Tuvalu shifts focus to local and regional solutions as global climate talks fall short

Despite the exclusion of 21 dialogue partners from the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Honiara, Tuvalu’s Prime Minister has confirmed his attendance.

Speaking to PMN News, Feleti Teo says the decision by the Solomon Islands government to exclude the partners should not have been made unilaterally by the host country.

“Although I appreciate Prime Minister Manele’s enthusiasm to get the new mechanisms rolled out… it’s been finalised now that dialogue partners are excluded,” Teo says.

“It’s a tricky situation because you’re being hosted by someone that is proposing a different set of rules and it’s very un-Pacific to decline… especially at the last minute, so I think I can understand the way the Foreign Ministers decided to accept the proposal.”

During the recent Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Suva, Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter Shaneel Agovaka, told media that the partner exclusions were due to outcomes from last year’s Leaders Meeting in Tonga.

Teo, however, disagreed with Agovaka’s perspective.

Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka. Photo/Supplied

“Either will be conducted under the new mechanism or the old mechanism,” Teo says.

“I don't think the leaders last year anticipated that there won't be any dialogue partners this year, just because the new mechanism is not ready for operation this year.”

He’s concerned that the distractions arising from changes in partner involvement could overshadow the discussions in Honiara.

The Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Suva earlier this month. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

“I don't think we need such distractions, especially at the end of the meeting and a point that I did express in my letter to the Prime Minister.”

On Tuvalu’s agenda for next month’s Leaders Meeting, Teo says they are committed to addressing climate change and sea level rise.

After unsuccessful talks on plastic pollution in Geneva, Teo says Tuvalu is starting to lose hope in the integrity of international mechanisms, negotiations, and funding platforms.

“We are already focusing our attention on our local efforts, regional initiatives like the Pacific Resilience Facility.

“We are also upping our bilateral arrangements, which we found more reliable and trustworthy than simply relying on this major international gathering.

Listen to Feleti Teo's full interview below