Help urged for climate change refugees

CANBERRA, Australia, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A coalition of environmental groups wants Australia and New Zealand to ease immigration for Pacific Islanders displaced by rising sea levels.

In a letter to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his New Zealand counterpart, Helen Clark, the groups urged assistance for global warming refugees, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports. The letter was signed by more than 100 organizations across the region.

Clark and Rudd are scheduled to meet Monday in New Zealand for discussions before the Pacific Islands Leadership Forum, which begins Tuesday.

"Ultimately there needs to be recognition in our immigration program that there are people already in the Pacific being displaced because of climate change, people having to leave small atolls and islands because of sea level rises," said Damien Lawson of Friends of the Earth Australia. "We think there needs to be a special category in our humanitarian program that recognizes the displacement caused by climate change."