World powers are flying delegates to the Pacific to haggle over the fight against global warming, and to see the plight of island nations surrounded by a rising ocean.
Ministers, climate negotiators and a handful of leaders will meet in the Fijian city of Nadi for the October 5-8 talks.
They will be charting the course for a major UN-sponsored global climate summit, known as COP31, to be held in November in Türkiye’s Antalya province.
For Pacific nations, hosting the preliminary talks in their region offers an opportunity to draw the world’s attention to life on the frontline of climate change.
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, said the report released in August.
It also highlighted a financing gap, with developing countries needing US$310-US$365 billion to adapt, yet having only US$26 billion in adaptation finance available in 2023.
Top delegates to the Pacific talks will hold a one-day retreat on low-lying Tuvalu, a small island nation laying plans to relocate the population if it is consumed by the ocean.
They will be shown Tuvalu’s land reclamation efforts.
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 seas.
“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.”
As leader of the climate talks, however, major coal exporter Australia has faced heat over the scale of its fossil fuel extraction.
Chris Bowen, the country’s climate minister, says Australia is rapidly expanding its renewable energy sources, which are essential for a transition away from fossil fuels.
