Pacific Island countries did not cause climate change but their communities remain on the frontline of its impacts, says Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen.
Reflecting on the Pre-COP meeting that was held in Fiji, Mr Bowen said Australia had helped bring Pacific concerns before 53 leaders and ministers and more than 3000 attendees during the gathering.
“The Pacific Islands didn’t cause climate change, but their communities are at the front line of dealing with its impacts,” Mr Bowen said.
“We’ve heard the firsthand experiences from communities on the frontline of the impacts of climate change.”
He said for Pacific communities, climate change was already affecting lives and could not be treated simply as a future threat.
“People for whom climate change isn’t a future problem, it’s a present reality.”
Mr Bowen said Australia was backing a plan to increase electricity to 35 per cent of the world’s energy use by 2035.
Australia was also supporting the Global Rooftop Solar Pledge, which aims to expand access to solar energy to at least 300 million people.
Mr Bowen said international cooperation would remain crucial as attention shifted from Pre-COP to COP31 in Türkiye.
“Global cooperation has never been more important, and we will keep up this momentum as we move into COP31 in Türkiye,” he said.
He said the focus must remain on “backing renewables, follow the science, and keep 1.5 within reach.”
