The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report firmly centered on the reality of human-driven climate change. If we don’t take immediate and tangible steps to reduce the consequences of these actions, we will face an environmental crisis that will have a major impact on mankind’s existence. Here in Tokyo, we are extremely concerned about this danger, as it poses a huge threat to our goal of becoming a sustainable and environmentally-friendly city.

In the year 2030, it is estimated that the number of people living in urban areas will exceed 60 percent of the world’s population, and measures at the city level are now crucial. The effects of climate change are already becoming apparent in a range of forms, and Tokyo is no exception. Tokyo has undertaken several measures to mitigate these effects, including launching the world’s first urban cap-and-trade program. In addition, Tokyo is implementing a number of pioneering initiatives, such as measures to counteract storm surges and floods, as well as major earthquakes, and advancing urban planning to realize a more resilient city.

The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report firmly centered on the reality of human-driven climate change. If we don’t take immediate and tangible steps to reduce the consequences of these actions, we will face an environmental crisis that will have a major impact on mankind’s existence. Here in Tokyo, we are extremely concerned about this danger, as it poses a huge threat to our goal of becoming a sustainable and environmentally-friendly city.

In the year 2030, it is estimated that the number of people living in urban areas will exceed 60 percent of the world’s population, and measures at the city level are now crucial. The effects of climate change are already becoming apparent in a range of forms, and Tokyo is no exception. Tokyo has undertaken several measures to mitigate these effects, including launching the world’s first urban cap-and-trade program. In addition, Tokyo is implementing a number of pioneering initiatives, such as measures to counteract storm surges and floods, as well as major earthquakes, and advancing urban planning to realize a more resilient city.

At the same time, Tokyo is working with cities all over the world and engaging in a variety of international activities. In this way, Tokyo’s achievements have been introduced to the world, and we are proud to have gained high recognition in reports issued by the World Bank. Of these initiatives, Tokyo’s cap-and-trade program has received especially high praise internationally. In the program’s first year, FY2010, a 13 percent reduction in total CO2 emissions from base-year figures was achieved.

Further reductions were achieved in FY2011 and FY2012, with a 22 percent reduction from base-year figures recorded for both periods. Achievements to date have far surpassed the mandatory 6 or 8 percent reduction rate, producing a significant effect. Tokyo Cap-and-Trade has introduced retrofitting projects backed by vast amounts of investment for energy-saving technologies. Practical examples of which include the installation of LED lights, more efficient heating equipment, and improved day-to-day operational efforts.

[video:https://vimeo.com/95527812]

 

We believe Tokyo’s success is highly reliant on a positive response from various stakeholders, including building owners, developers, tenants and related businesses following our initiatives. A lot of credit needs to go to the facilities under Tokyo Cap-and-Trade, including facility owners and related businesses that responded very positively to the program, resulting in its continued success.

As the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games approach, Tokyo will continue to promote effective energy conservation and CO2 reduction measures in order to resolve climate change related issues and further strengthen energy policies, including greatly expanding the use of renewable energy, with a view to the global environment.

The World Bank’s “Putting a Price on Carbon” statement is very meaningful, as it will become a driving force behind the promotion of effective measures for climate change mitigation. If all of the world’s cities and nations cooperate to implement a variety of well-thought-out programs, promotion of measures for climate change issues will lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions, and even help avoid an eventual global environmental crisis.

As the Governor of Tokyo, a major city advancing innovative climate change mitigation measures, I endorse the World Bank’s “Putting a Price on Carbon” statement and express my full support. Firmly believing that this World Bank initiative will contribute to the sustainable development of the earth’s environment, Tokyo will call for other cities, nations, and companies that share in the same objectives to come together by endorsing this statement.

Today’s youth have been dealt a deadly hand when it comes to the environment and our aging Mother Earth. They must live in a world where the generations before them have polluted the ground they walk on, the oceans that surround them and the air they breath. While some still deny the reality of global warming, climate change is inevitable due to the tremendous increases in carbon dioxide emissions into our atmosphere.

The burning of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) have grown more rapidly between 2000 and 2010 then they have in previous decades. The time to act is long overdue and many are calling for a global consortium to address this growing, toxic concern.

