Sitiveni Rabuka has named himself a new nemesis this election season: Nature.

The former leader of SODELPA has steepened his climate denial with the bold claim that Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama “overstates the magnitude of the climate crisis as it affects the world and the Pacific region.”

While demanding climate action from high-emitting countries, PM Bainimarama often cites the increased strength of cyclones that have struck Fiji. It’s obvious why. Cyclone Cody is the 14th cyclone to strike Fiji since 2016. With hundreds of Fijians wading through flood waters brought by yet another superstorm, why is Rabuka intent on ignoring the worst crisis we’ve ever faced?

Rabuka’s attack in the Fiji Times is below as published:

It is the view of Fijian Insight that Rabuka’s comments have aged quite poorly considering the extreme bout of weather Fijians have endured over the past several days. With some towns submerged by floodwaters and river systems inundated by the torrential rains of Cyclone Cody, it’s hard to imagine anyone “overstating” the hardship the nation is enduring.

Six communities in Fiji have been relocated to higher ground due to the rising seas. Some low-lying islands, like Tuvalu and Kiribati, could be lost entirely. And coastlines aren’t only threat; the banks of Fiji’s 45 rivers have continually burst under the strain of worsening weather.

Fiji is not alone in dealing with climate-driven devastation. Globally, developed and developing nations alike are suffering extreme weather events. In our neighbourhood, Australia recently endured a wave of severe floods in the state of New South Wales that forced the evacuation of 18,000 people.

But it is Small Island States, like Fiji, that are feeling the brunt of the climate crisis worse than anyone. Our struggles are far too great to be written off as an “overstatement”.

It’s a fool’s errand to argue against the mountain of evidence backing the climate reality. And Pacific Islanders, as some of the most climate-vulnerable people on Earth, owe it to our children to cut out the cancerous tissue of climate denial in our society. Cyclone Cody and, (God Forbid) another cyclone next week, should well and truly end any speculation on the magnitude of the crisis we face.

Denial isn’t a strategy, it’s a death sentence. Cyclone Cody won’t be the last storm to strike Fiji, many more will come. By pulling the wool over the eyes of his supporters, Rabuka is blinding them to the serious climate impacts on the horizon.

Fiji’s leaders (as well as those who seek to lead) should not under-state the stakes of this crisis. The campaign for climate action is too important to wait on anyone who refuses to see its realities.

Lives depend on it.