‘Let’s rally behind them’ – PNG commits to help Tuvalu at Pre-COP climate meet

Papua New Guinea has committed around US$5.5 million ($25 million kina) to Tuvalu over five years in aid of its coastal reclamation efforts.

PNG’s Prime Minister James Marape made the announcement at the Pre-COP31 climate meeting in Tuvalu.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Tuvaluan Prime Minister Feleti Teo in Funafuti, Marape confirmed that funding would be allocated from each annual budget over the five-year term.

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He said climate change is playing out in real time in the atoll nation, and that even a relatively small amount of investment will make a significant difference.

“It would buy them two or three more generations of life, if they buy 10 soccer fields in land reclamations wherever you can,” Marape said.

Tuvalu consists of low-lying atolls encompassing a total land mass of 26 sq km, making the country highly exposed to sea level rise and environmental degradation.

“Let’s rally behind them (Tuvalu), let’s help them preserve their sovereignty, and let’s move on in this instead of going to COPs with no serious commitments,” Marape said.

‘Talk fests’
Teo acknowledged PNG’s contribution, stating that the financial resources will be used to secure the island nation’s highly vulnerable coast line.

But he noted that while international bodies recently adopted a political declaration on sea level rise at the UN General Assembly, declarations alone cannot physically fix eroding coastlines without substantial capital.

Marape also criticised the lack of actionable progress at global climate forums, referring to them as “talk fests” with few serious commitments.

He said he would not attend the global COP-31 summit in Türkiye next month, choosing instead to focus resources on regional solidarity and localised adaptation projects.

The PNG leader also issued a formal appeal to industrialised nations, including the United States. China, Japan, India, and the United Kingdom, to provide direct financial assistance to small island states facing immediate existential threats.

Target call
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Pacific cannot afford to lose sight of the 1.5 degrees C target as rising seas, extreme weather and El Niño conditions intensify across the region.

Albanese has been in Tuvalu and Fiji attending the Pre-COP climate meetings with other leaders from the Pacific region.

The Post-Courier reports him saying Pacific nations must convert their shared concern about climate change into collective action.

He argues the 1.5 degrees target on global warming remains vital as sea levels rise and extreme weather worsens.

Albanese said Pacific leaders should speak with a united voice to demand stronger global action ahead of COP31.