Prof. Biman Prasad

Securing the Pacific COP31 is one of the most important shared goals of the Pacific Island nations today.

While responding to a question at the Pacific Regional and National Security Conference about which issues should be prioritized if the Pacific hosts COP31, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad emphasized the need for a home COP to bring international policymakers, financial institutions, influencers, and leaders to see for them-selves the Pacific’s lived reality and to understand what lies ahead for them in the future.

He added that Fiji stands to lose over 50 percent of its current land-based economy even with just 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming.

Prasad says that across the Pacific, hundreds of communities are being relocated.

He adds that at the same time, nations are rebuilding critical infrastructure such as water systems, roads, jetties, ports, and airstrips that have been severely damaged by king tides, exceptionally high rainfall, and increasingly frequent super-cyclones.

“This toxic cocktail of climate change impacts threatens no other group of countries in the world as much as it does the Pacific. No other region. A COP31 hosted in Australia and the Pacific will help us bring this message home visually, not just through speeches. It will enable our community leader’s women, young people, persons with disabilities, the elderly, coastal communities, and highlanders to tell their stories sincerely and directly to the world.”

Professor Prasad added that COP31 will also be a significant moment to present some of the Blue Pacific’s major homegrown proposals to the world for endorsement and support.

He says that by gaining global recognition and backing, these initiatives can help drive more effective climate action, strengthen regional resilience, and ensure that the voices of Pacific peoples are heard on the international stage.

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