Fiji, Tuvalu and Australia will host the official COP31 Pre-COP ministerial meeting and a Leaders’ event from 5-8 October, ahead of the main summit in Antalya, Türkiye.
The gathering marks a first for the region, as global climate leaders, negotiators and partners will meet in the Pacific ahead of the UN climate conference for the first time, letting decision-makers see both climate impacts and locally led responses first-hand.
Fiji will host the Pre-COP meetings, while Tuvalu will hold a special leaders’ component. The arrangement was announced in February by Pacific Islands Forum Chair and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, who made the announcement last year after an agreement with and Australia and Türkiye.
Under the arrangement, Türkiye holds the COP31 Presidency, Australia serves as President of Negotiations, and the Pacific hosts the pre-COP meetings.
The road to COP31 starts in the Pacific.
Before the world gathers for COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, it will meet first in the Pacific for Pre-COP.
The final major meeting before COP, Pre-COP will bring countries together to find common ground and build momentum for… pic.twitter.com/hfMwX0UW8D
— Pacific Islands Forum (@ForumSEC) October 1, 2026
What Is on the Table?
Environment ministers will discuss contentious issues, with the agenda centered on keeping warming within the 1.5°C limit and strengthening climate finance.
Finance is a recurring Pacific demand. UNDP has published a climate finance “state of play” paper alongside commentary arguing that legal and political momentum, including Vanuatu’s push at the international level, must now translate into money reaching communities.
Pacific leaders have also stressed unity. Solomon Islands Environment Minister Wayne Ghemu, speaking for the Forum Chair at an earlier ministerial meeting, said regional solidarity is a “strategic necessity.”
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Australian ministers framed the event as a chance for the world to listen. Pacific Island Affairs Minister Pat Conroy said Pacific nations are bearing the brunt of climate change despite contributing least to it. Prime Minister Manele put believes the most vulnerable nations can lead, and the most powerful can listen.
The backdrop is the lived reality of displacement. The official Pre-COP site features a photo series on planned relocation in Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and elsewhere, first shown at a regional exchange in Nadi in March.
Pre-COPs are designed to build consensus before formal talks begin. Türkiye will host COP31 and a World Leaders Summit in Antalya in November 2026.
Whatever emerges from Fiji and Tuvalu will be tested there, where the Pacific hopes its priorities of adaptation, resilience and finance will carry through to the final outcome.
