Prime Minister Matthew Wale today opened the Fifth Pacific Climate Change Conference in Honiara, calling on Pacific nations to turn climate knowledge and evidence into practical action.
The Pacific-owned and Pacific-led conference is being hosted in Solomon Islands for the first time under the theme, “Amplifying One Pacific Voice for Action on 1.5°C to Stay Alive.”
Opening the conference, Prime Minister Wale said the Pacific must move beyond documenting the impacts of climate change and strengthen its role as a source of knowledge, leadership, innovation and solutions.
“The Pacific is not merely a place where climate impacts are observed. It is a source of knowledge, leadership, law, innovation and solutions,” he said.
He said Pacific communities were already experiencing the impacts of a changing climate, with rising sea levels affecting freshwater supplies and food gardens, warming oceans threatening reefs and fisheries, and extreme weather placing communities, infrastructure and livelihoods at increasing risk.
“My central message to this conference is simple: turn Pacific knowledge into Pacific action,” Prime Minister Wale said.
He urged participants to focus on practical outcomes, including stronger policies, improved early-warning systems, finance-ready projects, applied research and community-based solutions.
He said the success of Pacific regionalism should be measured not by the number of meetings held, but by the results delivered for Pacific communities.
“The strength of our Blue Pacific Continent will never be found in the number of meetings we hold but in the difference we make together for the generations that follow,” he said.
As the Pacific prepares for Pre-COP31 and COP31, Prime Minister Wale called for sustained regional coordination and a united negotiating position on climate change.
He acknowledged that Pacific countries have different national circumstances, but said they must remain united on issues fundamental to the survival and wellbeing of their peoples and the Pacific Ocean.
“One Pacific voice must mean sustained coordination before, during and after international negotiations,” he said.
Prime Minister Wale said the conference should strengthen connections between Pacific researchers, governments, institutions and communities, while helping translate scientific evidence and local knowledge into policy, investment and action.
He also encouraged participants to ensure the conference produces tangible outcomes that can be taken back to communities and implemented.
“Let this gathering be remembered not only for what we discussed, but for what it helped to deliver,” he said.