Officials gathering in Samoa for the Pacific Small Islands States (PSIDS) preparatory meeting for the 28th UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) are adamant that emitters should pay.

They say the big greenhouse gas emitting countries must be held accountable and pay for the impacts climate change continues to inflict on lives in Pacific countries that are least responsible for the climate crisis.

“To the world’s biggest emitters, if there are pledges you have made and committed to, then front up with those pledges, don’t just make those pledges for the sake of a political promise,” said Felicia Talagi, of Niue.

Pepetua Latasi, of Tuvalu, agrees and pointed out that time is critical.

“Tuvalu is a low lying atoll, it’s flat and there are no mountains so the impacts we are already facing, which the IPCC has already scientifically supported and reflected, are becoming more severe,” she said. “We don’t have the luxury of time because the adverse impacts of climate change are worsening every day.”

Ms Talagi and Ms Latasi are among officials engaged in the PSIDS Preparatory Meeting for the UNFCCC COP28 in Samoa. Held at SPREP’s Vailima headquarters from 10-13 October 2023, the meeting is a chance to finalise the Pacific’s positions and messaging on priority thematic areas such as Mitigation, Just Transition, Adaptation, Finance, Ocean, Loss and Damage, Global Stocktake (GST), Gender, Article 6, Transparency, Capacity Building and Technology and Agriculture, ahead of COP28.

The gathering, and the build up to COP28, is taking place as record temperatures are being recorded all over the world and climate impacts felt in unprecedented wildfires, floods, storms, droughts and other extreme weather events. Mr Filimone Tuivanualevu, of Fiji reiterated that Pacific communities are at the forefront of the negative impacts of climate change.

“It only makes sense that we are present at COP28 to voice our concerns and be part of the discussions at this global platform which discusses critical issues around climate change,” he said.

Climate finance is one of the critical issues. Climate finance refers to local, national or transnational financing—drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing—that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change. The UNFCC Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement call for financial assistance from Parties with more financial resources to those that are less endowed and more vulnerable.

Ms Talagi, who works as the Director of Project Management Coordination Unit, Niue’s Ministry of Infrastructure's Department of Utilities, believes easy access to climate finance is key to help the Pacific address the long-term and immediate impacts of climate change.

“When we talk about adaptation, mitigation, gender and all our thematic priorities, almost all of them cannot be progressed if we don’t have the financial instruments to be able to operationalise those plans and activities. It is important we continue to fight for streamlining and simplifying accessibility for climate finance for us in the Pacific given that a lot of our countries have limited capabilities and technical capacity.”

Ms Latasi, who is the Director of the Department of Climate Change and Disaster, Government of Tuvalu, concurs. “We live and experience the impacts of climate change on a daily basis and in order for us to progress and live sustainably we have to adapt to those changes and it is why it is important for us to engage in adaptation discussions, as well as finance. We need the means of implementation in order for us to be able to build resilience so we can face the impacts of climate change,” said Ms Latasi.

On Day 2 of pre-COP28, all Pacific negotiators and officials shared the notion that the meeting happening in Apia is important to prepare PSIDS for the work ahead. COP28 will mark the first Global Stocktake (GST) of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which aims to assess the world’s collective progress towards achieving its climate goals.