Torres Strait aims to host climate change meeting ahead of COP 31
The Torres Strait must host a major climate change conference ahead of international meetings next year as rising sea levels threaten residents’ homes and way of life, a community leader says.
The Torres Strait must host a major climate change conference ahead of international meetings next year as rising sea levels threaten residents’ homes and way of life, a community leader says.
Torres Strait Island Regional Council’s Kabay Tamu travelled to Brazil to attend the United Nations’ COP 30, advocating for decarbonisation and identifying ways to bring the renewable economy to Queensland’s northernmost islands.
The councillor said he was disappointed that Australia had missed out on staging COP31 to Turkey which will see tens of thousands of delegates, scientists and government representatives attend the event in Antalya next year.
“For First Nations communities and the Torres Strait, it’s a missed opportunity to get the world to see what’s happening in Australia,” the Division 10 councillor, whose trip was sponsored by World Wildlife Fund, said.
“Australia would have been pressured to do more and be held accountable for things like coastal erosion, the state of the Great Barrier Reef, bushfires and inundation.”
“I would have loved to have had COP31 here.”
But with a pre-COP event to be held in the Pacific, Mr Tamu said the Torres Strait could hold an event in August next year.
“We want to try,” he said. “We can invite Ministers, politicians, NGOs and other groups. We’d like to have up to 1,000 people visit.”
Several islands sit just over a metre above sea level and are sinking while still being forced to contend with rising tides and volatile wet seasons, Mr Tamu said.
“We need to put the focus on Torres Strait issues,” he said.
“We really want to do things ourselves, highlight our issues and discuss decarbonisation and investment in renewables for the Torres Strait.”
Showcasing how seawalls, emissions reductions and other measures could stave off climate change in the Torres Strait was an important story to tell the world, Member for Leichhardt Matt Smith said.
“I’d be very keen to make sure that the Torres Strait Islanders’ voices are heard,” Mr Smith said.
“We’ve already made steps in that direction. Josh Wilson, our Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, went to Saibai recently to see what is happening in terms of the inundation there.
“I’ve got a direct line to (Climate Change Minister) Chris Bowen, so there’s a direct line from the Torres Strait to the President of (next year’s) COP. I’m trying to amplify that story nationally and now we’ve got a chance to really drive that message home on an international level.”
Originally published as Torres Strait aims to host climate change meeting ahead of COP 31