[video:https://vimeo.com/7970557]

 

Spend a little bit of time browsing through the UN's newly launched website for Rio+20, and you begin to see what the future of development looks like. Not only that, you get a glimpse of how important creating a common platform that the world can use to imagine the future of humanity is. Global problems like climate change can be hard to communicate on such a vast scale. Distilling the science in a way that relates to both the learned academic and the casual browser is daunting to think about.

The entrance of telecommunication tools make the task of distilling and dissemination of information a much easier task to accomplish from a global perspective. By creating a common knowledge platform that is available to everyone, local communities are able to absorb, synthesize and localize the knowledge for themselves. Further more, they are able to upstream their local knowledge to a global audience. This experiential exchange of ideas is critical to solving global problems like climate change. True, not everything that works locally can be applied globally. Not all solutions easily bridge the "glocal" dilemma - meaning, local tacit knowledge doesn't always scale or replicate well.

But this is not neccessarily a problem. The key is not in replicating what the solution was for a local community, but rather, how that community approached a particular problem. Process is a central ingredient in successfully upstreaming and sharing of ideas. For example, look at some of the local efficient cook stove solutions that were submitted to our photo/video competition. Alphonse Karenzi's clean cook stove was engineered using locally made materials. His solution reduces the amount of firewood used by up to 85%. While this solution is innovatively applied, the process of getting to that solution is more important. By approaching the problem from a "what can I do here locally to contribute a solution to climate change?" he was able to utilize what was locally available to him. This approach is very much the same way someone in the city, who has access to energy, might use to conserve energy instead of wasting. Two different scenarios, unified by the desire to contribute to a global problem.

The spirit of collective doing is sometimes more effective than whatever solution you are using to solve a particular problem. This is why the UN's Future We Want platform of idea sharing is important to our future. While all the solutions might be different, unique, and varying in their degree of effectiveness, it is that unification of everyone's efforts into one global movement. Sharing is caring, as it were. We all dream about our futures, with grand ideas and visions of a Utopia far different from our present realities. But in order for us to realize those dreams, each of us has to contribute to the whole. What can you do locally to bring the "Future You Want" closer to reality?

With growing populations and increasing impacts from climate change, forward-thinking cities are scrambling to adopt green infrastructure to become more resilient. An entry to our Action4Climate video competition “Climate TV, City Climate” discusses some of the issues cities are facing and how green infrastructure solutions can help a city cope with increased heat and stormwater run-off. Green roofs, green spaces and flood management systems can help cities like Rotterdam manage climate impacts.

[video:https://vimeo.com/103463647]

 

Elsewhere, cities are innovating with renewable energy and resource management systems to yield major reductions in carbon emissions and improved climate resilience. Visionary water utilities are beginning to recognize the tremendous amount of valuable resources that lie in city wastewater. Traditional wastewater treatment is extremely energy intensive; it also generates large volumes of sludge that is typically sent to landfill where it releases significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.

In contrast, a process known as bio-digestion considerably lowers a city’s carbon footprint. Bio-digestion harnesses the large amounts of energy stored in municipal wastewater and provides a useful byproduct in the form of a nutrient-rich soil. Overall, this approach contributes to improving air quality for residents, and generates handsome economic savings that can be reinvested in local economies.

The Connect4Climate team was recently invited by DC Water, the water utility serving the city of Washington D.C., to visit a state of the art bio-digestion facility set to come online later this year. The facility is being built on the site of the city’s wastewater treatment plant which treats 370 million gallons (1,400,000 m³) per day. The bio-digester will generate 13 MW of electricity onsite by using the biogas captured from the wastewater sludge. With the wastewater treatment plant currently being the largest user of grid electricity in Washington D.C., the renewable energy generated by the bio-digester will reduce DC Water’s electricity consumption by a third and cut carbon emissions by approximately 50,000 metric tons of CO2e per year. This is equivalent to taking over 10,000 passenger vehicles off the road. It will also save DC Water $10 million annually, with these savings ultimately being passed on to the city’s residents.

Rather than focus on maintaining their license to operate by meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s minimum requirements, DC Water is going above and beyond by applying a whole systems approach to wastewater treatment. Besides generating a sizable 13 MW of clean energy, the process will also provide “Class A biosolids”, which is essentially a nutrient rich soil that is fit for agriculture and tree planting. The soil will be used by local farms, reducing the need to apply synthetic fertilizers, known to be highly carbon-intensive to produce. In addition, DC Water has adopted an advanced pretreatment process known as “thermal hydrolysis” which will enhance the efficiency of the biodigester, lowering the volume of soil that is recovered from the wastewater. This will reduce the number of trucks needed to haul the soil away from the plant every day by about half.

