Kiribati President Anote Tong says his nation is facing the threat of rising sea waters, and could disappear completely by 2050. In an interview with Radio Taiwan International on Wednesday, he called on the world leaders to face the challenges of climate change.
Of particular concern, Tong said, are the extreme weather conditions that have swept the Pacific, affecting island nations such as Kiribati.
"At the beginning of this year we had Cyclone Pam which hit the South Pacific Islands of Vanuatu and it swamped all of Tuvalu and it also swamped our two southernmost islands. We never and do not have cyclones, but this is a new event and we are perhaps seeing a change in the weather patterns," said Tong. "Our islands have been able to survive in the past because we don't get cyclones, but that is changing."
President Tong said that little has happened since he began speaking out about climate change in 2004. He said he hopes that countries attending the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference can reach an agreement on a collective course of action to tackle the problem.
The islands of Kiribati established diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2003.