Kiribati president says Australia's loyalty to coalmines 'selfish and unjust'

Anote Tong, whose island nation is threatened by rising seas caused by climate change, says Australia has moral obligation to worry about at-risk countries

The president of Kiribati has criticised Australia's commitment to new coalmines on economic grounds as a "very selfish perspective" that illustrates the "fundamentally unjust" dynamics of climate change.

Anote Tong, whose small Pacific island nation is threatened by rising sea levels, has written to other national leaders calling for a worldwide moratorium on new mines ahead of UN climate talks in Paris in December.