Pacific

Pacific protest over coal industry

20:13 pm on 9 October 2014

Four Tokelauans, dubbed Climate Change Warriors, have flown to Australia to join others from around the Pacific in a stand against that country's coal and gas industry.

Tokelau is one of a number of low lying Pacific nations that are seriously threatened by climate change.

The four will join other environmental activists on Friday next week sailing traditional canoes aiming to hamper shipping on Newcastle harbour, the world's largest coal port.

Coal is considered one of the leading causes of climate change and a spokesperson for the Tokelau Warriors, Mikaele Maiava, says they want to stage a peaceful protest about its continued use.

"You know for the last 20 years or so we have always been negotiating, in the international arena, negotiating and talking, talking about how we are going to solve climate change and how we can actually reduce the emission rates from all those big polluters in the world. But none of them - the developed countries - take it serious."