THE Pacific Council of Churches has called on governments to engage in regional talks concerning climate change.
The council believes consultation should be held immediately because the resettlement of people affected by rising sea levels could start in the next 25 years.
Council general secretary Fe'iloakitau Tevi said governments should start dialogue because Pacific Island nations are already feeling the effects of climate change.
Mr Tevi said populations on island nations such as Kiribati, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and parts of Fiji would be affected severely over the next two decades.
He said the only option left would be for people to relocate to another country because countries affected by climate change would disappear. He said resettlement would be a huge task and that is why consultation should be done quickly.
"We cannot sit and wait until a big tide hits the country. We have to start talking about the issue now because there are many questions to be answered," he said. "PCC is focusing on the phrase resettlement because when the time comes, our people will not have a country to go back to."
Mr Tevi said as governments remained preoccupied with other issues, churches would start raising awareness to ensure people were informed.
But, he said, when governments started dialogue, they must see that Australia and New Zealand do not influence or dictate consultations.
