Vulnerable Pacific island nations will this week send the world an urgent plea for action on climate change at crunch talks in Paris later this year.
Some Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) countries lie barely a meter (three feet) above sea level and fear they will disappear beneath the waves without drastic intervention from major polluters.
The 15-nation regional grouping, meeting in Port Moresby from Monday, has long complained of bearing the brunt of climate change, even though its members make a miniscule contribution to global carbon emissions.
For more than a decade, the annual PIF summit has heard details of eroding coastlines, increasingly destructive storms and crops ruined by encroaching seawater.
Villagers in the Marshall Islands have seen graveyards swamped, while tiny Kiribati has purchased a large block of land in Fiji in case its entire population needs to relocate.
Palau President Tommy Remengesau said the Pacific's plight should prick the conscience of delegates from 195 nations who will meet in Paris in December seeking a breakthrough climate deal.
The so-called COP21 talks in Paris will seek a binding deal to take effect in 2020 that will commit all nations to emissions cuts.
The goal is to limit average global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
Former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer said the Paris talks could determine the future of Pacific territories such as Kiribati, Tuvalu and Tokelau.
Australia and New Zealand, the two largest PIF members, have been accused of dragging their feet on climate change, but Kiribati President Anote Tong said small island nations would not allow them to water down the PIF's call for action.
The Pacific's multi-billion dollar tuna industry will also be under scrutiny. It is an economic lifeline for some nations but vulnerable to poaching and overfishing.
PHOTO: Inhabitants of Kiritimati coral atoll build a stone seawall to protect their homes from rising levels caused by climate change.
CREDIT: AFP Photo.