Last night the International Youth Caucus here in Bali held a Side Event that showcased the activities that young people are taking all around the world to halt climate change. It was an inspiring event, with examples of education, outreach, direct action, lobbying and more from countries such as Indonesia, Japan, the UK, Canada, the US and, of course, Australia.
But the most heartfelt (and heartbreaking) moment came after the youth finished presenting their stories of success, when a young woman from Kiribati stood up and told her story. Kiribati (pronounced Kir-ah-bass) is a Pacific island, the majority of which is only two metres above sea level. As this woman explained, her people are already feeling the devastating impacts of climate change. As we listened with heavy hearts and tears in our eyes, I realised that this was one of the first times I had put a human voice to the climate justice issues the world will face if we don’t do much, much more to halt climate change.
Many of us here are becoming frustrated with the slow progress of the UNFCCC negotiations, as countries spend hours debating whether certain agenda items should be adopted or not. Meanwhile, many low-lying islands are drowning, and the culture and way of life of their people are disappearing.
The global community must wake up and realize that climate change is not only an economic, environmental or trade issue – but it is an issue of fundamental human rights. The countries which have contributed the least to climate change are the ones being the most affected, and they have the least amount of resources to cope with the impacts. Most popular debate surrounds targets of 2 degrees of warming from pre-industrial levels, whereas the effects on nations such as Kiribati are already devastating. 2 degrees of warming, therefore, will be disastrous for many people around the world. Seeing as the international community seems unwilling or unable to cope with the number of refugees currently seeking asylum around the world – what will happen when tens of thousands more are displaced from Pacific Islands due to even greater sea level rise, storms and other effects of climate change?
It is imperative that we re-conceptualise the debate around emission reduction targets and the consequences of climate change. 2 degrees is far too much, and we must be reminded of this every time we look at the faces of our Pacific neighbours who are already likely to lose their homes.