Grace Malie

Last updated

Grace Malie
Born
Tuvalu
Known forclimate activism

Grace Malie is a Tuvaluan climate activist, focusing on the effects of climate change in Tuvalu. She has been quoted before the International Court of Justice, and she has presented her country's concerns before the United Nations. She is a youth delegate for the Rising Nations Initiative.

Life

Grace Malie was raised on the island of Funafuti in Tuvalu. [1] She went to school on Fiji where the children, from Tuvalu, were teased as being from the "sinking island". [2]

Malie is outspoken concerning the effects of climate change on her country. [2] She is a youth delegate for the Rising Nations Initiative, [3] which aims to preserve the cultures of Pacific Atoll countries threatened by rising sea levels. [4] At the end of 2023, she attended COP28 in Dubai, where she lobbied the British King Charles III. [3] She was introduced to him by the secretary general of the commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, and Malie said she received the King's support. [5]

On 8 September 2024, [6] Malie and the Tuvaluan prime minister Feleti Teo addressed the seventy-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly regarding sea level rise. [2] [7] She told the summit that Tuvalu had done little to cause climate change but it was being asked to take the most pain, stating, "As you debate, the waves of the ocean erodes a part of the island. As you continuously discuss, hopes of a Tuvaluan youth vanish. As you delay implementing the Paris Agreement or paying for loss and damage, the identity of not just Tuvaluans but other big ocean states are at stake. We have done the least to cause the crisis, but we are paying the highest price". [5]

In December 2024, Malie attended Tuvalu's case against the countries who contribute the most to climate change, which was presented before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by Tuvalu's attorney general, Laingane Italeli Talia. [8] A case was made regarding the rising sea levels threatening Tuvalu and other members of the Alliance of Small Island States. Vanuatu arranged for the ICJ to advise on the legal position of the defendant countries. The court was told that this was the largest threat to the existence of the islands of Tuvalu. Professor Phillipa Webb quoted Malie as saying, "Tuvalu will not go quietly into the rising sea". [8] [9]

Malie has also presented at TEDxLondon. [10]

References

  1. ↑ Scott, Elfy (14 September 2024). "Meet the young people who could outlive their own country". SBS News. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Borenstein, Seth (25 September 2024). "Young people in island nations face an existential question: Should they stay or should they go?". AP News. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Teenager states fears of rising malaria cases and links to extreme weather". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. PA News Agency. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  4. ↑ Lowy Institute. "Major projects". Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Tuvalu: the fight to save a sinking nation from climate change". Channel 4 News. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "COP28 EU Side Events - Speakers: Grace Malie". COP28 European Union Side Events. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  7. ↑ "Tuvalu is sinking: How do you relocate an entire country?". Channel 4 News. BBC. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  8. 1 2 Dhakal, Tanka (13 December 2024). "'We Will Not Go Quietly Into the Rising Sea,' Tuvalu Tells International Court of Justice". Global Issues. The Hague. Inter Press Service. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Yeo, Sophie (21 November 2024). "Tuvalu: The disappearing island nation recreating itself in the metaverse". BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  10. ↑ Pasha, Maryam (5 January 2024). "BOSS series: Tuvalu's climate superpower". TEDxLondon. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
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