The Pacific Political Climate Champions met Thursday in Nadi, Fiji, in a hybrid meeting to consolidate regional leadership and strategic alignment ahead of a pivotal year for global climate diplomacy and action.
The meeting provided a critical platform for the Climate Champions to reflect on outcomes from COP30, held in Belém, Brazil last year and to reaffirm the Pacific’s collective resolve to shape an ambitious and equitable global climate agenda heading into the 31st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 31) to be held in Antalya, Türkiye in November.
The meeting also brought together technical advisors from Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Together with the Climate Champions, discussions explored opportunities to maximise the Champions’ influence, impact, and engagements throughout 2026, which include the COP 31 Pre-COP meetings to be held in Fiji and Tuvalu ahead of the substantive COP31.
The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Baron Waqa emphasised the urgency of sustained political leadership, noting, “Our moral leadership on the issue of climate change, including through the work of our Climate Champions, is becoming more critical now than ever, especially as recent past and current global geopolitical dynamics are giving rise to a deviation of focus and commitment to address climate change.”
Sefanaia Nawadra, Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) further stressed the importance of political advocacy as Pacific Islands continue to demonstrate leadership in the face of climate change adversity.
“Ultimately the Pacific voice is most powerful when our technical unity enables political impact. Pacific leaders continue to fill a global leadership gap on climate change bringing the moral authority that is strengthened when grounded in robust technical evidence and collective regional strategy.”
The meeting was led through the One CROP coordination mechanism supported by the Pacific Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Pacific Community (SPC), Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), and the University of the South Pacific (USP)
Established in 2021, the Pacific Political Climate Champions initiative serves as one of the key vehicles for elevating Pacific priorities at the political level within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. It continues to play a vital role in ensuring that the unique vulnerabilities and priorities of Pacific Island countries remain central to global climate negotiations. The current cohort of Political Climate Champions will complete their two-year term following COP31.
As the international community prepares for the COP 31, the Pacific reaffirms its unwavering commitment to principled leadership, regional solidarity, and transformative climate action.
