Palau is seeking to host a key preparatory meeting ahead of the next United Nations climate conference, with President Surangel Whipps Jr rallying support across Micronesia as the nation positions itself to elevate Pacific priorities on the global stage.
The proposed Pre-Conference of the Parties (Pre-COP) would take place in Palau ahead of COP31 and be scheduled alongside the 2026 Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting, which Palau will host.
Officials say the arrangement would allow Pacific leaders and international partners to coordinate positions and strengthen a unified regional voice before formal climate negotiations begin.
Palau’s bid builds on its current role as chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), giving the country a strategic platform to help shape the negotiating agenda for climate-vulnerable nations.
Government officials say holding the Pre-COP in Palau would enable high-level participation by reducing long-haul travel and encouraging ministers and senior officials from outside the region to attend while already present for the PIF Leaders Meeting. Co-locating the events would also improve efficiency and lower carbon emissions by avoiding multiple intercontinental trips, aligning logistics with climate goals.
Hosting the preparatory meeting in a small island developing state is also expected to carry symbolic weight, drawing sustained international attention to the realities facing low-lying Pacific nations on the front lines of climate change.
The initiative could also reinforce regional leadership on key ocean and climate issues. With Palau home to a regional Oceans Commissioner office, officials say the gathering would provide an opportunity for Pacific leaders to coordinate strategies on ocean protection, including growing concerns over deep-sea mining. Pacific leaders have increasingly emphasised the ocean’s role as a major carbon sink and its central importance to the region’s economies, cultures and climate resilience.
By holding the Pre-COP shortly after the PIF Leaders Meeting, Palau aims to ensure that heads of government and senior decision-makers remain in-country, strengthening the quality and impact of regional positions carried into global negotiations.
Over the past month, Whipps has travelled within Micronesia to build support for the proposal, including meetings with leaders and ministers in the Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru. The outreach reflects Palau’s effort to secure broad Pacific backing for the bid and present a unified regional request to international partners.
Officials say hosting the Pre-COP would also support broader regional engagement, including collaboration with major partners such as Australia, while ensuring that climate discussions remain centred on Pacific-led priorities.
If successful, the meeting would mark one of the most significant UN climate preparatory events ever hosted in the North Pacific and further position Palau as a hub for regional climate diplomacy.
