Pre-COP31 Closes in Fiji as Australia and Türkiye Announce Presidency-Led Decision to Keep 1.5°C Within Reach

Nadi, Fiji, October 9, 2026 — The Pacific Pre-COP31 closed in Nadi on Thursday evening. COP31 President of Negotiations Chris Bowen announced that Australia and Türkiye will take forward a “presidency-led decision” at COP31 in Antalya to strengthen climate action and keep the 1.5°C goal within reach. The four-day ministerial meeting, held from 5 to 8 October, was hosted by Fiji, Tuvalu and Australia in partnership with the UNFCCC.

Background

Pre-COP31 combined a leaders’ visit to Tuvalu, one of the countries most exposed to sea-level rise, with ministerial talks in Nadi. Fiji’s Minister for Information, Environment and Climate Change, Lynda Tabuya, said more than 3,000 people took part, against about 300 delegates at Fiji’s earlier Pre-COP linked to its COP23 presidency nine years ago. Bowen added that the stakeholder programme included more than 100 events.

The talks took place against a difficult backdrop. Bowen pointed to a report showing the world is overshooting 1.5°C, uncertainty in energy markets and the expected impacts of a strong El Niño. COP31 opens in Antalya, Türkiye, on 9 November.

A Presidency-Led Decision, With No Surprises

Bowen said the decision would seek to “send a signal, to follow the science, to keep 1.5 degrees within reach” and to accelerate delivery of climate action. He acknowledged that the evidence points to an overshoot, but said it must be kept “as little and as short as possible.”

Australia and Türkiye chose to announce the approach at Pre-COP so that countries would have advance notice. “We don’t want any surprises in Antalya,” Bowen said. He stressed that the process would be “presidency led, not presidency only,” with full consultation with Parties, and that it would be open, transparent, inclusive and predictable. The decision text will be developed in the weeks before COP31. COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum said the process would be shaped through early, transparent and inclusive consultations rather than a predetermined outcome.

The Taku Pakasoa Declaration

A key outcome was the Taku Pakasoa Declaration, meaning “Strength and Unity,” endorsed after leaders’ visit to Tuvalu. It calls on leaders to:

• Protect the 1.5°C threshold
• Secure direct, accessible, grant-based climate finance
• Protect island states facing existential threats from sea-level rise
• Close the gap between international climate pledges and real-world delivery

Bowen said the declaration reaffirms the importance of science, including the IPCC, and efforts to triple renewable energy, double energy efficiency and transition away from fossil fuels. Tuvalu’s Climate Change Minister, Maina Vakafua Talia, invited other countries to associate themselves with the declaration and urged that COP31 not become “another session of procedural discussion and decision-making and fight over agendas.”

Finance and Practical Pledges

Climate finance was a central theme. Bowen said “the countries that need the finance the most get it the least,” referring to small island developing states, and announced that Australia will launch an access-to-finance plan seeking commitments from development banks and countries to improve access for SIDS in the Pacific, Caribbean and Indian Ocean. Other initiatives advancing ahead of COP31 include an electrification pledge and a Global Rooftop Solar Pledge.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said COP31 should “convert promises into more real-world results” as El Niño adds to climate costs. He called for scaled-up finance, delivery of existing commitments including the new finance goal, and use of the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to build toward US$1.3 trillion a year by 2035. He cautioned that COP31 may not have one major headline agreement, but that “complex and vital issues” remain to be resolved, and noted that countries are moving toward the second Global Stocktake at COP33.

The Pacific’s Test for Antalya

Tabuya said Pre-COP clarified “where landing zones are emerging” and “where political courage is still required,” but warned that it does not adopt decisions. Its value, she said, would be measured by what happens next: whether new national climate plans close the gap to 1.5°C and whether finance reaches communities faster and at scale. COP31 CEO Fatma Varank, Türkiye’s Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, said the meeting had built “truly important momentum” for Antalya.

Conclusion

Pre-COP31 left the Pacific with a political declaration and left COP31 with a clearer procedural plan. The presidency-led decision gives governments an early look at how Antalya’s outcome may be shaped. But Pacific ministers and the UN climate chief have both made clear that the real test will be delivery: tighter action on 1.5°C and finance that reaches frontline countries.