Climate summit warns stronger action needed to curb global warming

Countries must accelerate their climate commitments to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to a statement from a conference ahead of the UN's COP31 summit. The meeting in Fiji and Tuvalu emphasized that deep, rapid, and sustained emissions reductions are needed to minimize the impact of overshooting the target.

As temperature rises near 1.5C, every fraction of warming accelerates climate change and raises the risk of irreversible damage for vulnerable communities. Some Pacific nations face existential threats from rising sea levels, with Tuvalu's sea levels up 15cm in three decades, double the global average. The 2015 Paris Agreement aimed to limit warming to 1.5C, but the UN warned last month that the world would surpass this threshold within years.

The Pre-COP31 conference also reaffirmed the importance of sovereignty and maritime zones under international law, despite climate change's threat to Pacific coastlines. Pre-COP events are typically technocratic meetings of climate negotiators, but Australia and Pacific partners are collaborating through the COP31 Pacific Partnership to amplify Pacific voices and strengthen regional ties ahead of the main summit in Turkey.