18/09/14 – Christopher Loeak, President of the Marshall Islands

Standing in front of a sea wall that he has built himself to keep the water from intruding onto his islands, President Christopher Loeak makes a final plea to world leaders ahead of the UN’s landmark climate summit, to be hosted in New York on 23 September by secretary general Ban Ki-moon.

The low lying Marshall Islands are extremely vulnerable to climate change, and could be wiped out by rising sea levels. But Loeak says he is not prepared to leave the islands – and his identity – behind should the water come.