A record-setting storm lashed the U.K., France and Italy with heavy rains, powerful winds and flooding on Thursday, with its deadly effects extending into other parts of Western Europe.
The latest: At least 12 deaths across Europe have been tied to the storm as of Friday evening local time, according to multiplereports.
Ambassador Pa'olelei Luteru, chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), has a message for larger, wealthier countries ahead of the UN climate summit later this month.
The big picture: Luteru, who is Samoa's ambassador to both the UN and the U.S., knows something about climate change that many other climate diplomats don't. Climate impacts the small island countries are experiencing now will eventually affect even the wealthiest nations.
High stakes talks beginning this weekend between U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, could pave the way for a smoother United Nations climate summit in Dubai later this month.
Why it matters: The world's two largest economies are also the world's two largest emitters. The focus is on China in particular, in the hopes that any agreement could help alter the severity and pace of human-caused climate change.
