US President Barack Obama has met with Pacific Islands nations, determined to seek a solution for the growing risk posed by increasing global temperatures.
As negotiations begin between nations that are trying to best mitigate the effects of climate change, one of the world's most powerful men has met with political counterparts of much smaller nations.
"I grew up on an island. I understand both the beauty but also the fragility of island ecosystems."
On the sidelines of the Paris climate summit, US President Barack Obama said he wants to work with the Pacific Islands to mitigate the risk of rising sea levels.
"I am an Island boy," he told the leaders of Barbados, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea and Saint Lucia.
"I grew up on an island. I understand both the beauty but also the fragility of island ecosystems.
"If sea levels rise at currently projected levels - or the pace that is currently projected - some of their people will be forced to flee their homes, some of their nations could disappear entirely and as weather patterns change we might deal with tens of millions of climate refugees from the Asia Pacific region."
He spoke about the need for an ambitious and transparent agreement, and the need for nations to hold each other to account.
"Their (island nations) voice is vital in making sure that the kind of agreement that emerges here in Paris is not just serving the interests of the most powerful, but ensuring the interests of the most vulnerable as well and the United States intends to stand with them as a partner in this process."
Australia has ignored Kiribati President Anote Tong's call for a moratorium on new coal mines. And along with New Zealand, the government has also refused to sign on to the 1.5 degree goal at this year's Pacific Islands Forum.
As the richest country in the region, Australia faces Pacific calls to push for a strong deal that limits global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Mr Tong said he is disappointed that Australia has not shown more support for its Pacific Island neighbours.
"They've not been doing any batting at the moment for us," he told AAP.
"I think they're struggling with their own position at the moment, I think we should let them work that out."
Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Tony de Brum said he would like to see Australia show the same level of interest as US President Barack Obama.
“The meeting with Obama was one of the most significant meetings we have had in a long long time," he told the Guardian.
"He bolstered the idea that even though we are small we have to have a voice in these negotiations. We did not meet with Turnbull in Paris but we hope we might engage with him in the future. He an island boy as well, from a very big island."
Pacific Islands Development Forum
Leaders from Kiribati, Tuvalu and Fiji met in Paris to discuss the dire future facing their nations as a result of increasing global temperatures.
The Pacific Islands Development Forum is a new international group developed through private sector and civil society.
Kiribati President Anote Tong said the forum aims to provide a vision for a united, distinctive and sustainable regional society.
With his nation just two metres above sea level, Mr Tong has been fighting for recognition for years.
"For some countries, it's about their industries not being affected, but for us it's about the survival of our people," Mr Tong said in the meeting.
"I don't know, maybe my logic is bad but I always fail to make these people understand what is the difference between having a drop in your GDP and having no home. Which one is more critical, I don't know. I'm not communicating well because people are not hearing."
'Oceans are our way of life but are also a threat'
Fiji's National Disaster Management Minister, Inia Seruiratu is concerned about the challenge ahead for his citizens.
"We in the Pacific are among the most vulnerable in the world," he said. "And we are the most and worst affected as well."
"We are small island states but we also call ourselves big oceans."
"It's these very oceans that are our way of life, that is also a threat to us, because of climate change."
Though Mr Seruiratu conceded Fiji is better off than some of its Pacific neighbours, the island is still affected by salt water instrusion which is devastating their agriculture industry.
"As we speak, we are going through one of the worst droughts ever ecperiencecd in the region. In Papua New Guinea, massive, massive, massive losses to agriculture, and it's affecting us as well, particularly with our water resources and of course our food security as well. Crops and livestock are badly affected"
Forty communities in Fiji forced to relocate
Many living in Fiji's low-lying areas have been forced to leave their homes, which has also impacted livelihoods.
"We have identified another 400 or so [communities], that needs to be relocated in the near future. So it's not something we expect down the track, it's already happening," said Mr Seruiratu.
Natural disasters are also an increasing concern in the region.
In March, category-5 Cyclone Pam claimed at least 10 lives and left others displaced and injured, when it struck Vanuatu.
It was the latest in a number of natural disasters to hit the region in the past few years.
'It's about survival, human rights'
"Coming here to Paris, is about fighting for our human rights. For us, for the small island nations of the Pacific, it's about our right to life," said Mr Seruiratu.
"It's about survival. It's about our right to life."
He has called for developed nations to act on reductions in carbon emissions and form a legally binding agreement on Paris.
The Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoago, has also echoed the call.
"To work with these big whales, we small fish must stick together, work together," he said.
"Two degrees celcius, increase in temperature, is to save economies. That is the very very least ambition."
'It will sink Tuvalu'
World leaders are meeting in Paris hoping to achieve a binding agreement that would limit global warming to two degrees celsius and avert the most severe effects of climate change.
Mr Sopoago said he is concerned the world is on track to reach 3 degrees of global warming unless drastic action is taken.
"It will sink Tuvalu. It will sink many of our countries."
"Can we allow that to happen here, out of the agreement of COP21? The answer must be no."
The Pacific Island leaders agreed relocation cannot be the solution reached at the global summit.
"For Tuvalu, we will never be forced, to move out. We are determined to remain, and build, even elevate the islands, to make sure we maintain and save our people," said Mr Sopoago.
Making the decision to relocate
According to the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, more than 70 per cent of households in Kiribati and Tuvulu and 35 per cent of households in Nauru reported they would migrate if the impacts of climate change, such as drought and flooding, rendered their home uninhabitable.
However, very few are can afford to.
More than 6,800 people were involved in the survery, from Kiribati, Tuvalu and Nauru. Sea level rise and salt water intrusion were among the major factors found to influence decisions on whether to migrate either internally or overseas.
“The results from this unprecedented survey show us empirically what we already know,” said Tuvalu PM Sosene Sopoaga. “Pacific Islanders are facing the brunt of climate change impacts and are increasingly finding themselves with few options.”
