Bose Vavataga 
[Supplied: Australia’s Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen speaks at Pre-COP 31]
Pacific island countries are among those facing the greatest threat from climate change, with some at risk of being submerged as sea levels continue to rise.
Australia’s Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says four countries around the world face the very real risk of being submerged, with three of them in the Pacific.
“There are four nations in the world that on a sober reading of the projections, face the very real risk, to be very frank with you, of being submerged. Three of them are here in the Pacific.”
Bowen says low-lying atoll nations have the most at stake and their experiences must be brought to the centre of global climate discussions.
He says Pacific nations have done little to cause climate change but are facing some of its greatest impacts.
“The fact that some of the nations that need the climate finance for adaptation the most are those who struggle to get it the hardest… The fact that the recognition that the world will overshoot 1.5 has the biggest impacts here, right
where we stand.”
Bowen says COP31 must deliver stronger action for vulnerable Pacific nations, including better access to climate finance and greater recognition of the region’s priorities.
The Pacific Pre-COP31 is being held in Nadi this week, bringing together climate leaders and representatives ahead of the COP31 negotiations in Antalya, Türkiye.
