Pacific nations take centre stage at 'pre-COP' climate summit

Pacific nations take centre stage at 'pre-COP' climate summit

Pacific leaders will draw the world's attention to life on the frontline of climate change on Monday as Fiji hosts ministers, negotiators and a handful of leaders for the so-called "pre-COP" gathering.

Pacific nations take centre stage at 'pre-COP' climate summit

The South Pacific is among the most vulnerable regions in the world to global warming from rising sea waters jeopardizing homes to increasing temperatures causing coral bleaching.

This week's talks in the Fijian city of Nadi and on the atoll nation of Tuvalu are a precursor to the larger UN-sponsored global climate summit known as COP31 to be held next month in Turkey.

Pacific leaders are pushing for the world to stick to a target of limiting global warming to 1.5C, enhance access to climate finance and give more attention to the impact on oceans.

The sea level is rising at a record pace, driven by warming oceans and glacier melt, according to a UN report.

Up to 1.2 billion people could be displaced by 2050, with Pacific island countries experiencing sea level rise at twice the global average, the report released in August said.

It also highlighted a financing gap, with developing countries needing $310-$365 billion to adapt, yet having only $26 billion in adaptation finance available in 2023.

Regional leaders led by Australia have pitched the pre-COP as a chance to bring the world to the Pacific.

"The Pacific's influence on global climate action has always been greater than its size," Fijian Minister for Information, Environment and Climate Change Lynda Tabuya said.

"Pre-COP will put Pacific priorities and solutions at the centre of global discussions and help turn commitments into practical action."

- Limited guest list -

But officials have been forced to concede that the guest list will be smaller than they had hoped. Fewer than a dozen world leaders have publicly confirmed that they will attend.

On the streets of Nadi, most locals seemed largely unaware that a global summit was even taking place.

And those that were visiting appeared to have been more drawn by the area's status as a tourist hot spot than a hub of climate diplomacy.

Australia said last month 4,000 people from 60 nations would attend, without providing a full breakdown.

Among those attending will be Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal of Nepal, which is still reeling from August's Himalayan flood disaster which killed nearly 1,500 people and left 5,800 missing in Nepal and China.

Events will kick off on Monday morning at 9:00 am local time with an opening ceremony followed by a day of workshops and panel discussions.

- 'Act now decisively' -

Top delegates to the Pacific talks will also hold a one-day retreat on low-lying Tuvalu, already laying plans to relocate the population if it is consumed by the ocean.

The island capital Funafuti's highest point is just two metres above sea level, and two of its nine coral atolls are already largely swamped by rising waters.

"Sea-level rise is not a future threat, it is a present reality," Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo told the UN General Assembly ahead of the climate talks.

"Tuvalu's message is clear: the world must act now decisively, collectively, and with urgency to protect the future for generations to come."

Only a handful of leaders are expected to join the Tuvalu leg of the trip.

"It does make you think nobody cares," marine scientist Rajneel Singh part of a team that reported large-scale coral death around Tuvalu said.

"It's very, very sad."

As leader of the climate talks, however, major coal exporter Australia has faced accusations of hypocrisy.

Climate minister Chris Bowen has insisted the country is rapidly expanding its renewable energy sources.

But activists accuse Australia of "double talk" on climate change, and have urged leaders to listen to Pacific communities most affected by global warming.

"The Pacific must not become a sacrifice zone for major polluters and fossil fuel corporations," Greenpeace's Shiva Gounden said.

"As Australia prepares to chair the upcoming COP31 talks in partnership with the Pacific, it must do much more to turn empty rhetoric into real action to end the fossil fuel chokehold."

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