Climate change: Pacific Islanders feel 'scared' and 'powerless' as rising seas threaten homes
Climate change is evoking a dangerous feeling in the Pacific : fear. Landscapes are changing, infrastructure is being damaged, weather patterns are becoming increasingly irregular, and sea levels are rising . Many people are nervous, scared and frightened for their future on the islands they call home. "As a Pacific Islander, I'm in fear for us," Stephane Bong, a Vanuatuan student living in Wellington told Stuff . READ MORE: * Full coverage: guest editor Mia Sutherland's stories * Climate change: UN chief says 'total disaster' if global warming not stopped * Climate change hit 62m people worldwide, says State of the Global Climate report * Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's statement to the United Nations General Assembly * Ardern says NZ must do 'our bit' to fight climate change before asking the world for help He was "scared" for future generations living in his homeland. "What would it be like, let's say in 50 to 100 years time? "If we don't address this issue for certain, a lot of Pacific Islands will disappear under the sea." For a number of people living in Vanuatu, they have already been displaced as a result of rising sea levels, and forced to relocate to higher ground, according to Bong. "I know of a few villages on the banks... they've already been moved out." But while moving inland removes the threat of rising sea levels, for now, it increases locals' vulnerability to active volcanoes, which most recently erupted in 2018, prompting the evacuation of an entire island . "It's like living in between two disastrous lines," he explained. If more displacement occurs, Bong feared many would be left with nowhere to go. Speaking to Stuff about his home, he explained he often felt "powerless" seeing and hearing about the damage inflicted on Vanuatu and other Pacific Islands as a result of climate change. Henry Atoni, of Tokelauan descent, mirrored Bong's feelings, and explained seeing his homeland destroyed by climate change "truly devastates" him. "Even though we may still have things such as our sovereignty, territory, boundaries and fishing rights, there will be no physical connection between us and our land," he said. Atoni has noticed increased erosion during his visits to family in Tokelau, adding that the highest point on the island is only five metres above sea level. "There is really no place to move to." As a result of the changes inflicted on their home, many Vanuatuans and Tokelauans are adapting. "It comes naturally, we adapt ourselves to our situation," Bong said. In Tokelau, there is a Climate Change Unit who are working to promote and discuss the effects of climate change on a global scale. Atoni said it's encouraging to see Tokelau become the first island nation to become completely powered by renewable energy. However, Bong believes changes are needed on a larger scale - for example, cutting emissions - to aid the Pacific Islands and help minimise the effects of climate change. He thinks everyone needs to "change our minds to adapt to what is happening right now" and work on a collaborative model to help all countries, not just those that were larger and more densely populated. "We should work together, everyone should work together." United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres ' recent comments mirrored Bong's ideals. On a recent trip to Fiji to discuss the issue of climate change in the Pacific Islands, Gutteres explained, governments around the world needed to do more to help the Pacific nations who are "on the frontline of climate change". "My messages to governments around the world from the Pacific are clear; first, shift taxes from salaries to carbon. Tax pollution, not people. "Second, stop subsidising fossil fuels. Taxpayer money should not be used to boost hurricanes, spread drought and heatwaves, melt glaciers, and bleach corals. "Third, stop building new coal plants by 2020." Gutteres acknowledged rising sea levels to be an "existential threat to some island states" and explained some countries in the Pacific were experiencing rising issues four times greater than the global average. Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum explained in a statement: "The blue Pacific - our great ocean continent, our thousands of islands, our strong and resilient people - is running out of time." "All countries, with no caveats, must agree to take decisive and transformative action to reduce global emissions... If we do not, we will lose. "We will lose our homes, our ways of life, our wellbeing and our livelihoods. We know this because we are experiencing loss already." This article was commissioned by Stuff's guest editor Mia Sutherland as part of the Quick! Save the Planet project .