Pacific island nations seek to turn geopolitics into funding to offset climate harm

KOROR, Palau -- When stormy seas batter Melekeok state on Palau’s biggest island, the Pacific Ocean floods right into people’s homes.“We keep telling the legislature we need to move inward,” said Bol Sebalt, 43, who was born and raised on the low-lying beachfront. “But because of a shortage of funding we cannot.”The fate of Melekeok, a chiefdom of 300 people, is echoed by stories from many island nations in remote parts of the vast Pacific Ocean. Their leaders, gathered for a summit in Palau this week, are wrestling once more with the question of how tiny countries with little global power can use major polluters’ geopolitical interest in their region to secure a chance of survival. Some hope for funding to help them adapt to changes they can’t reverse. Sebalt, a legislative clerk, is also a trained volunteer for her local disaster readiness team, making her one of 200 people across the western Pacific country now prepared to shepherd their communities through events such as catastrophic typhoons that have struck before. Almost a year ago, Sebalt moved to a subdivision being prepared inland for Melekeok’s people, where she’s the only resident so far. Sebalt said funding for plumbin...