The threat spectrum

PORT VILA, VANUATU - DECEMBER 07: An aerial view of the coastline on December 07, 2019 in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Satellite data show sea level has risen about 6mm per year around Vanuatu since 1993, a rate nearly twice the global average, while temperatures have been increasing since 1950. 25 percent of Vanuatu’s 276,000 citizens lost their homes in 2015 when Cyclone Pam, a category 5 storm, devastated the South Pacific archipelago of 83 islands while wiping out two-thirds of its GDP. Scientists have forecast that the strength of South Pacific cyclones will increase because of global warming. Vanuatu’s government is considering suing the world’s major pollution emitters in a radical effort to confront global warming challenges and curb global emissions, to which it is a very small contributor. Last year, the country banned single use plastic bags, styrofoam food containers and drinking straws in an effort to contain pollution and set an example to larger nations. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)