Kiribati
Climate change impacts
It takes only eight days for the average Canadian to produce as much greenhouse gases as the average I-Kiribati will produce over the course of the entire year. Therefore, January 8th (eight days into the year) is "Climate Change Impacts in Kiribati Day."
For Kiribati, climate change is not some distant threat. This Pacific Islands country has been referred to as “the canary in the coal mine” when it comes to climate change impacts. Even a marginal increase in sea levels will mean disaster for Kiribati. The seriousness of this threat is reflected by the fact that one of the Kiribati Government’s climate change strategies is relocation.
For more information on climate change impacts in Kiribati, visit the Kiribati government’s climate change page.
Story
“My name is Ben Namakin. I am originally from Kiribati, but I currently live in Pohnpei (formerly known as Ponape) in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). I work as an environmental educator for the Conservation Society of Pohnpei (CSP), the only local environment non government organisation on the island.
During my childhood days in Kiribati, we never experienced severe sea flooding. There were storms, but they weren’t that bad.”
To continue reading Ben’s story, visit WWF’s Climate Witness page.
Photo credit: Ben Namakin
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In this video, Ben documents the impacts of climate change on his island home:
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