wave energy: a green and sustainable energy resource
A tiny South Pacific nation is planning to evacuate the islands because of rising sea levels. Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand for help in resettling its 11,000 people. The government says the islands may be engulfed in 50 years.
A Tuvaluan government spokesman says New Zealand has agreed to help but there have been no guarantees from Australia.
"New Zealand has been quite reasonable about this ... but there has not been any major breakthrough in our talks with Australia," the spokesman told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
Tuvaluans say their nine coral atolls halfway between Australia and Hawaii are steadily disappearing as the Earth warms and the seas rise.
The Tuvalu spokesman says some people have begun to leave the island and have resettled in New Zealand or the United States.
The Australian government says it will not give special treatment to people from Tuvalu.
Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock says Australia would be willing to join an international response to any environmental disaster if needed but, in the meantime, the people of Tuvalu are not entitled to any special treatment as environmental refugees.
"The fact is, we've been talking about these issues for the last 20 years (and) it is not, at the moment, an issue in which the populations of those countries are at risk," Mr Ruddock told ABC radio.
Source: Ananova
