With the world’s focus currently being in Brazil for COP30, Pacific civil society organisations are also meeting in Sydney for a three-week engagement focused on human rights and climate change.

The event organised by the Diplomacy Training Program (DTP) in partnership with the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Organisations (PIANGO), ahead of the proposed Pacific COP31 which Australia hopes to host in 2026 alongside its Pacific neighbours.

Opening the program, DTP Executive Director Patrick Earle said the timing was significant, as governments continue negotiations on global climate commitments at COP30 in Brazil.

“The expectation and hope is that the next COP will be held here in Australia as a Pacific COP. The question is, how will Pacific voices be heard and be influential in those outcomes?”

He explains that the three-week engagement hopes to influence the proposed regions’ first COP gathering, ensuring that it is genuinely Pacific led and focused.

Earle noted the growing mobilisation around COP31, with many questioning whether Australia deserves to host the event while continuing fossil fuel extraction.

“Yet, a Pacific COP in Australia could also offer opportunities for advocacy, for genuine partnerships, and for amplifying the moral authority of Pacific peoples who are already bearing the cost of climate change.”

Representing PIANGO, Melaia Kubuabola highlighted the partnership’s importance in ensuring Pacific civil society has the skills, networks, and confidence to influence policy at every level.

“Our collaboration with the Diplomacy Training Program is about building movements, not just individual capacity. Pacific voices must shape global climate decisions, especially as our communities face existential threats from rising seas.”

The program, funded by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australia Awards Fellowship, brings together 15 participants from seven Pacific nations, and over the next three weeks, they are expected to strengthen advocacy skills, connect with Australian institutions, and ensure the Pacific’s voice is central to the world’s next major climate summit, COP31.

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