'Enough talk': Tuvalu wants Pre-COP31 leaders to turn what they see into action

Tuvalu is asking world leaders to look beyond the impacts of climate change and see the solutions Pacific communities are already putting in place.

Tuvalu Climate Change and Environment Minister, Maina Vakafua Talia, says the Pre-Conference of the Parties (Pre-COP31) Leaders’ event in Funafuti is an opportunity for decision-makers to see the country’s vulnerabilities first-hand but also the work being done to protect its people.

He says the outcomes from the Leaders’ event and Pre-COP31 need to translate into stronger action.

“Our fate will be defined by the major polluters,” Talia says. “We are hoping the leaders will see our vulnerabilities but also solutions that will keep us afloat.

“The Leaders’ event will bring global decision-makers to the frontlines of climate change and will show both the impacts we face and the practical work underway to protect our communities."

Leaders and representatives from across the Pacific and beyond have been visiting Tuvalu as part of the Fiji-Tuvalu-Australia Pre-COP31 programme.

Tuvalu Climate Change and Environment Minister Maina Vakafua Talia says world leaders need to see both the country’s climate vulnerabilities and the solutions being developed to protect communities. Photo/Pacific Islands Forum

The Leaders' event included briefings on climate impacts and adaptation, visits to climate-affected locations and resilience projects, and engagement with the Tuvalu government and local communities.

PMN Tuvalu producer Fala Haulangi, who is in Funafuti, says the leaders' visit has brought the climate threat into sharp focus.

She says Tuvaluans are welcoming the attention but there is also frustration after years of promises from the international community.

Watch Fala Haulangi's full interview below.

“But now when I started talking to some of our young people and the real people on the ground, it's when the Tuvalu people say, well, it's about time,” she told Levi Matautia-Morgan on Pacific Mornings.

Haulangi says leaders have been shown what daily life looks like on the narrow atoll and this includes the vulnerability of communities living between the ocean and lagoon.

“I tell them that's the danger that we as Tuvaluan residents live with every day, Levi.”

Tuvalu is also showing that it is not just waiting for the rest of the world to act.

Haulangi says the country is already using solar energy and reclaiming land as part of efforts to adapt but more climate finance is needed to continue that work.

“We are not waiting for you people to act but I think more money will be needed for reclaimed land.”

Leaders at the opening of the PreCOP31 meeting in Nadi. From left: Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navin Ramgoolam; Vanuatu PM Jotham Napat, Fiji PM Sitiveni Rabuka, President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta; Naoero President David Adeang, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Solomon Islands PM Matthew Wale. Photo/Facebook/Fiji government

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has also challenged visiting leaders to understand what is at stake.

Speaking before the Leaders’ event in Nadi on Monday, Rabuka urged them to “come, see, and listen with an open heart” to communities on the frontline and to accelerate efforts to keep the 1.5°C goal within reach.

He also called for action on the fossil fuels driving the climate crisis, saying Pacific communities cannot allow the situation to continue.

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Baron Divavesi Waqa says the region is bringing decades of climate leadership into the Pre-COP discussions.

“The Pacific has never been a bystander in the global climate conversation - we have been leaders in shaping it,” Waqa says.

He says Pacific countries are pushing for global action that keeps 1.5°C within reach, delivers accessible and predictable climate finance and ensures communities on the frontline are not left behind.

Watch Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam speaking with PMN Tuvalu producer Fala Haulangi in Funafuti below.

Jasper Inventor, Greenpeace International deputy international programme director, says the Pacific should not be treated as a backdrop for climate diplomacy.

“Listening to Pacific stories creates a responsibility to act on them, not simply carry them into another conference speech,” he says.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who travelled to Fiji and Tuvalu for the event, says the Pacific Pre-COP will allow the world to hear directly from communities on the frontline and see the solutions they are leading.

"It is important that Pacific voices are heard, because the Pacific is the front line of action on climate change," Albanese told journalists. "For many of the nations represented by leaders here, it is literally a threat to their very existence, which is why the world must act.”

But Haulangi says the message coming from Tuvaluans is simple. “Enough talking, enough talking, okay? We've had enough of talk, talk, talk and no action. This time, we want your people to act on it straight away.”

The Pre-COP31 talks continue in Nadi through to Thursday 8 October before the global climate negotiations move to Antalya, Türkiye, in November.

Watch highlights of the traditional welcome ceremony for the leaders in Fiji below.