Marshall Islander Tony de Brum, global voice for fighting climate change, dies at 72

Tony de Brum saw the effects of rising seas from his home in the Marshall Islands and became a leading advocate for the landmark Paris Agreement and an internationally recognised voice in the fight against climate change.

De Brum, who was the Pacific nation’s climate ambassador and former foreign minister, died Tuesday in the capital Majuro surrounded by his family, according to Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine. He was 72.

After witnessing nuclear testing in the islands while growing up, de Brum also fought against nuclear weapons and for his nation’s independence.

Heine described him as a national hero.

“The very existence of the Paris Agreement owes a lot to Tony de Brum,” Heine said in a statement. “He was a giant of history, a legend in every meaning of the word, and a custodian of our shared future.”

On a visit to de Brum at his Majuro home in 2015, he described how he’d grown up catching rabbitfish off Enebok Island, which was lush with coconut and breadfruit trees at the time.

But in recent years, the island has slipped beneath the water. By 2015, all that remained at low tide was a pile of rocks that snagged flotsam including a sandal, some frayed rope and a sprouting coconut.