A powerful performance from the award-winning Primanavia Choir, welcoming thousands of delegates to Fiji, and calling for the protection of their home, set the tone for the next four days as the UNFCCC pre-COP31 gets underway in Nadi, Fiji.
“We are all honest about the challenge,” said Fiji’s Minister for Information, Climate Change and Environment, Lynda Tabuya. “Recent COP meetings have resulted in decisions and dialogues which have moved a number of issues forward but the big picture remains unchanged.
“A 1.5 degree overshoot is imminent, finance is not flowing at the speed or scale required, and many core challenges with the agenda remain unsolved. We need to act now.”
On Monday in Denarau, Minister Tabuya welcomed Ministers, Government officials and hundreds of delegates from more than 50 countries who are gathering in Fiji to drive climate action as part of pre-COP31.
Tabuya reiterated that Fiji will push for four critical priorities: keeping 1.5°C within reach; getting climate finance to the communities that need it; placing the ocean at the heart of global climate action; and amplifying Pacific leadership and voices.
The pre-COP meeting is being co-hosted by Fiji and Australia from 5- 8 October, while a special Leaders’ event from 5-6 October will take place in Tuvalu, a low-lying atoll on the frontlines of climate change.
“It’s appropriate that pre-COP begins with this Vale ni Vanua, a knowledge exchange, because pre-COP is about exchanging experiences and knowledge and ideas about how we can make COP31 a success,” said Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen.
“And no one is more important in that process than the Pacific, the Pacific which has done so little to cause climate change, and has so much at stake in combatting climate change. While every nation is impacted, none are more impacted than the nations of the Pacific.”
The pre-COP in Fiji will focus on keeping 1.5°C within reach, delivering cleaner and more secure energy, unlocking finance for vulnerable countries, safeguarding the ocean and protecting communities from worsening climate impacts.
“The science is clear that the world is dangerously close to exceeding the 1.5 degrees target,” said Tina Stege, of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Pacific COP31 Envoy for Oceania focusing on keeping 1.5 within reach.
“This is a call to action. The 1.5 goal represents the best chance for safety, security for our Pacific people. Ambition is not enough, it must be matched by finance for the energy transition, for building resilience and for responding to loss and damage that now cannot be avoided.”
The pre-COP follows the release of the Limiting Overshoot Report, by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), warning that global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C, likely within the next few years, pushing climate risks and impacts to increasingly dangerous heights. According to the report, above 1.5°C, risks and impacts will intensify with every extra fraction of a degree and every year.
Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Mr Simon Stiell, said working collaboratively to find solutions is vital.
“We need to work faster and smarter to convert pledges and targets into real outcomes,” he said.
The pre-COP in Fiji and Tuvalu is a key stepping stone as the world looks to Türkiye for COP31. In the next four days, leaders and delegates will work to build climate and clean energy momentum and ensure every country can share in the jobs and economic benefits of the renewable energy transition.
The President of COP31, Murat Kurum, said they are in Fiji to listen to Pacific voices and bear witness to lived experiences of Pacific communities who have been unfairly placed at the forefront of climate impacts.
“We want to remind world leaders that promises do not hold back the sea or shield homes from the fire. Only delivery can save us,” he said.
“The COP31 Presidency has an action plan ranging from electrification to zero waste, resilient cities and oceans, all supported by finance. We will spend this week knocking heads together to get everyone on board so that the world comes to Antalya ready to deliver results.”
As part of the pre-COP, Fiji is hosting the Vale ni Vanua – Knowledge Exchange programme, highlighting youth climate leadership, presenting the latest climate science and showcasing solutions to climate impacts, including in maternal health, the ocean and agriculture.
Pre-COP will help drive more of the collective action making a worldwide impact, with a focus on delivering cleaner and more secure energy, unlocking investment and strengthening climate resilience.
