Pacific islands warned of food shortages due to warming

The Pacific islands will face food shortages and drinking water will be impacted by rising seas, scientists have warned, as a UN report found the world would fail to limit global warming to 1.5C.

A UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report projected global temperature rise will peak at 1.8C above pre-industrial levels, overshooting a goal of limiting warming to 1.5C set by the Paris Agreement.

Scientists told a summit of Pacific leaders in Palau that the impact of "overshooting" that target will be a $90 million loss in fishing licence fees, or 13% of government revenue in the region, causing an "economic crisis".

Tuna will migrate east, away from island states where a third of the world's tuna is caught, said Andrew Jones, deputy director general of The Pacific Community.

Coastal fishers that feed island people will lose 65% of their catch, he told reporters.

"That's about two meals per family per week that is not on the plate - of clean, free healthy protein that will need to be replaced," he said.

Devastating floods will increase, and salt water will inundate drinking water, reducing the ability to live on islands, he said.