Closing the loop, the soil will be used for green infrastructure projects across the city, including tree planting and rain garden projects which will reduce the amount of stormwater runoff reaching the treatment plant. With less wastewater to treat, energy consumption will be further reduced. DC Water has also discovered through scientific research that soil generated from wastewater provides a significant boost to the drought resistance and yields of certain cereal crops such as corn.

For the future, DC Water is considering other renewable energy options to further reduce operating costs and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, one of the things that struck the Connect4Climate team during the visit was the vast surface area that the wastewater plant covers. Although the 153 acre site (62 hectares) is densely packed with water treatment systems, ample space is available to implement solar power panels. The utility is also exploring the possibility of treating food waste in the biodigester, which would further reduce waste going to landfill and Washington D.C.’s carbon footprint.

"There is no such thing as waste, only wasted resources." - DC Water

I have always had the feeling that my life was lacking in a way. That I was not doing enough of something. Yet, I could not figure out what that something was. It was a void that needed to be filled.

I remember when climate change was only a word to me. I remember when recycling was only a chore to do.

I remember all this so well because it was only fours months ago that I started to care about what climate change actually meant.

My sociology professor, whom I now consider to be a friend, first formally introduced me to the concept of climate change. At first, I thought that climate change was just a part of my sociology class—something that we would be done with after a few classes. However, that was not the case.

After several weeks of discussing the topic, I realized that climate change was more than that to my professor. For him, it was a passion and he felt an obligation to make his students also feel passionate about it.

I come from a country that is considered one of the richest in the world. A country where temperatures rise high enough to cook an egg on the sidewalk. I was raised in Saudi Arabia.

Rachel Kyte with Suleiman Ahmad Allauddin Khan after the screening. Photo: Ivan Bruce

Climate change has never been a topic on the tongues of the students of Saudi Arabia. I cannot recall once ever hearing about climate change from my teachers, friends, classmates or family. This tells me that there is a huge population oblivious to what is happening around the world.

As a country that produces most of the fossil fuel distributed throughout the world, it is no surprise that climate change is never discussed in Saudi Arabia. That would be like admitting that the Saudi government has left a huge carbon footprint.

Since I only had a rudimentary understanding of climate change, I began researching more about it. I came across several talks on the topic by people I had never heard of before. One of them stood out to me. When talking about climate change, this person had a look on her face that I did not see on others. She had a look that was very familiar to me. In no time at all I remembered where I had seen that look before. It was the same look my professor had when he spoke about climate change. It was the look of passion.

This person’s name is Rachel Kyte, who is the World Bank’s principal advocate for raising global awareness of climate change. Ms. Kyte has given many talks about climate change over the years, and is helping inspire a social change in the world. Her speeches are inspirational. I remember thinking, how can I be like this person?

A week later, I was granted an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime. Have you ever wished you had the chance to meet someone and were granted that chance? My professor gave me that chance. He had sent me an invitation to attend the Connect4Climate screening of Years of Living Dangerously at the World Bank. The film was a preview of a new television series on climate change.

I could not believe how lucky I was. I immediately accepted the invitation and on the day of the screening I arrived at the World Bank a little bit ahead of time in the hope that I would be able to talk to Ms. Kyte. Unfortunately, I was not able to find her then. I was ushered to a seat in the auditorium, where I waited eagerly for the talk to begin. I sat straighter than I usually do and became stiff as a board.

While waiting I realized that there are a lot more people than I thought who are interested in the cause as of climate change. I realized that I was not fighting for lost cause. I felt supported.

The event started with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim stating facts about how he and his organization are trying to deal with climate change. After his talk, he invited three people on stage for a discussion about the importance of climate change and what we might expect to happen to the world if nothing is done to combat it. Ms. Kyte was moderator of the discussion.

The film that followed was something that can only be described as a dream. I could not believe what I was watching. It portrayed the world we live in the today, and the catastrophes that are happening all around us because of climate change. The movie contained many famous people who are also interested in the battle against humans’ constant greed, which is killing the very planet we live on.

