Small island nations are facing an existential threat. It’s predicted that by 2100, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Maldives and many others will be underwater, because of rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather events.

At the recent COP27 conference in Egypt. The most polluting industrialised countries agreed in principle to set up a “loss and damage” fund, effectively recognising that low-lying islands are bearing the brunt of climate change.

But is their loss inevitable? Could traditional sea wall defences hold back the waters, or are there more effective solutions? Will entire communities need to be moved to higher ground, or even entire nations transplanted to safer locations?

This week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: will rising sea levels wipe countries off the map?

Presented by Charmaine Cozier

(a woman in a lagoon in the threatened coral atoll nation of Tuvalu. Credit: Mario Tama /Getty Images)