The 37-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and his wife left his remote atoll in the Pacific nation of Kiribati six years ago for higher ground and better prospects in New Zealand, where their three children were born. Immigration officials have twice rejected his argument that rising sea levels make it too dangerous for his family to return to Kiribati.

So on Oct 16, the man’s lawyer, Michael Kidd, plans to argue the case before New Zealand’s High Court. Kidd, who specialises in human rights cases, said he would appeal the case all the way to the country’s Supreme Court if necessary.

Refugees of the future

Legal experts consider the man’s case a long shot, but it will nevertheless be closely watched, and might have implications for millions of residents in low-lying islands around the world.

Kiribati, an impoverished string of 33 coral atolls about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, has about 103,000 people and has been identified by scientists as among the nations most vulnerable to climate change. Kiribati President Anote Tong has predicted that his country will likely become uninhabitable in 30-60 years because of inundation and contamination of its fresh water supplies.

In a transcript of the immigration case obtained by the Associated Press, the Kiribati man describes extreme high tides known as king tides that he says have started to regularly breach Kiribati’s defences — killing crops, flooding homes and sickening residents.

The man said that around 1998, king tides began regularly breaching the sea walls around his village, which was overcrowded and had no sewerage system. He said the fouled drinking water would make people vomit, and there was no higher ground that would allow villagers to flee knee-deep water. He said returning to the island would endanger the lives of his two youngest children. “There’s no future for us when we go back to Kiribati,” he told the tribunal.

“Especially for my children. There’s nothing for us there.” The man’s lawyer said the family is currently living and working on a New Zealand farm. Last week, a UN panel of climate scientists predicted that oceans could rise by 3.3 feet by the end of the century.

If that were to happen, much of Kiribati would disappear. Though that is a dire prospect, New Zealand’s immigration tribunal has said the legal concept of a refugee is someone who is being persecuted, which requires human interaction. In his appeal, Kidd argued his client did suffer an indirect form of human persecution because climate change is caused by pollution humans generate.

That sinking feeling That sinking feeling

• Kiribati is one of the lowest-lying nations, hence most vulnerable to climate change. Population: 1.03L

• Oceans could rise by 3.3 ft by end of this century. If that happens, Kiribati will simply disappear

• Govt has paid a deposit for 6,000 acres in nearby Fiji, and is exploring building a floating island.