Fiji and Tuvalu to host pre-COP31 climate meetings

SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Fiji and Tuvalu will host key meetings in the lead-up to the COP31 climate summit in 2026, the Pacific Islands Forum said on Thursday.

The bloc said Fiji will host the pre-COP31 meeting and Tuvalu will host a special leaders’ component, under an agreement negotiated between Australia and Turkey.

The low-lying Pacific islands are on the front line of global climate change, facing rising sea levels and related crises that have forced some residents to move to higher ground.

Australia and Turkey had been locked in a long-running tussle to host the U.N. conference, the world’s main forum for driving climate action, before reaching a split-hosting deal in November.  

The agreement gave Turkey the hosting rights of the main COP31 event with Australia leading talks and the Pacific hosting pre-summit meetings.

“I am pleased to announce that following a political consultative process, the COP31 pre-COP meeting will be convened in Fiji in October 2026, with a special Leaders component to be held in Tuvalu,” Jeremiah Manele, PIF chair and Solomon Islands prime minister, said in a statement on social media.

“Pre-COP is a chance to show that when it comes to climate change, the most vulnerable nations can lead, and the world’s most powerful nations can listen.”

The statement added Palau would also host a “special climate event” as part of the 55th PIF leaders meeting in the country in September. 

Australia said the pre-COP meetings would be an “unprecedented opportunity to bring the world to the Pacific, to experience climate impacts and solutions firsthand”.

“Pacific countries have long been leaders on climate action, and their voices are central to shaping the global response,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement.

“Hosting these COP meetings is an opportunity for the global community to hear directly from the people of the Pacific.”

(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Kevin Buckland)