Will Kiribati be the new Atlantis?

Kiribati, in common with many of the other island states, has a seat at the UN. President Tong came to power in an election where the Chinese station was the major election issue, amid accusations of bribery on both sides. The Taiwanese supported Tong openly, donating generously to his cause. The general view was that it was American money. Within days of assuming office, Tong recognized Taiwan, thus effectively ending relations with China.

It would be more than naïve to deny that America was then, and still is, playing an active, if clandestine role in Kiribati politics.

Kiribati is surrounded by rich fishing grounds. When President Tong announced the formation of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, he was hailed as an ecological hero, and there is an ongoing campaign to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize. Recently only 3% of the area was actually protected, and the evidence is that the grounds are being extensively over-fished at a rate that is unsustainable. Tong is demanding that the rest of the world pay compensation for the lost revenue. The pricing and allocation of fishing licences is highly contentious. An Australian official, when asked whether Kiribati was being exploited by the commercial fishing interests is said to have replied "Not exploited, raped.'

Barak Obama is an enthusiastic supporter of Tong's PIPA gift to the world.

Climate change, for which read catastrophic anthropogenic global warming, is enthusiastically supported by those who benefit from it – politicians, big business (especially energy companies), the Greens and academics amongst them.

In December representatives will gather in Paris to spend time debating this issue. They will base their discussions on the assumption that the world is warming due to a single factor, which, being caused by humans, can be controlled by humans through appropriate legislation.

Most of the delegates will argue that global warming should be limited to 2 degrees. Tong and others will demand that it be limited to 1.5 degrees.

They will argue that based on their particular interpretation of their particular version of their particular data the world is in grave danger, some time in the near future. They will not agree to any practical actions to change that outcome.

Meanwhile, they will turn a blind eye to the many thousands of people that die every day, or suffer unnecessary hardship, and whose plight might be somewhat ameliorated if the money spent on controlling the climate were to be spent on more practical and achievable goals. The people are mere pawns in a campaign which hides the pursuit of power and profit behind a facade of concern for their welfare.

President Tong is regarded as the exemplar of these climate change advocates. He struts the world stage while his people and their environment suffer. It's time we suggested that he, and others of like mind, spend more time at home, facing the real challenge of real issues.