The Secretary-General of the United Nations has visited what he calls "the extreme front-line of the global climate emergency".
The Secretary-General of the United Nations has visited what he calls "the extreme front-line of the global climate emergency". Photo: United Nations in the Pacific
Antonio Guterres spent a day in Tuvalu on Friday following a climate meeting this week in Fiji.
According to the UN the highest point in Tuvalu is 4.6m above sea level, making this small Pacific nation extremely vulnerable to climate change.
Mr Guterres tweeted that "rising seas threaten to drown" Tuvalu, and warned it was "a sign of what's in store for us all", before making a plea for urgent climate action.
While in Tuvalu, Mr Guterres met with Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, who's known as a champion in the fight against climate change.
He also visited a site where a climate-resilient reclaimed land area will be developed as part of a 'Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project'.
Seeing a vital causeway linking islands that is regularly overrun by waves and flooded during high-tides.
The UN head will conclude his Pacific tour in Vanuatu.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres visited Tuvalu in 2019 and described the tiny Pacific Island nation as "the extreme front-line of the global climate emergency". Photo: United Nations in the Pacific