Photo credit: EDDIE JIM. Retrieved from smh.com.au
Rapid global warming is melting vast swaths of ice at the poles. The rising sea erodes coastlines, inundates land and poisons crops and water sources, while more frequent and unpredictable severe weather has disrupted seasonal rhythms.
Pacific leaders say climate change is the greatest threat to their region, and – through necessity – Pacific young people, climate activists, civil society organisations and governments have long been at the forefront of the global push for action.
Australia is now vying with Turkey to host a joint Australia-Pacific COP climate meeting in 2026. Pacific governments have been broadly supportive of the proposal, but activists, less hobbled by the language of diplomacy, say Australia’s continuing extraction of fossil fuels renders its bid hypocritical. Many in the Pacific are calling on Australia, and other rich global emitters, to make urgent efforts to reduce emissions.
Pacific countries want Australia to bring in a moratorium on gas and oil extraction, and stop issuing new licences for coal, oil and gas production, he said.
And they want Australia to support Pacific countries with technology and climate finance to facilitate their transition away from fossil fuel reliance: “We haven’t seen that from Australia yet. And that is our expectation,” Paeniu said.