Tuvalu Minister Stands Knee-Deep in Sea for COP26 Speech on Climate Threat

The foreign minister for the South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu stood in knee-deep seawater as he gave a video statement for the COP26 summit in Glasgow, to highlight the threat of climate change for his country.

“The statement juxtaposes the COP26 setting with the real-life situations faced in Tuvalu due to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise,” Foreign Minister Simon Kofe says in the video.

Kofe said climate change and sea level rises were an “existential threat to Tuvalu and low-lying countries.”

He said his country was petitioning for commitments including reaching global net zero by mid-century and keeping temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Credit: Simon Kofe via Storyful