Pacific civil society groups are calling for an immediate end to new coal, oil and gas expansion and demanding climate reparations, stronger action on loss and damage and greater Pacific control over climate decisions ahead of Pre-COP31 and COP31.
The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations Alliance (PRNGO Alliance) and civil society representatives issued “The Funafuti Call for Climate Justice” following a regional dialogue in Tuvalu involving Indigenous movements, women’s groups, youth networks, persons with disabilities, faith-based groups and PIDSOGIESC communities.
The declaration says keeping global warming within 1.5°C remains a non-negotiable threshold for Pacific survival, citing the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change.
“For Tuvalu, there is no distance between what is negotiated in these rooms and what happens to our homes, our ocean, our culture and our future,” said Tuvalu Climate Action Network Executive Director Richard Gokrun.
“1.5°C is our survival threshold. Pacific leaders must reject any outcome that puts it out of reach.”
Gokrun said Pacific leaders must hold major emitters and development partners accountable.
“The world has heard the Pacific’s warnings for decades. What we need now is action that matches the scale and urgency of what our communities are living,” he said.
The declaration calls for states to immediately stop new exploration, licensing and subsidies for coal, oil and gas.
It says developed countries must lead the fossil fuel decline “first and fastest” and rejects what the alliance describes as false solutions, including carbon capture and storage and geoengineering.
Pacific civil society groups also criticised what they described as climate hypocrisy, saying development partners should not promote climate solutions in the Pacific while supporting fossil fuel extraction in their own countries.
Pacific Youth Council Coordinator Miliana Iga said young people were demanding action rather than charity.
“We are not seeking charity; we are calling for climate justice, genuine partnership and action that matches the scale of the challenge.
“Pacific young people have the right, and the responsibility, to help shape the decisions that will define our future,” Iga said in a statement.
The Funafuti Call also demands predictable, grant-based climate finance and reparations for loss and damage, including economic and non-economic losses linked to the disappearance of ancestral lands, burial grounds and cultural practices.
It calls for greater demilitarisation of the Pacific and condemns missile tests by global powers in Pacific exclusive economic zones.
The declaration rejects growing militarisation of Pacific waters, including strategic security arrangements such as AUKUS, and says security should be defined by Pacific communities through climate and nuclear justice.
The alliance has also raised concerns about the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure, subsea cables and data centres in the Pacific.
It is calling for environmental reporting requirements, electronic-waste take-back obligations and what it describes as absolute Pacific data sovereignty.
PIANGO Executive Director Emeline Siale Ilolahia said Tuvalu’s position as a frontline state gave the civil society dialogue particular importance.
“The convenings in Funafuti are not mere diplomatic stops, but spaces where community leaders, traditional wisdom holders, youth, and advocates bring unfiltered realities to the forefront,” Ilolahia said.
She said climate mobility, loss and damage and economic development policies should be informed directly by Pacific communities.
The PRNGO Alliance is calling on Pacific governments to carry the demands into Pre-COP31 and COP31 negotiations and ensure civil society has a formal role in climate governance.
The dialogue was hosted by the Government of Tuvalu with support from the International Organisation for Migration and UN partners.
The declaration ends with the message: “Lose Tuvalu, Lose Our World. Save The Pacific, Save Our World.”
