The Pacific Pre-COP concluded in Fiji on Thursday with governments and climate leaders calling for stronger and more urgent action that is essential to keeping the 1.5 temperature goal within reach. They called for this COP31 to be focused on “implementation,” by reaffirming the centrality of science and cooperation in a fractured world, and by elevating the plight of the most vulnerable, including the Pacific Islands. This Pre-COP set a positive tone for cooperation and clearer priorities for the upcoming COP31 Summit in Antalya, Turkey next month.
Australia, in partnership with the government of Fiji, hosted Ministers and senior officials in Fiji from 5 to 8 October for Pre-COP, while leaders visited Tuvalu on 5-6 October, to witness the impact of climate change on the frontlines firsthand. One of the most significant recent international climate events to take place in the region, these proceedings were accompanied by the Vale Ni Vanua – Knowledge Exchange where more than 4,000 people from over 100 countries gathered to take part in stakeholder events and bilateral meetings, showcasing solutions, partnerships and engaging in honest discussion about the challenges and need to keep momentum on climate progress and delivery. Several priorities and main themes emerged:
- Keeping 1.5°C within reach is a lifeline that cannot be ignored. This was framed by Pacific leaders as a matter of survival, and governments agreed to put this as a north star heading into Antalya.
- Prioritising COP31 as one of “implementation.” Many governments coalesced around the notion that the success of this COP is not to be measured by any single outcome but by a package of efforts that drives greater and swifter change on the ground. That means rapid decarbonisation, a faster global energy transition including the scaling up of clean electrification, ensuring that finance is moving – including by strengthening access for the most vulnerable countries – and increasing the focus on adaptation and resilience, involving early warning systems. Key negotiation outcomes including the Just Transition, Mitigation Work Program and in the Global Goal on Adaptation, should be linked and complemented with scaling solutions on mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage and financing within the Action Agenda. Successful negotiation outcomes and real-world delivery are mutually reinforcing and strengthen the trust in the multilateral process.
- Elevating the Ocean-Climate Nexus: Pre-COP delivered a strong signal that ocean action must be at the heart of global climate action and secure a permanent place in the UNFCCC, reflecting the Pacific’s long-standing call to recognise the ocean’s central role in regulating the planet’s climate.
- Commitment to and strengthening global cooperation, putting science at the centre: Governments were steadfast in their commitment to global cooperation, keeping science at the core, and identifying ways to continue to strengthen the UNFCCC and global climate regime so it is fit for purpose.
During the four days, the unique co-Presidency model drove focus, support, and clarity on what must be the priorities for COP31. This positive tone was grounded in the Pacific culture and perspective, spotlighting the realities of the frontline communities most at risk of climate change now and providing a solutions-oriented spirit to the Summit in Antalya. Concrete announcements were also made to demonstrate this commitment, including the Taku Pakasawa Leaders’ Declaration, the Access to Finance Statement and Action Plan, the plan for a Pacific regional roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, and the launch of a Global Rooftop Solar Pledge as well as other commitments to support the Pacific Resilience Fund.
The Pacific Pre-COP captured the spirit of partnership, collaboration around scalable solutions, and supporting the most vulnerable, and it is with this that Leaders must head to Antalya to secure a successful and inclusive COP31.
Quotes
Kaysie Brown, Associate Director, Climate Diplomacy & Geopolitics, E3G, said::
“This year’s pre-COP was held in the Pacific where the international community could not escape the realities of our warming planet and the imperative of doing more and faster to keep the 1.5 promise within reach. Governments and committed actors showed resolve in driving cooperation and moving COP31 from commitments to delivery: in mitigation and the energy transition including through electrification, in putting adaptation and oceans as core pillars, and in demonstrating that the needed finance is flowing, including to those most in need. COP31 can take the positive and constructive tone from Fiji to show the world that progress can be made to respond to the overshoot of the 1.5, to the increased climate impacts including from the El Nino before us, and to maximizing the opportunities that the energy transition provides to economies and communities. Leaders must arrive in COP31 to show that international cooperation can move faster than the crisis and deliver tangible action to protect people most at risk. Every fraction of a degree of warming matters in limiting the severity of these impacts.”
Natasha Green, Programme Lead for Australia, Engagement and Diplomacy at E3G, said:
“The vulnerability of the Pacific’s exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets was acutely felt at the Pre-COP in Fiji. The COP31 Presidency has shown leadership by putting the energy transition and electrification at the heart of the COP31 agenda. However, for this to truly deliver for vulnerable regions like the Pacific, COP31 must respond to the twin energy and climate crises and demonstrate that accelerating the global transition from fossil fuels to a renewable-based, electrified energy system is the solution to build security and resilience.”
Hajja Naseem, Senior Associate – SIDS & LDCs at E3G said:
“Being here in the Pacific, the realities of the climate impacts are impossible to ignore and the sense of shared solidarity in the impacts the world is facing – from the recent tragedy in Nepal, to the European summer heatwaves, to the Canadian wildfires – show that adaptation is a priority for people universally. The leaders who travelled to Tuvalu witnessed firsthand the existential nature of the climate crisis. They now need to show a resolved commitment to action to strengthen our collective resilience in Antalya.”
Chiara Falduto, Programme Lead for Climate Finance at E3G, said:
“Pre-COP was an important moment to make it clear that for SIDS and LDCs the problem is not only how much climate finance is being provided, but how hard it is to reach. These countries still face complex procedures, long approval times, high transaction costs and capacity constraints to prepare projects. On the private sector side, investors see deals that are too small or too risky. The Australian Presidency has rightly made access a priority. At COP31, it now needs to look beyond headline target and secure concrete commitments from donors and development banks to remove these barriers”
Kat Petersen, Programme Lead – Global Clean Power Diplomacy at E3G, said:
“With 1.5°C overshoot now a stark reality, the Pacific has once again shown the way on climate leadership – this time with a plan for a regional roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. For Pacific nations, this isn’t an abstract policy debate but a response to a climate and energy security crisis playing out right now. But no country or region can tackle the transition alone. Volatile fossil fuel markets, trade dependencies and access to finance are systemic barriers that demand international cooperation. That’s the signal the COP31 and COP32 presidencies must now hear. The COP30 Presidency has laid the groundwork with its global fossil fuel transition roadmap — now the next presidencies must carry it forward, strengthening the international architecture needed to help turn national and regional ambition into action.”
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Available for comment
Kaysie Brown (EN), E3G Associate Director. Washington DC (multilateral climate diplomacy, geopolitics, US foreign policy) | kaysie.brown@e3g.org
Natasha Green (EN), Programme Lead for Australia, Engagement and Diplomacy. Australia (COP31, Australia-Türkiye partnership, global energy transition, Australia) | natasha.green@e3g.org
Cosima Cassel (EN, SP, DE) Programme Lead Multilateral Venues. Berlin (Climate Diplomacy and Geopolitics, COP30) | Cosima.cassel@e3g.org
Hajja Naseem (EN) Senior Associate, SIDS & LDCs. Maldives (Climate Diplomacy and Geopolitics, SIDS & LDCs, AOSIS, COP31) | hajja.naseem@e3g.org
Chiara Falduto (EN, FR, IT) Programme Lead for Climate Finance and EU Investment Strategy. Brussels (international climate finance and development cooperation, COP31, EU policy)
Alden Meyer (EN), Senior Associate, (multilateral climate diplomacy, geopolitics, US federal & subnational policy) alden.meyer@e3g.org
