A group of atolls and reefs, Tuvalu is home to 10,000. According to one study, the island state could disappear beneath the sea in 30-to-50 years.

Deputy Prime Minister, Tavau Teii says coral reefs are being damaged by the warming ocean, and this threatens fish stocks – the main source of protein.

In addition, the sea is invading underground fresh water supplies and eroding the coastline. As coral reefs die, that protection goes and the risk increases.

Teii said at the current rate the island state’s only alternative would be “to turn ourselves into fish and live under water.”

A day earlier, Sir David King, head of the UK government’s Office of Science and Technology, called global warming a greater threat than world terrorism and said an international accord must be reached within two years to mitigate the warming and minimize environmental catastrophe.