World Powers Gather in Pacific to Chart Climate Battle
Only five outside leaders are confirmed as Pacific nations seek stronger climate finance and a bigger role ahead of COP31, organisers said.
- On Monday, delegates and leaders will gather in Fiji and Tuvalu for the pre-COP climate conference, though Australia's efforts to center Pacific island nations have fallen short with few leaders from outside the region confirming attendance.
- Australia bowed out of hosting COP31 to Turkey in a deal that allowed Canberra to preside over negotiations and bring preparatory talks to the Pacific, an event organizers initially sought to turn into a headline-grabbing moment.
- While organizers confirmed attendance from leaders of Antigua and Barbuda, Cabo Verde, Thailand, the Maldives and East Timor, opposition parties branded the low turnout a "diplomatic disaster" as fewer than a dozen world leaders confirmed their presence.
- Tuvalu Climate Minister Maina Talia said leaders will see reclaimed land and solar projects, warning, "Our fate will be defined by the major polluters," during their roughly one-day visit to the atoll home to around 10,000 people.
- Negotiations in November at COP31 in Turkey will focus on implementing existing climate commitments, as the UN reports developing countries need up to US$365 billion for adaptation, yet only US$26 billion was available in 2023.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Pre-COP31: World leaders must show up for the Pacific through action, not just speeches
As Pacific leaders, communities and civil society gather in Fiji and Tuvalu for the Pre-COP31 meetings, the expected absence of many world leaders must not become another excuse for climate inaction, Amnesty International said today. The meetings come after an unusually hot European summer, with August 2026 becoming the joint-hottest month on record. Against the […]
Pre-COP31 starts in Fiji and Tuvalu between absences of leaders. The Pacific calls for funding and commitments in the face of a threat that puts its islands at risk.
A massive migration is taking place in the Pacific Ocean. More and more people are being forced to leave their homes, fleeing the rising water. In Fiji, hundreds of villages are being relocated because climate change is making them uninhabitable. The island nation is one of the first countries in the world to have drawn up a systematic, national plan to move hundreds of vulnerable communities to higher ground. During a climate meeting in Fiji …
Why Are World Leaders Staying Away From the Pacific’s Biggest Climate Moment?
The Pacific Islands are preparing to take centre stage in global climate diplomacy, but a high-profile pre-COP meeting in Tuvalu and Fiji is facing an awkward problem: many of the world’s major leaders are staying away. Australia and its Pacific partners had hoped the October 5–8 gathering would become a defining moment ahead of COP31, […]
Analysis-Pacific Islands get their climate moment with pre-COP meeting, but the guest list is thin
By Peter Hobson CANBERRA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Australia's efforts to put Pacific island nations at the centre of global climate diplomacy are falling short of ambitions, with few leaders from outside the region planning to attend a gathering in Tuvalu an...
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