by Charley Piringi in Antalya, Turkiye
COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum affirmed that the Ankara-Canberra leadership aims to amplify Pacific advocacy and translate financial targets into tangible land and ocean protection.
Speaking during the COP31 opening in Antalya, Kurum said, “Together with Australia, we are ready to ensure the Pacific is heard and to help find solutions to the challenges facing vulnerable countries. The 1.5C goal remains our guide. We will be frank about what science tells us. And we will bring the voices of the most vulnerable countries and communities to the centre of our agenda.”
Addressing the gaps facing Pacific islanders’ plight of rising sea levels and eroding shorelines, Kurum stressed diplomacy must safeguard actual communities.
“The last mile of climate action may lead to a field where a farmer watches the soil dry out, or to the shores of a small island state facing rising seas,” Kurum noted. “Success begins when our decisions reach that last mile.”
He cautioned developed nations against stalling on vital loss and damage and adaptation funding. “We know that delay carries one of the heaviest costs in climate action. Postpone an investment in resilience today, and tomorrow we may face the cost of a disaster.”
Marking a historic co-presidency arrangement between host nation Türkiye and Australia, the summit’s opening highlighted the survival of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as core to the negotiations.
Australian Minister for Climate Change and COP31 President for Negotiations, Chris Bowen, stated, “Leading the COP31 negotiations in partnership with the Pacific will strengthen our ties with our closest neighbours, raising our region’s profile in support of shared prosperity, stability and security”.
UN Climate Executive Secretary Simon Stiell highlighted the severe inequities facing low-lying Pacific communities amidst cyclones and ocean warming.
“The vulnerable everywhere pay the highest price,” Stiell declared. “Profound injustice threatens our solidarity and collective progress. Frustration is palpable.”
Stiell demanded COP31 dismantle bureaucratic roadblocks locking developing countries out of vital funds. “COP31 must supercharge solutions to deliver on the tripling of finance for adaptation… to tackle the immense frustration countries face in accessing committed, available finance.”
To deliver tangible resilience across the Pacific, Kurum introduced the Climate Implementation Bridge to connect global funding directly with vulnerable needs.
“Trust means seeing commitments bear fruit,” Kurum concluded. “If we are to share a future, we must share the responsibility for it.”
