The Pacific Islands region should move beyond the traditional focus on climate change as a driver of conflict and instead build a climate–peace approach centred on social cohesion, cultural continuity, relational security and ecological stewardship, a new policy brief says.
The policy brief, “A Pacific Climate–Peace Nexus,” written by Dr Timothy Bryar of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat’s Climate Mobility team and Jamie Tarawa of UNDP, argues that Pacific experiences offer a different way of understanding the links between climate change and peace.
It says climate change does not automatically lead to conflict and that international approaches focused mainly on a “climate–conflict nexus” do not fully reflect Pacific realities.
Instead, the brief calls for greater attention to the social, cultural and ecological systems that help Pacific communities absorb climate-related shocks without violence.
“While there have indeed been examples of climate related conflict in the Pacific Islands region, the Pacific Islands region offers more than simply an empirical case within a wider global debate,” the brief states.
It argues that the key question for the Pacific should be what social, cultural and ecological practices allow communities to manage stress without violence and how these practices can inform a stronger understanding of climate and peace.
A regional dialogue on climate security hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in March 2026 identified the need to better understand what climate security means to Pacific Islanders.
The dialogue suggested that a Pacific approach should begin with peace, relationality and social cohesion rather than security and conflict.
The policy brief also points to research in Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands showing that temperature extremes and climate-related disasters did not affect conflict risk, even when political, economic and environmental factors were taken into account.
It says this highlights the need to examine the factors that help Pacific communities absorb climate pressures.
“Indeed, Pacific communities have a long history of practicing cooperation and conflict resolution that have helped them deal with acute crises,” the brief states.
It highlights the Wokbaot wetem kalja project in Vanuatu, where customary relationships enabled communities displaced by volcanic eruptions on Ambae Island to access land on neighbouring islands until it was safe to return.
The brief says collective resilience, family networks and cultural continuity remain central to how Pacific communities manage climate-related mobility.
It argues that climate impacts should not be measured only through damage to infrastructure and livelihoods, but also through disruption to the social, ecological and spiritual relationships that sustain communities.
“Therefore, climate peace is realised not simply when, for example, community infrastructure is protected from hazards but also when the relational fabric of Pacific communities that makes resilience and climate adaptation possible is supported and protected.”
The brief points to several examples of Pacific-led approaches, including Fiji offering land to Pacific governments whose people may be forced to relocate because of climate change, and the Falepili Union Treaty between Australia and Tuvalu, which is based on good neighbourliness, duty of care and mutual respect.
It also highlights the **Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration**, endorsed by Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in 2025, which grounds regional peace in “the Pacific Way” and draws on Pacific cultural practices and Indigenous knowledge systems.
The authors say strengthening traditional relationship structures and conflict resolution practices should be part of regional climate security priorities.
The brief also points to Vanuatu’s leadership on the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the obligations of states regarding climate change as an example of Pacific efforts to shape international norms.
During Climate Justice Week in Suva in May 2026, Vanuatu Minister Ralph Regenvanu said:“customary law and traditional knowledge systems have always embodied the essence of environmental rights. Our principles of stewardship, reciprocity, respect for land and ocean, and intergenerational responsibility are not new concepts introduced from outside. They are deeply rooted in who we are as Pacific peoples”.
The policy brief says the Pacific is well positioned to lead efforts to translate the ICJ Advisory Opinion into practical action shaped by Pacific values and traditions.
The authors recommend that the Pacific Islands Forum integrate a regional climate–peace agenda into the Regional Peace and Security Action Plan 2026–2030.
The proposed agenda would link climate change, identified as the region’s greatest security threat, with the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration and establish a Pacific approach to climate security focused on peace, cohesion, relationality and ecological resilience.
They recommend that the agenda be coordinated by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in partnership with SPREP, the Pacific Community (SPC) and UNDP.
The brief also calls for the development of a regional instrument on environmental rights to operationalise the ICJ Advisory Opinion of 23 July 2025 and codify the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the Pacific.
Pacific governments are further urged to integrate customary relational systems into national and regional policies on climate adaptation, mobility and disaster risk reduction.
The authors recommend recognising customary authorities, reciprocal networks, faith-based organisations and community leaders not only as stakeholders but as practical resources for prevention, mediation and resilience.
The Pacific Climate Mobility Partnerships programme is also urged to develop guidance for governments to include Pacific climate–peace assessments in assessments of climate displacement risks.
Finally, the brief calls on development partners and climate finance providers to recognise relational systems as core infrastructure for climate adaptation and preventing climate-related loss and damage.
It says climate finance should not focus only on hard infrastructure and nature-based solutions, but also invest in community-level relational systems that strengthen resilience and climate peace.
