10 October 2025, Apia - As the curtains fall on the Pacific’s preparatory meeting for the thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP30), Pacific climate change negotiators and officials are ready to take a very clear message to world leaders in Belem, Brazil.
“There is a saying that holds a special place in my heart,” said the Director of Tuvalu’s Climate Change Department, Mr Jamie Ovia, speaking as the Chair of PSIDS.
“One of our former Tuvalu Prime Ministers once told the world that if ‘We save Tuvalu, we save the world.’ As we prepare to travel to Brazil, the message is that if the world doesn’t try to save the Pacific now, the impacts our communities are experiencing in relation to the climate crisis will eventually be on your front door, your front steps.”
“So it's better to heal it now, in order to heal the world.”
The call from Tuvalu, as the countdown to COP30 continues, follows studies that found 2024 was the warmest year on record in the South-West Pacific with record-breaking temperatures in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji posing severe risks to health and ecosystems.
Sea-surface temperatures reached record highs and Ocean acidification continued across the region further stressing coral reefs and biodiversity. Glacier ice loss continues at an alarming rate with sea levels in the South-West Pacific rising faster than the global average.
Mr Ovia echoed the sentiments on the final day of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) pre-COP30 meeting, held at SPREP headquarters in Vailima, Samoa. Facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) with support from Climate Analytics and OneCROP, the meeting was an opportunity to share knowledge, lessons and reflect on how issues have advanced since COP29.
“I thought the PSIDS pre-COP meeting for the past three days was very effective. We managed to go through the critical issues, especially the ones that are dear to the Pacific, and we shared ideas and strategised on how we can approach the issues when we are at COP30,” said Mr Ovia.
“The key message for our Pacific countries heading to COP30 is one that we all know and that is 1.5 to stay alive is very critical. At the moment, it’s still alive but barely alive. So we're going to push that really hard, as well as aligning NDCs, trying to ask countries to push their new NDCs to align better to the 1.5 message.”
COP30 in Belem will be a critical test of whether ambition translates into real-world policies, investments, and partnerships to protect the planet and its inhabitants. Marking 20 years since the entry into the Kyoto Protocol and 10 years since the Paris Agreement, the focus this year will be the updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of each country.
There are calls for the current commitments to be more ambitious; ensuring that emission reduction targets are compatible with climate science, dealing with the socio-economic impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations, and unlocking climate finance.
The pre-COP30 meeting inn Samoa was 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.
It is the last time climate change negotiators and officials gather before they take the arduous and long road to Brazil at the beginning of November for two weeks of climate change negotiations.
SPREP’s Director of Climate Change Resilience, Ms Tagaloa Cooper, acknowledged all of SPREP’s Member countries and partners.
“This gathering is that of the Pacific family and SPREP acknowledges and thank you for playing your part in our collective work for our Pacific communities,” she said.
“COPs, as many of you know, are never easy. They always test us in different ways but as Pacific people we continue to rise above all these challenges so we can amplify the stories and the voices of our communities and the people we represent.
“It’s always important to remember why we do what we do and as you prepare for Brazil, I would encourage us all to keep that in mind.”
SPREP, One CROP and all our partners, Ms Cooper assured, will be walking with all Pacific countries on this journey and “we will be there to support you all until the end.”
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.