Pacific Climate Envoys are taking the region’s climate priorities to world leaders and partners during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week and New York Climate Week from 21-25 September.
Representing the COP31 Pacific Partnership, the three Envoys – Ocean Envoy Inia Seruiratu, Access to Climate Finance Envoy Ruel Yamuna, and Envoy for Oceania focusing on keeping the 1.5 goal within reach,Kristina Stege – are calling for stronger climate action, enhanced protection of our oceans, improved access to finance and to ensure global temperature increase stays below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
They are representing Pacific priorities ahead of the Pacific-hosted Pre-COP in Fiji and Tuvalu from 5-8 October and the UN Climate Change Conference COP31in Antalya, Turkiye from 09-20 November this year. Their mission is clear – amplify the Pacific’s priorities and experiences to influence global climate action, while building partnerships that turn commitments into results for our communities.
Seruiratu is highlighting the critical role of the ocean in climate solutions, including the protection and restoration of mangroves, coastal resilience and investment in nature-based solutions.
“The Ocean is central to the climate solution – climate action cannot succeed without it,” is his key message.
Yamuna is championing faster, fairer and more accessible climate finance for Small Island Developing States, where complex funding processes and limited resources prevent communities from accessing the support they urgently need.
“For Pacific countries, the challenge is not ambition, the challenge is access,” he says, highlighting the need for climate finance, technology and partnerships that reach communities on the ground.
Stege is reinforcing the Pacific’s call to keep the 1.5°C goal within reach, drawing attention to the science behind climate impacts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the need to urgently reduce emissions, as well as stronger resilience and support for vulnerable countries:
“1.5 is really the threshold for safety and security of our planet that we live on. For those of us in the Pacific, we know this because of our experience living in a in environment that is defined by our ocean and the impacts of climate change on that ocean are things that we live with every day.”
The envoys are engaging with governments, investors, international organisations and civil society across a full programme of discussions and events. They are also participating in COP31 Presidency events, including the launch of the COP31 Action Agenda initiatives, participating in the Global Citizen Impact Sessions, and connecting Pacific priorities with the wider international climate efforts.
“This week is a key opportunity to build momentum for the upcoming pre-COP and strengthen the Australia–Turkiye–Pacific Partnership,” said Ms Tagaloa Cooper, Director of Climate Change Resilience of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
“For Pacific communities already experiencing the effects of climate change, the stakes are high. Rising seas, climate-related disasters and pressure on livelihoods means global action is needed immediately. Our Pacific voices must be heard; we must see action for all of humanity.”
As COP31 approaches, the envoys carry a shared message from the Pacific – climate promises must translate into real-world actions, and frontline voices must help shape the solutions.
