• Press Statements

​Pre-COP31 in Fiji and Tuvalu: Reflecting on 10 Years of Progress by Pacific Countries

Speaker presents in front of crowd of people with a presentation screen in the background.
Photo by Fiji Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC)

Pacific Island countries have long championed the global climate agenda while backing that leadership through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). At Pre-COP31, they brought a spotlight to enduring regional priorities that are becoming increasingly urgent as the region faces escalating climate impacts, including: faster, simpler access to climate finance, ocean action and efforts to keep 1.5 degrees C within reach.

Advancing these priorities will require coordinated action that maximizes limited, fragmented resources to support countries on the front lines of a rapidly changing climate.  

Over the past decade, the NDC Partnership has built proven infrastructure to connect countries' priorities with technical assistance and capacity building. Across the Pacific, this has included strengthening programmatic approaches to climate finance, building sustained institutional knowledge, and supporting the development of investment-ready project pipelines. By coordinating support in direct response to country needs, alongside regional partners such as the Pacific NDC Hub, the NDC Partnership reduces fragmentation and duplication, helping direct limited resources to where they can have the greatest impact.  

“Among the leading voices for ambitious climate action, Pacific countries have long been clear about what is needed: greater access to climate finance and ambitious, urgent action across sectors to limit warming and safeguard communities, economies and ocean ecosystems. Conversations in Fiji reinforced lessons the NDC Partnership has seen consistently across the Pacific and among Small Island Developing States over the past decade,” said Pablo Vieira, Global Director of the NDC Partnership.  

“Pacific countries have spent years strengthening the policies, institutions and partnerships needed to translate their increasingly ambitious climate commitments into results on the ground, while facing some of the most severe climate impacts. The NDC Partnership has supported Pacific countries in strengthening coordination across institutions, planning investments, and building capacity to measure, report and verify progress. Even in a resource-constrained environment, progress is possible when support is aligned behind country priorities and when partners work together effectively,” said Vieira.

Conversations in Fiji and Tuvalu set the stage for COP31 in Antalya, placing the priorities of climate-vulnerable countries front and center and reinforcing the importance of coordinated support that moves resources further and faster in the face of escalating climate impacts.