By Pita Ligaiula
Pacific climate advocates have called on Australia and Türkiye to deliver concrete action at COP31, warning that keeping the 1.5°C target within reach will require a rapid shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy.
The call comes from 350.org Pacific following the conclusion of the Pacific Pre-COP31 in Fiji, where governments and climate stakeholders focused on implementation, electrification, climate finance and elevating the ocean-climate nexus ahead of next month’s COP31 in Türkiye.
350.org Pacific and Caribbean ProgramME Manager Fenton Lutunatabua said countries attending the Pre-COP had now witnessed the impacts of climate change facing Pacific communities.
“Leaders have come to the Pacific and witnessed the extent of the fossil-fueled climate crisis. They now carry that mantle of witness-bearing and accountability into COP31,” Lutunatabua said.
“But they also carry the standard that we’ve set as a region on a path away from fossil fuels.”
Lutunatabua welcomed commitments by the COP31 co-presidency on global electrification but said electrification alone would not protect the 1.5°C target unless it was powered by renewable energy.
“We commend the commitments of the co-presidency to the global electrification goal but maintain that any hope of keeping 1.5 degrees alive requires this goal be built by renewables, not the broken, expensive systems of the past,” he said.
He said Pacific communities had repeatedly called for stronger climate action and that governments must now act on the available science.
“There is unequivocal science, echoed for decades by Pacific people, that proves this is what is required of us. COP31 must be where you act on all of the evidence provided,” Lutunatabua said.
“We hope Australia and Türkiye live up to their ‘implementation’ promises, not only for the sake of the Pacific, but for the sake of our collective futures.”
350.org Türkiye Lead Efe Baysal said COP31 could not afford further delays in addressing fossil fuel dependence.
“As we look towards COP31 in Türkiye, there is no more room for complacency or empty promises,” Baysal said.
“The world cannot afford another climate summit that falls short on action.”
Baysal called on Türkiye, Australia and other governments to set out clear pathways away from coal, oil and gas and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
“That means putting an end to our dependence on coal, oil and gas and accelerating a just transition to renewable energy,” he said.
“The science is clear, the solutions are available, and communities are already paying the price of delay.”
Baysal said COP31 should demonstrate that implementation means concrete action rather than further commitments.
“COP31 must be the moment when implementation means more than words, when governments turn their commitments into concrete plans to phase out fossil fuels and secure a safer, fairer future for all,” he said.
The Pacific Pre-COP concluded with a declaration calling for stronger action to keep 1.5°C within reach, improve access to climate finance and elevate the ocean-climate nexus in global climate negotiations.
The outcomes will now feed into preparations for COP31 in Türkiye next month.
