Tina Stege is the Climate Envoy for the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

(RMI). The RMI is one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change, mainly as a result of rising sea levels. Stege has represented her country at the

2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, was the 25th United Nations Climate Change conference. It was held in Madrid, Spain, from 2 to 13 December 2019 under the presidency of the Chilean government. The conferen ...

(COP25) held in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain, the 2021 Conference (COP26) held in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, the 2022 Conference (COP27) held in

Sharm El Sheikh Sharm El Sheikh (, , literally "bay of the Sheikh"), alternatively rendered Sharm el-Sheikh, Sharm el Sheikh, or Sharm El-Sheikh, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip alo ...

, Egypt, the 2023 Conference (COP28), held in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, and the 2024 Conference (COP29), held in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. She has also been a spokesperson for the RMI on the impacts of

nuclear testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...

Early life

Kristina Eonemto Stege was born in about 1977 in

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

on the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...

and raised on

Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese language, Marshallese: ) is part of the Marshall Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking re ...

and in

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese language, Marshallese: ' ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain, Ratak ( ...

in the Marshall Islands. She went to school in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. Stege received an undergraduate degree in 1997 from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, US, and a master's in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

Aix-Marseille University Aix-Marseille University (AMU; ; formally incorporated as ) is a Public university, public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II of Anjou, List of rulers of Provence, Count of ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 2006.

Career

Bruce Bilimon Health Minister of the Marshall Islands, Nicola Sturgeon Scottish First Minister, Stege and the Scottish Health Secretary meeting during COP26 Stege began her career in 1998 in the RMI Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She then transferred to the Marshall Islands embassy in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where she worked for almost seven years, being responsible for liaison with the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. Returning home, in 2007 she was a researcher on a Land and Women project of the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organisation that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

. In 2010 she worked for the United States government on matters relating to emigration to the US. She also carried out various consultancies, including for the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

and

Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand Greenpeace Aotearoa (GPAo) is one of New Zealand's largest environmental organisations, and is a national office of the global environmental organisation Greenpeace. History Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand was founded in 1974, two years aft ...

, in the latter case working on the unresolved legacy of U.S. nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands. She has also worked closely with the Marshallese Education Initiative, an organization based in northwest

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, US, where more than 12,000 Marshallese live. In September 2015, Stege addressed the United Nations at its commemoration of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, stressing that the people of the Marshall Islands know what it is to be living in a nuclear world, having been subjected to US tests, which were having a continued impact. In 2018 she was appointed as Climate Envoy of the RMI, and is based in New York. In this capacity she attended the 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conferences (COP25, 26, 27, 28 and 29). Her country is in danger from rising sea levels with the existence of the nation of the Marshall Islands under threat. Two fifths of the buildings in the capital will be flooded and several of the Marshall Islands will disappear as predicted by a

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

report. The impact of climate change is already being felt in her country. An airport runway was flooded by the sea and there has been an outbreak of

dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after i ...

, attributed to higher temperatures. Stege is chair of the High Ambition Coalition which links richer nations with smaller, poorer nations to discuss the impact of the former's climate activity on the latter. The High Ambition Group had been formed to address

Tony deBrum Tony deBrum (also Anton deBrum) (26 February 1945 – 22 August 2017) was a Marshallese politician and government minister. His cabinet posts included Minister in Assistance to the President of Marshall Islands, Minister of Finance, Minister of ...

, the former and late Marshall Islands Foreign Minister's, challenge to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees during the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...

talks. Stege is also deBrum's niece. During COP26, she appeared on ''

The Andrew Marr Show ''The Andrew Marr Show'' is a Sunday morning talk show presented by Andrew Marr. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2005 to 2021. The programme replaced the long-running ''Breakfast with Frost'' as the network's flagship Sunday talk show when Dav ...

''. Marr asked her about the dangers that the Marshall Islands was facing and Stege noted the droughts they had experienced and the plans to raise the level of islands using funds that had been promised by other countries. At the end of COP28 Stege was slightly late on the last day. By the time she and her minister had entered the room the final vote had been taken. Anna Rasmussen who was the

Alliance of Small Island States Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is an intergovernmental organization of low-lying coastal and small island countries. AOSIS was established in 1990, ahead of the Second World Climate Conference. The main purpose of the alliance is to c ...

(AOSIS)'s chief negotiator was in shock that a decision had been made when they were not there. At COP29 she was among a group of AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) and LDCs (Least Developed Countries) who temporarily walked out of the meeting in protest at the lack of consultation of larger countries with them, particularly on the issue of Climate finance.

References

External links

photo after COP28Stege
at the

Climate Vulnerable Forum The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is a global partnership of The Vulnerable Twenty Group (V20), countries that are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change. The forum addresses the negative effects of climate change as a ...

in 2018.
Stege interviewed on Sky News UK on the first day of COP26
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stege, Tina Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Anti–nuclear weapons activists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Marshallese women 21st-century Marshallese people Marshallese climate activists Marshallese diplomats Princeton University alumni Aix-Marseille University alumni People from Saipan