The small island nations that dot the Pacific are aware they exist on the periphery of many geopolitical calculations. They are also among those most at risk of being flooded by rising sea levels. So, while holding out hope that officials gathered in Paris this week for climate talks will help their islands cope with the effects of climate change, they are taking matters into their own hands in case international promises to provide aid fall short. “We are looking at land security, coastal protection,” Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said in November, after townhall-style consultations with his island nation’s 10,000 people. “We are looking at building our own security in Tuvalu, to save the people.” As international officials vowed to complete a global agreement to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, these 20 low-lying nations—with about 10 million people spread out over more than 300,000 square miles—say they are already […]