The movie screening ended with a round of applause from the audience. I on the other hand had a hard time looking up. I was extremely emotional. The movie had a lot of elements that would have made a stonehearted man break down in tears. I managed to compose myself. I was determined to get a word in with Ms. Kyte.

After wriggling myself between reporters, I finally managed to reach her only to be dumbstruck. I had a small speech prepared on how much she has inspired me but was only able to stutter a bit. Somehow, I managed to compose myself and was able to say a few words to her about that. I was also able to pluck up the courage to ask her if she would be photographed with me. She was happy to oblige.

After leaving the auditorium I had a funny feeling in my gut. Walking past a glass window I saw a smile on my face that looked a bit out of place. After a few minutes I was able to put on a more socially acceptable smile.

I made my way to the small feast our hosts had put together for us. I was greeted by my professor and one of my classmates. My professor was also surrounded by two of his former students. As soon as I was introduced to them I felt an instant connection form between us. We shared the same cause and had the same inspiration.

After leaving my professors side I was struck with a new realization. I realized that the people who had attended the screening with me were not only from the U.S. There were people from China, Poland, India, Italy, Ivory, Coast, South Africa and even a fellow Saudi Arabian.

To see that there were people at the event from all over the world helped encourage me to stand firm and pursue my cause for as long as I my bones and muscles will allow me. To see a fellow countryman at the event was evidence enough that these people managed to get the word across the world. More and more people were becoming aware of our cause.

Suddenly I knew what I could do to help. I knew that I had to spread the word, to inspire as many people as I can. I decided that I would take on my professor’s legacy and enlighten the minds of people about the dangers of climate change.

I left the World Bank a new person. I left with a new purpose in life. I left with a cause.

Suleiman Khan is a freshman student at Montgomery College Rockville. He is an international student from Saudi Arabia who is studying medicine. He aspires to be a doctor, more specifically a general surgeon who can help people in third world countries. He is planning to attend University of Maryland within the next year to continue his bachelors degree.

This post was originally shared on EcoWatch.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is releasing its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) on Friday.

The report is the culmination of more than 800 scientist authors working with more than 9,000 scientific publications on climate change and more than 20,000 comments from 'expert reviewers,' making it the most comprehensive collection of climate change knowledge to-date.

You can watch the livestream of the report's release on September 27th at 8.30am EDT and learn more about climate science, the IPCC, and the AR5 at The Climate Group.

As the Connect4Climate team prepares to head to Durban to present the winners of our Connect4Climate photo/video competition, here is a great resource on climate change, Africa and the COP17 meetings. The Guardian's John Vidal embarked on a journey from Cairo to Durban, stopping in some of Africa's most vulnerable regions including South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Africa. 

Much as we do here, Vidal hones in on the climate change realities of now, not in the future. Events are happening right in from of our eyes and as the world sits down to discuss it's future, it is important that these events are front and center in the minds of the 195 parties and over 17000 delegates partaking in the negotiations. Climate change is happening now, not at some future date we all negotiating to avoid. Lives are being affected as we speak. As Vidal writes:

Climate change is happening "without a doubt", he says, but disentangling its impacts from everything else happening in Egypt is nigh on impossible. Not only is north Africa steadily sinking – or subducting – into the Mediterranean, he says, but also the great Nile water is barely getting to the coast in places because so much is taken off by farmers or evaporating before it reaches the sea. In addition, storms and sea surges are worsening and world record-scale temperatures are being recorded.

This is not our future, it our present. We've added Vidal's blog series to our climate change resources section. 

Make sure to follow our blog as we'll be live-blogging from Durban starting Tuesday. Also follow our Twitter stream and Facebook wall for live updates on our events and all the activities happening in Durban.

Every year, 24 billion tons of fertile soils are lost to us from erosion while 12 million hectares of land are degraded through drought and the steady encroachment of desert. With every hectare of land we lose to drought or the desert, we also lose tons of potential grain which makes life even more of an ordeal for the 1.5 billion people worldwide who make their living off degraded land.

But as we celebrate World Desertification Day this year, there is also new hope as two billion hectares of degraded land have the potential to be restored. In the Maradi and Zinger regions of Niger, sustainable practices led to the spontaneous regeneration of 200 million trees that now secure the livelihoods of 4.5 million people. Regenerated trees such as Faidherbia albida, apple-ring acacia, used for food, fodder and nitrogen fixing have been protected and managed by farmers with no tree nurseries, no planting and nearly no cost – just dedication. On Mali’s Seno Plains, farmers have protected and managed trees on 450,000 hectares of their land.

