Pacific leaders demand faster climate finance

Pacific leaders voiced frustration at the insufficient quantity, bad terms, and slow speed of international climate finance after visiting Tuvalu to witness sea-level rise effects. Fourteen government leaders from Australia, Timor-Leste, Mauritius, and the Pacific made the trip to Funafuti atoll on Tuesday morning. They were joined by the European Union's climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, the heads of the Green Climate Fund and the Asian Development Bank, and former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard. They travelled by road over land just 10-20 metres wide to visit a project building barriers to keep the sea from the land before flying to Fiji for the pre-COP31 summit.

Tuvalu’s relocation plan shows existential threat

Tuvalu plans to relocate its population of 10,600 due to climate threats. The highest point in the capital Funafuti is just 2m above sea level. Rising waters have already largely swamped two of Tuvalu’s nine coral atolls. Scientists fear the entire archipelago could be unliveable by the end of the century. A marine heatwave in 2024 wiped out an estimated 99.9% of the coral that built the remote Tuvalu islands. Marine biologist Austin Bowden-Kerby visited in 2025 and documented coral devastation.

Leaders criticise slow, inadequate climate finance

Several Pacific leaders said they had been let down by the international finance intended to help them adapt to a warming climate bringing higher oceans, drought, and more powerful storms. Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr. compared the situation to a sinking canoe being offered a tiny patch to cover a gaping hole, with bureaucratic processes so slow the water fills the hole while they wait. He criticised loans that add debt to a sinking boat packaged in thick red tape. Naoero's President David Adeang criticised the complicated procedures, heavy reporting, and delays in approval and disbursement hindering access. He added that the way vulnerability is assessed matters and should be measured by more than income, noting Naoero's high-income World Bank classification restricts its eligibility.

Call to fund the Pacific Resilience Facility

Pacific leaders and Australia called on governments to invest in the new Pacific Resilience Facility. The facility has been designed by the Pacific Islands Forum and is seeking $500 million in investments by COP31 in November. It has around $180 million so far. It did not receive additional pledges during the UN General Assembly in New York. The PRF aims to invest to generate annual returns which it can give to projects like water tanks for drought-hit communities.

Personal stories highlight regional vulnerability

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale said the sea level rise they witnessed was personal for him, stating he saw the story of his own saltwater people. He, his daughter, and his grandfather had lost their houses to sea level rise. He said three-quarters of his electorate live on land that will be underwater in the next 30 years. Antigua and Barbuda's environment minister Michael Joseph said Tuvalu's problems felt similar to those of his own Caribbean islands, describing vulnerable communities just metres from the sea with people determined to remain on their land. A group of Fijian schoolchildren told the leaders the Pacific struggles with heatwaves, droughts and storms, which worry their families and prevent them from learning.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown expressed disappointment that only two non-Pacific leaders had come to the pre-COP. He noted more than 50 invitations had been extended to world leaders to see the impacts on an ocean covering nearly one-third of the Earth's surface. Australian media widely picked up on this to label the event a flop and question its A$20 million price tag. Australia defended the pre-COP gathering as a critical diplomatic event.

In Fiji, Asian Development Bank head Masato Kanda said his institution is tailoring its finance and operations to island realities so children can grow old in their ancestral homes. The executive director of the Green Climate Fund, Mafalda Duarte, said that the GCF-backed coastal adaptation project leaders visited in Tuvalu shows that climate finance works, although it took eight years to implement. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for optimism, recalling that when he attended his first COP in 2005, Australia's renewable energy target was 2%. He is head of climate negotiations in 2026.

Local scientist Rajneel Singh said climate change is impacting food sources, with elders no longer frequently finding red snappers and fish sizes reduced. A Tuvalu government adviser accused Albanese of disrespect for not wearing a traditional headpiece and of overstepping during the visit, stating the treaty with Australia did not mean they could take over sovereignty. On Thursday, the Australian government will present a statement and action plan on improving access to climate finance for small island developing states and least developed countries. It is asking other countries and organisations to endorse it. The statement addresses some of these Pacific complaints and acknowledges progress has already been made on simplifying access by multilateral development banks and climate funds.