World

COP25 island nation in 'fight to death'

December 3, 2019 6:56 am

The president of an island nation on the frontline of climate change says it is in a “fight to the death” after freak waves inundated the capital.

Powerful swells averaging 5m (16ft) washed across the capital of the Marshall Islands, Majuro, last week.

But President Hilda Heine said the Pacific nation had been fighting rising tides even before last week’s disaster.

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Political leaders and climate diplomats are meeting in Madrid for two weeks of talks amid a growing sense of crisis.

This conference of the parties, or COP25, was due to be held in Chile but was cancelled by the government due to weeks of civil disturbances.

Spain then stepped in to host the event, which will see 29,000 attendees over the two weeks of talks.