Word Day to Combat Desertification Global Observance Event: “Land Belongs to the Future – Let’s Climate Proof It.”

To keep that hope alive, hundreds of thousands of people across the world recently celebrated World Day to Combat Desertification, along with many at the World Bank, to raise public awareness about desertification, and promote a global collective response, especially in Africa. 

The global observance organized by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and hosted by the World Bank in partnership with the Global Environment Facility, TerrAfrica and Connect4Climate, focused on the theme of ecosystem-based adaptation, with a rallying call“Land Belongs to the Future   – Let’s Climate Proof It.”

“Africa is already feeling the harsh bite of climate change, especially in the countries of The Sahel and others affected by prolonged drought and desertification. We are working closely with communities to build up their resilience to adverse weather conditions and invest in climate-smart agriculture,” said AFRVP Makhtar Diop in a special video address to the special Bank-sponsored event. “Our natural allies in this work are collaborative agencies such as TerrAfrica, and UNCCD, which champion existing local innovations that safeguard the environment and create ecosystems that keep the world’s lands alive and productive.”

Climate change is pushing our ecosystems to breaking point and the failure to act may result in food, water, income and security threats. The price to fix degraded land on a large scale and minimize these outcomes is only a fraction of the cost paid through social and political unrest, conflict, forced migration or internal displacement. Restoring a hectare of degraded and fragile soils, in The Sahel, costs as little as US$ 25 to 65.

“The international community must find ways to secure the long-term resilience not only for ecosystems, but also for people and for the poor who are the most affected by desertification,” said Mahmoud Mohieldin, Corporate Secretary and the President’s Special Envoy for the MDGs, in his opening remarks.  “To address the unique issues faced by the most vulnerable, we must invest in applicable solutions that are transformative, and can be scaled up.”

Panel discussion at World Day to Combat Desertification "A Conversation on Drylands: Perspectives from Africa, LAC and the Middle East"

Desertification-fighting champions include Ethiopia whose success was featured through the Bank-produced documentary Greening Ethiopia’s Highlands: A New Hope for Africa. The movie highlights how a landscape approach was used to manage land, water and forest resources to meet the goals of food security and inclusive green growth.

Niger’s effort in the restoration of degraded land and reforestation was also highlighted in the keynote address by its Prime Minister, Brigi Rafini. “Niger is one of hardest hit by desertification with the drying up of Lake Chad,” he said. “But, we have achieved incredible results on the sustainable management of ecosystems through local solutions and the Great Green Wall Initiative. The fight against desertification and climate change is within our reach.”

However, as Magda Lovei, ENRM Sector Manager, remarked, commitments from the top, mobilization at the grassroots and strong policies are necessary to find and deliver solutions. “If all these ingredients for success can be put in place and people do the right thing, nature can heal itself,” she said.
Juergen Voegele, Senior Director for the Agriculture Global Practice, reiterated the need for an approach that lets nature do the job. “Landscapes don’t need to be managed,” he said. “It is the people that need to be managed.”

This point was emphasized with the screening of the Why Poverty? documentary Solar Mamas, which depicts the encouraging training of illiterate mothers and grandmothers to become solar engineers through the Barefoot College in India. The film (embedded below) was screened following a presentation by Raffaelo Cervigni, World Bank Lead Environmental Economist, on the flagship drylands report to stimulate the panel discussion A Conversation on Drylands: Perspectives from Africa, LAC and the Middle East.

Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary, UNCCD

In her closing remarks, Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, reiterated that insufficient attention is paid to land in climate change adaptation. She emphasized that it is not a matter of inventing solutions - many proven and effective measures exist and should be brought to scale. She pointed out that, while climate change negotiations tend to center around the largest greenhouse gas emitters, when climate change is put in terms of land, the negotiation dynamics can change as 169 countries claimed to be affected by desertification.

There is hope that, as the global community is debating the post-2015 development agenda and the future of climate action, the path chosen would lead towards land-based resilience.

Original post can be accessed on the World Bank website.

[video:https://vimeo.com/96813617]

What if instead of a regular day at the office you could be outdoors, enjoying Spring?

