'Climate change refugee' fights to stay in New Zealand

Immigrant from Pacific island of Kiribati hopes to convince court he is a refugee at risk from rising sea levelsA man from one of the lowest-lying nations on Earth is trying to convince New Zealand judges that he is a refugee – suffering not from persecution, but from climate change.The 37-year-old and his wife left their remote atoll in the Pacific nation of Kiribati six years ago for higher ground and better prospects in New Zealand, where their three children were born. Immigration authorities have twice rejected his argument that rising sea levels make it too dangerous for him and his family to return to Kiribati.So on 16 October, the man's lawyer, Michael Kidd, plans to argue the case before New Zealand's high court. Kidd, who specialises in human rights cases, told Associated Press he will appeal the case all the way to the country's supreme court if necessary.Legal experts consider the man's case a long shot, but it will nevertheless be closely watched, and might have implications for tens of millions of residents in low-lying islands around the world. Kiribati, an impoverished string of 33 coral atolls about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, is home to about 103,000 people and has been identified by scientists as among the nations most vulnerable to climate change.In a transcript of the immigration case obtained by AP, the Kiribati man describes extreme high tides, known as king tides, that he says have started to regularly breach Kiribati's defences – killing...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Tags: theguardian.com Asia Pacific Kiribati World news Oceans Sea level Law Climate change Human rights Environment New Zealand Science Source Type: news