Ioane Teitiota, a man from the small pacific island of Kiribati, is trying for the second time to claim refugee status in New Zealand based on the threat that climate changes pose to his homeland, France 24 reported.
When Teitiota's expired visa threatened to send him back to his homeland, he tried for the first time to claim refugee status but was refused because his claim did not meet with the legal criteria that he was in fear of prosecution or there were threats to his life, according to France 24.
He appealed to the New Zealand court again on Wednesday and said in his appeal that rising sea levels made his homeland of Kiribati unsafe to live in. He added that if he moved back, his three children, who were all born in New Zealand, would face health issues due to the living conditions, France 24 reported.
"There's no future for us when we go back to Kiribati,"Teitiota told the appeal tribunal, according to France 24.
Documents of his appeal state that he fears a breakdown of law and order in the country "as the country becomes more affected by climate change" and that his family face the "grave prospect of serious harm" if they return, the Wall Street Journal reported. He also said that due to these climate changes residents are moving to certain areas, over populating them and causing tension and "knife fights."
Teitiota, 37, who could be the first person granted refugee status due to climate change, described how high tides breached seawalls and rising ocean levels were contaminating drinking water, killing crops and flooding homes, making the land unsuitable to live in, France 24 reported.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Kiribati is among the worlds lowest-lying nations and is comprised of a group of more than 30 coral rings. The island straddles the equator and most of the country is one or two meters above sea level.
Michael Kid, Teitiota's lawyer, has acknowledged his visa is expired, but said he can't face deportation because of the harm he will encounter back on his homeland. He added that Teitiota can set an international precedent.
"Fresh water is a basic human right ... the Kiribati government is unable, and perhaps unwilling, to guarantee these things because it's completely beyond their control," Kidd told Radio New Zealand, according to France 24.
According to Slate magazine, in 2009, a report by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees found that "sinking island states," like Kiribati, "present one of the most dramatic scenarios of the impact of climate change." The impact that may threaten the existence of these states creating a situation where "entire populations of affected states could thus become stateless," according to the report.
Due to the rising sea levels, the Kiribati government bought 6,000 acres of land in neighboring Fiji to grow food if farming becomes impossible due to the salt water, and potentially resettle part of its 100,000 people if the country were to become uninhabitable, Slate magazine reported.
Other states neighboring Kiribati, like Tuvalu, Tokelau and the Maldives, concern the United Nations Human Rights Commission because residents can become "stateless" due to climate change, as well.
A little over 300 people migrate to New Zealand from Kiribati, and New Zealand offers 75 citizens of Kiribati residency each year, but this number might change. If Teitiota is granted refugee status, more asylum claims tied to climate change dangers will likely follow if sea levels continue to rise.
