NEW YORK – United Nations (UN) very concerned about the problem climate change which is getting worse. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said polluters have a clear responsibility to cut emissions or risk a global catastrophe.

“The Pacific is the most vulnerable region in the world right now,” he told the BBC at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Tonga. “There is a huge injustice in the Pacific and that is why I am here,” he added.

“Small islands don’t contribute to climate change, but everything that climate change does is multiplied here,” he said. But he warned that eventually the tide will come for all of us. Guterres made the remarks at the forum, as the UN released two separate reports on rising sea levels and how they threaten Pacific island nations.

The State of the Climate in the Southwest Pacific report from the World Meteorological Organization says the region is facing a triple whammy of accelerating sea level rise, ocean warming and ocean acidification as it absorbs more carbon dioxide.

“The reason is clear: greenhouse gases, mostly produced by burning fossil fuels, are warming our planet,” Guterres said in his speech at the forum.

“The sea is really feeling the heat,” he continued.

This year’s theme of transformative resilience was tested on opening day when the new auditorium was flooded by heavy rain and the building was evacuated due to an earthquake.

“This is a stark reminder of how volatile things are in our region, and how important it is that we prepare for everything,” Joseph Sikulu, Pacific director at 350, a climate change advocacy group, told the BBC.

Not far from where the parade takes place, there is a street parade, with dancers representing the region, including Torres Strait Islanders, Tonga and Samoa.