9 October 2025, Apia - Pacific countries are determined to ensure their voice and priorities are amplified at the upcoming Thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP30) in Belem, Brazil, despite the odds.
Concerns about logistics have dogged preparations for COP30.
Many countries have expressed concerns about the affordability of Belem’s accommodation prices, which have soared amid a shortage of rooms.
Other logistical obstacles such as the high cost of flights jeopardise access, and the inclusive sentiments expressed by COP30’s organisers.
Mr Xavier Matsutaro, National Climate Change Coordinator, Government of Palau, said these logistical challenges will impact the Pacific’s participation.
“I know it has been really difficult; it seems like the COP30 Presidency don’t really have a clear North star of what they want. In terms of accommodation and costs, it has been really constrained in that regard but it’s not going to stop us,” he said.
“Even though we might come in in slender numbers, it doesn’t reduce the level of importance of our representation in there, and to hopefully influence the discussions. For Pacific countries, there is no other way, sure there are layers of challenges but it’s not going to stop us.
“You don’t show up, you don’t have a voice, that’s what it basically comes down to.”
Mr Matsutaro expressed the sentiments in Samoa, where he is amongst Pacific officials strategising during the PSIDS pre-COP30 meeting ahead of the Brazil gathering from 10-21 November 2025.
With more than 13 years of COP experience under his belt, Mr Matsutaro said keeping the 1.5 to stay alive message is the biggest issue for the planet, and one Pacific delegations should keep at the forefront of all that they do.
“We’ve already seen things being destabilised. As we are gathering here, I received another notice from back home that there is another tropical cyclone coming around and this is the second one in two weeks.
“So we are seeing these things happening and this is why this work matters.”
Over the years, COPs have grown dramatically.
From less than 5,000 participants at the first summits in the mid 1990s, attendance jumped to around 30,000 at COP21 in 2015, which produced the Paris Agreement.
Nearly 84,000 attended COP28 in Dubai.
For Pacific negotiators, these numbers can be intimidating.
But Mr Matsutaro said the one Pacific Voice must be heard as it provides the moral compass to the discussions.
“For Palau, there are many reasons for us to be there at COP30,” he explained.
“Let me zoom it down to something very specific, like sea level ris. In the 1960s and 70s, an event of higher than normal sea level flooding only happened once. Then you would see this perhaps every five years.
“By 2010, we saw an increase in frequency, maybe once a year.
“In 2022, we saw it four times in one year. Now fast forward to 2025, since September 2024, every month, sometimes twice a month, we are seeing inundation in communities. The heartbreaking fact is that these are villages where people don’t have the means to relocate so they‘re stuck.
“This is a race against time. It’s a sobering reality for all of us to say the least but that’s why we are in the fight.”
For COP30, Mr Matsutaro said the goal is clear for himself and Pacific negotiators.
“Things have been difficult but we’ve got to keep going. If we can get resolutions to amplify our call for support to provide immediate relief at least to those that most need it, then I think we’ve done our job,” he said.
“There‘s no room for pessimism, the only room that’s there is hope, perseverance and persistence. We just have to keep on moving!”
The Thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP30) will be held in Belem, Brazil, from 10-21 November 2025.
The Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) pre-COP30 meeting, held at SPREP headquarters in Apia, Samoa, is facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) with support from Climate Analytics and OneCROP . It is funded by the Government of Australia to support the implementation of the project “Strengthening Pacific Leadership in International Climate Change Engagement”.
Attended by officials from the Cook Islands, Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, the meeting focusses on the Pacific’s priority thematic areas for climate change negotiations and will allow for discussion on strategic directions and agreed regional positions ahead of COP30.