Pacific leaders, community representatives, and civil society delegates are gathering in Fiji and Tuvalu for the Pre-COP31 meetings amid warnings from human rights organizations that the anticipated absence of major world leaders must not serve as an excuse for ongoing climate inaction. Amnesty International reported that the regional summits open against a backdrop of severe global temperature records, following an unusually hot European summer that saw August 2026 recorded as the joint-hottest month on record.
The diplomatic gatherings precede the official COP31 climate conference scheduled for November 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, where Australia will serve as President of Negotiations. With the looming threat of a powerful El Niño carrying risks of widespread wildfires, droughts, and floods, United Nations warnings of the world rapidly breaching warming thresholds add urgency to the need for decisive climate action.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, stated that leaders choosing not to attend in person cannot evade their environmental obligations. “An empty seat is not the greatest failure. The greater failure is an empty promise,” Callamard said, emphasizing that Pre-COP31 must translate years of rhetoric into concrete commitments. Even though some heads of state are expected to be absent, Fiji’s Environment Minister has asserted that the Pacific-driven conference will move forward “with or without” prominent international leaders.
Frontline Realities and Legal Precedents in the Pacific
Pacific Island nations face some of the most immediate disruptions to fundamental rights, despite contributing minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions. Tuvalu, for instance, accounts for less than 0.003% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet its population contends with severe rising sea levels, extreme heat, droughts, and saltwater intrusion that threaten access to water, food, health, and adequate housing.
During a visit to Tuvalu in 2025, Callamard observed local authorities and residents engaging in land-reclamation projects designed to help populations remain in their home country. “The reclaimed land in Tuvalu is not a tourist backdrop. It represents a country fighting for its survival,” Callamard noted, urging hesitant leaders to witness daily adaptation struggles firsthand.
Legal pressure on high-emitting governments has intensified following a landmark Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2025. Prompted in part by student-led Pacific climate litigation, the court affirmed that governments carry a legal obligation to protect human rights from climate change impacts. Callamard described climate action as a legal and moral imperative rather than a political choice.
Australia’s Responsibilities as COP31 Negotiation President
As President of Negotiations at COP31, Australia faces mounting scrutiny regarding its alignment with Pacific demands. Amnesty International has outlined three core priorities for Canberra and other governments ahead of the November summit:
- Halt the climate emergency at its origin by terminating fossil fuel expansion and fast-tracking a comprehensive, rapid, equitable, financed, and human rights-respecting shift away from oil, gas, and coal, while simultaneously abolishing government-backed financial support for the fossil fuel sector.
- Empower populations to prosper by making certain that the Just Transition Mechanism is fully functional and answerable, capable of directing financial resources and assistance toward impacted communities, such as Indigenous populations.
- Expand financial contributions from wealthy, high-pollution nations by substantially boosting public, grant-based monetary aid for climate mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, all without plunging developing nations deeper into debt.
“Pacific leadership has helped keep the fight for 1.5°C alive, but Pacific communities cannot carry the burden of global climate leadership alone,” Callamard said.
Protecting Environmental Defenders and Securing Civic Space
Alongside intergovernmental negotiations, Amnesty International has launched a global campaign titled “Protecting our Future: Environmental Human Rights Defenders Powering Just Transitions.” The initiative highlights Indigenous Peoples and local communities worldwide who resist fossil fuel expansion, including First Nations people in Australia who are challenging offshore oil and gas exploration.
The human rights organization emphasized that meaningful climate justice requires safeguarding freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Concerns persist regarding potential restrictions on peaceful protest in Fiji as well as the legal treatment of climate activists within Australia. Both governments must guarantee that civil society and environmental defenders can participate without intimidation or reprisals as the Nadi and Tuvalu meetings run from 5 to 8 October 2026, leading directly into the Antalya negotiations from 9 to 20 November 2026.
