Erietera Aram

Erietera Aram is a 28-year old climate change ambassador and also a father of three from Kiribati. Holding the right accreditation, Erietera has been able to effectively defend his people who are under threat of being severely affected by rising sea levels due to Climate Change.

“My country is in peril from rising seas so I am here to appeal for urgent climate action, otherwise we will lose our homes. Kiribati is going under water.”

He has visited Australia and Germany to attend the UN climate summit to ensure his people are given a voice in determining future climate policy.

For Eri, forced relocation as a result of climate change is a very real threat - it is a constant and consistent conversation he has with his family. Fishermen are struggling to catch and coastal erosion is forcing families to move inland and causing land disputes.

He says it is difficult to talk about relocation at home due to people having difficulty understanding and accepting that their land is sinking. However, he finds it worth fighting for his children to have their home, language and traditions.

As the ambassador of Caritas Australia’s latest report on climate change in the Pacific, Eri is steadily calling on the Australian Government to play a much stronger role in the global move to a clean energy future, including a commitment to no new coal mines.

“Across the Pacific climate change is entrenching poverty and inequality, tens of thousands of people will be made homeless by climate change”. Eri is doing his best working on adaptation work and also keeping governments accountable for helping lowline atolls.”