Rich nations have moral duty to help island nations as climate change shifts weather patterns, says World Bank envoy

By Peter Hannam
Updated September 1 2014 - 9:08am, first published 8:08am
Kiribati: The island nation is under threat from rising sea levels.
Kiribati: The island nation is under threat from rising sea levels.
For low-lying island states such as Tuvalu, sea-level rise is a serious threat.
For low-lying island states such as Tuvalu, sea-level rise is a serious threat.
Melting ice is making Antarctic waters less salty - and contributing to the unusually rapid sea-level rise. Photo: David Doubilet/ElysiumEpic
Melting ice is making Antarctic waters less salty - and contributing to the unusually rapid sea-level rise. Photo: David Doubilet/ElysiumEpic

Small island nations, particularly those in the Pacific, are already experiencing "extreme effects" from global warming, and rich nations including Australia have a "moral responsibility" to help them cope with future unavoidable threats, a senior World Bank executive said.