougainville, and prepare to move.
There may be other less obvious victims already, as rain patterns change and bring famine to some; but the people of the Carteret Islands are the first obvious victims of sea level rise, the most obvious sign of global warming. Their home is going under, the warning is real.
The next few years are the critical time for climate action, locally, nationally, and internationally. Whoever is elected in the European elections, working to extend the European emission reduction target from 20% to 30% or more, will be vital. For once Europe could work, and every option must be used.
Martin Hemingway
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