Kiribati visit planned

WELLINGTON – A team of MPs from New Zealand’s opposition Labour Party will visit Tuvalu and Kiribati next month to see first-hand how the countries are dealing with the effects of climate change.

Labour’s special climate change task force will also look at what can be done to mitigate the problems the small island countries face due to rising seas.

The party’s Pacific Climate Change spokesperson Su’a William Sio says Labour also wants to review the whole issue of what makes a climate change refugee and what the legal definition of one might be under a Labour government.

He says there needs to be more action to ensure the survival of Pacific nations.

“The decision taken at Paris to press for an ‘aspirational target’ of 1.5 degrees was a great step forward in ensuring the survival of the Pacific nations but a lot more action is needed. It’s important to remember the catch cry from COP21 – “save Tuvalu and you save the Globe”.

- PNC