Fiji Urges World Leaders to See Pacific Climate Impacts Firsthand

Fiji wants global leaders to travel to the Pacific before climate negotiations and see the effects of climate change for themselves. Climate Change Minister Lynda Tabuya invited leaders to attend the Pre-COP meeting in October, including a visit to Tuvalu.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has already confirmed that she will attend, Tabuya said. Fiji is also engaging major Asian partners, including India and Japan.

The meeting will bring together climate ministers, nongovernmental organizations, civil society groups, young people, women and people with disabilities. Fiji says the gathering will give vulnerable Pacific communities a direct opportunity to show the challenges they face.

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We would like to invite all our global leaders. Please come to the Pacific, please come and see first-hand, especially in Tuvalu, the effects of climate change.

“We would like to invite all our global leaders. Please come to the Pacific, please come and see first-hand, especially in Tuvalu, the effects of climate change,” Tabuya said.

Esala Nayasi, deputy secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, said there was still time for invited leaders to confirm their participation. Fiji is preparing to host the meeting and use it to press the region’s climate concerns in international discussions.

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There is still time for the region to ensure that those that are invited or those leaders that want to be in the Pacific will be here, but we will be able to get a confirmation closer to the dates.