Ahead of next month’s major UN climate summit (COP31) in Turkiye, the Pacific region is sending a resolute message to global leaders: “Retreating is not an option.”
Speaking during a pre-COP31 virtual meeting today, Tagaloa Cooper, Director for Climate Change Resilience at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), delivered an urgent call that the ongoing pursuit of global climate action and justice is critical to the fundamental survival of frontline island communities.
Responding to critics who question whether participating in international climate negotiations yields real progress, Cooper said securing tangible outcomes remains imperative for the region.
“Sometimes we hear comments like, ‘why do you do it? Nothing’s changed,'” Cooper said.
But she firmly rejected this view, pointing to the region’s historic track record.
The bloc of 14 Pacific island nations, she said, has been a powerhouse on the global stage, instrumental in establishing the 1.5°C warming limit, creating the Loss and Damage fund, and driving the historic International Court of Justice (ICJ) resolution on climate change.
“For most of the Pacific negotiators, it’s not a job… it’s personal,” she explained.
“They are representing the people at home who sent them, the communities, the families.
“Every opportunity at the COP is an opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the countries that the Pacific needs to convince.”
Heading into COP31, Cooper outlined the core priorities the Pacific will not back down on at the summit:
-
Keeping 1.5°C Alive: This is the bedrock of all Pacific climate goals. Any fraction of a degree higher is dangerous for the planet.
-
Access to Climate Finance: It isn’t just about total pledges; it’s about breaking down the heavy bureaucratic red tape that makes it incredibly difficult for vulnerable nations to actually receive the funds they are promised.
-
The Ocean-Climate Nexus: Ensuring the health of our oceans remains at the absolute center of global climate discussions.
-
Amplifying Pacific Voices: Maintaining strong, unapologetic Pacific leadership in global decision-making.
Cooper also raised serious concern regarding the United Nations “Overshoot Report,” which details the catastrophic impacts of letting global temperatures rise past the 1.5°C safety limit.
She warned that going beyond 1.5°C would “change life as we know it,” making the planet unlivable and locking the Pacific into severe devastation and disruption.
Reflecting on a firm stance delivered by Lynda Tabuya, Fiji’s Minister for Information, Environment and Climate Change, speaking on behalf of Fiji as Chair of the Pacific Small Island Developing States, said: “Whoever fails to align with the best available science is no friend of ours.”
“So defending science is so important to the Pacific.
“ And because we now know, and we have in our hands the United Nations Environment Program reports on limiting the overshoot report, we know now that there are no good outcomes.
“There is no benefit of going beyond that 1.5 target.”
Cooper said that the Pacific will not allow global leaders to sweep this science under the rug.
“To go to COP31 and ignore the warning… would be a great disservice to humanity.”
Even as international financing contracts and global frameworks face mounting pressures, island states are solidifying strategic regional coalitions, working alongside partners like Australia to elevate vulnerable communities’ demands onto the world stage.
Speaking not just as a leader, but as a mother and a daughter of the Pacific, Cooper delivered a powerful reminder of exactly what is at stake.
“Retreating is not an option. Bowing out is not an option,” she declared.
“This is about our survival as Pacific people, but also as a global family.”
