In a letter to world leaders on Thursday, President Tong said halting development of all new coal mines was "an essential initial step on our collective global action against climate change" and necessary for countries like his own that face "a very uncertain future". Kiribati's President Anote Tong Credit:Reuters The move is a challenge to leaders including Mr Abbott, who in announcing Australia's new climate targets on Tuesday said the government's policies were "the only way to protect the coal industry". Mr Abbott has declared "coal is good for humanity" and last week decried the overturning of an environmental approval for Australia's largest coal mine – the Carmichael mine in Queensland. Environment groups have mounted a fierce campaign against the Adani project and other coal developments proposed for Queensland's vast Galilee Basin.

President Tong said the construction of new coal mines would "undermine" the intent of this year's global climate summit in Paris. "Kiribati as a nation faced with a very uncertain future is calling for a global moratorium on new coal mines," President Tong's letter states. "The construction of each new coal mine undermines the spirit and intent of any agreement we may reach, particularly in the upcoming COP 21 in Paris, whilst stopping new coal mine constructions now will make any agreement reached in Paris truly historical. "As leaders, we have a moral obligation to ensure that the future of our children, our grandchildren and their children is safe and secure." President Tong's letter is being backed by Greenpeace and other international environment groups campaigning for an end to fossil fuels.

"I have now seen first hand what a sea level rise means for the people of Kiribati. It is not some scientific modelling or projection - it is real, it is happening now and it will only get worse," Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said on Thursday. "The people of Kiribati are refusing to be silenced by reckless governments and corporations that are perpetuating climate change, and which in turn is causing rising sea-levels." Follow us on Twitter