That was the challenge proposed by Jill S. Wilkins, World Bank Group External Corporate Relations Global Engagement manager (she oversees Connect4Climate!) and we immediately agreed. The idea was to offer a time for the department members to get together and enjoy some quality time as a team. What better way to do while contributing to a worthy cause?

Shovels? Check. Gloves. Yes! The Global Engagement team from The World Bank Group gets ready for action. Photo Credit: ECRGE

We chose the Anacostia Watershed Society, an organization that has been doing amazing work making the Anacostia River that flows through Washington, D.C. a healthy, vibrant waterway. On a hot Thursday morning, around fifteen colleagues replaced their regular suits with practical clothes and hit Hyattsville, Maryland, a mere twenty minutes from World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where the outing would take place. We were going to build a garden.

Before getting down to business, Jo-Elle Burgard, the project coordinator, explained to the volunteers the purpose of the garden we were about to build. The parking lot of the First United Methodist Church, located in the lower part of the property, often floods with polluted water during a rainstorm. Creating a garden on one of the hills on the church’s property would helpstop the water, which would eventually end up in the sewer storm drain located underneath the parking lot.

This drain channels the water— now warmer from the asphalt and the pollution involved—to the river causing an increase on the water temperature, which consequently provokes changes in the ecosystem.  

Native plants set out for the future garden will help absorb water from rainstorms that had been plaguing the local eco-system. Photo Credit: ECRGE

Ferns, native pachysandra, and tiarella, plants native to the Chesapeake region, would make up the garden. They were chosen for their adaptability; they can bare various climate change differences as also tolerate a wide range of soils.

Everything was ready. The leaders had previously divided and set the plants in places where they were to be planted. Half of the job was done, we just needed to dig in and place them in the ground.

Creating a garden in a watershed area. Photo Credit: ECRGE

It was time at last. We started out with an immense enthusiasm. But as we dug, people started losing a bit of their energy. Great team work was what keep us going. Less than three hours later, the last shovel hit the ground. Our sense of accomplishment was clearly visible.

Working at a computer or shoveling? Guess what we chose? Photo Credit: ECRGE

What a great experience! Tiring but rewarding.

When asked if I would be interested in participating in another volunteering activity, I simply answer: Just tell me where and when!!

Bárbara Gomes Simões is currently an intern for Connect4Climate. Originally from Cascais, Portugal, she’s has worked on numerous international projects and is particularly committed to youth empowerment.

When Cyclone Pam arrived in the south Pacific Ocean bringing destruction, devastation, and new levels of anxiety to those it affected, I thought it was wrong to sit by and do nothing. I decided to use my business, Five Boys Clothing, as a mechanism for good.

I am half I-Kiribati (the term used to describe a person from the country of Kiribati) and still have relatives living in the far-flung, low-lying beautiful island of Kiribati and across the Pacific.

In the past few weeks, I and others from the I-Kiribati community have found it increasingly difficult to establish good communication channels with our families in Kiribati. What we have heard consistently over the past few months is that the “king tides” that naturally occur at this time of year have been the biggest that anyone who lives in the Oceana region have ever been known.

The author, Sophia Walsh (middle of the second row from the top), at age eight, with her family.
In accordance with I-Kiribati tradition the extended family mostly live as a Kainga – all the siblings live together, with their children and grandchildren, and now great grandchildren. Walsh now lives in England.

Because of Kiribati's geography, any small changes in sea level can have an enormous effect.

Kiribati is composed of three archipelagos in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Together, they span an area greater than the United States. Straddling the equator, Kiribati is the only nation in the world to have land in both the Northern, Southern, Western, and Eastern Hemispheres. With the sole exception of one raised atoll, no where in Kiribati is more than two meters above the sea level.

The Tarawa atoll, capital of the republic of Kiribati. Credit: Mark Tranchant

Freak high tides creep up and across the island, spilling into ground-level wells and contaminating the water.

Due to the low lying position of the atolls of Kiribati, small changes in weather conditions have a big effect. Severe changes in weather conditions have a disastrous effect.  Global warming is causing severe and consistent damage to the islands, particularly with fresh water supplies because the rise in sea levels causes increased salinity in the ground water.

My family has one well that hasn't been contaminated, but there are many families in the Pacific region that are not so fortunate.