Fiji to highlight Pacific climate plight at German summit

In this Feb. 22, 2017 photo provided by the Fiji Government, Sailosi Ramatu looks over the sea at his old village Vunidogoloa in Fiji. in 2014, the entire village of Vunidogoloa moved inland in what the government described as a pioneering relocation project driven by global warming. (AP)

Fiji will preside over a UN climate change summit in Bonn, Germany, that begins on Monday. Fiji and other Pacific island nations are particularly vulnerable to rising seas and changing weather and want the world to understand their plight. While Fiji doesn’t face an existential threat like some of its Pacific neighbors, it is already battling the effects of climate change.

The gathered governments, scientists and industry groups in Germany are trying to hammer out technical rules on monitoring emissions, after the historic Paris climate accord to mitigate global warming came into effect last year. But the accord was dealt a blow this year when President Donald Trump said he’d withdraw the US Other countries have pledged to press on regardless.