As rising seas threaten low-lying Pacific Islands, regional leaders call on the world to take climate more seriously

For Pacific islanders, the ocean provides food, jobs, and a deep connection to culture and identity. But climate change is turning it into a threat, because as global temperatures rise, so do sea levels.

"When there's a low tide, you'll actually see foundations of homes, you see burial grounds of your ancestors...," said Anne Rasmussen, lead climate negotiator for the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS), adding that higher seas are making some land uninhabitable. 

This week, a handful of world leaders are in Fiji with ministers and climate negotiators from around 60 countries to discuss the outstanding issues surrounding the UN-led international climate conference that kicks off in Turkey next month.

Pacific leaders see these talks ahead of COP31 as an opportunity to highlight the increasing urgency facing their low-lying islands.

"It's actually to bring the people who are continuing to turn a blind eye and deaf ears to the communities of the vulnerable islands to these effects," Rasmussen told DW, emphasizing the importance of holding these talks in the  Pacific.

"It showcases the vulnerability. It showcases the impacts that are already happening. And it also brings the community, the real people at the front line, to participate in these pre-COPs," she added.

On the frontlines of climate change

Leaders attending the event will first travel to the island of Tuvalu, which scientists predict could be one of the first countries to become inhabitable due to rising sea levels caused by human-driven climate change.

At the UN General Assembly last month, Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo told delegates that sea level rise is a "present reality."

"Tuvalu's message is clear: the world must act now decisively, collectively and with urgency to protect the future for generations to come." 

At an average of just two meters above sea level, the archipelago has faced more frequent and severe flooding as water levels have risen.

"Having back-to-back hurricanes and storms, having back-to-back significant floods...it really sets back countries and affects communities,” Rasmussen, who comes from the Pacific island of Samoa, told DW. "People are losing their homes." 

She also said rising sea levels are contaminating freshwater sources with salt, which threatens crops. In addition, hotter oceans mean corals lose the algae they rely on to survive, causing them to bleach and become less able to accommodate the diverse marine life that local populations rely on for their income.

Tuvalu is sinking — what's next for residents?

Overshooting agreed limits on temperature rise

Although only few leaders from outside the region are expected at the conference, negotiators from countries including Germany, Mexico and South Korea will be present. Efforts to limit planetary heating are expected to be high on the agenda. 

Pacific leaders are pushing for a renewed commitment to keep global temperature rise capped to 1.5 degrees (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) — a limit that was agreed on by world leaders at the Paris climate conference in 2015.

A UN report released in September said under a best-case scenario, temperatures were likely to reach at least 1.8 degrees Celsius (3.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. The study added that it is still possible to "bring temperatures down". 

Natasha Green, Australia country lead for climate think-tank E3G , said small island and least developing states are calling for countries to work together to enable vulnerable nations to "adapt and build resilience to the worsening impacts of climate change". 

Tricky questions of climate finance

A key issue at this week's talks will be climate finance. Poorer nations, which have done little to contribute to rising global temperatures, yet are feeling some of the worst impacts, have long called on richer, higher-emitting countries to provide more money to help them adapt to a hotter world.

Laura Schäfer, international climate policy head of division at environment and human rights nonprofit, Germanwatch, said she would like to see Australia, who holds the COP presidency, "address tricky questions."

Such as "how to include carbon majors, including the big fossil [fuel] industry in paying for climate damages like the ones we have just seen in Nepal."

Also on the agenda will be a the non-use of fossil fuels for creating energy. At the 2023 climate conference, countries agreed for the first time to move towards a future that doesn’t rely on oil, gas and coal. Since then, however, there has been little progress.

Earlier this year just under 60 states took part in the first International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels.

Scientists say an end to burning these polluting sources of energy is the only way to bring global temperature levels back under agreed limits. And thereby prevent some of the worst impacts of climate change — like the rising sea levels affecting island states and coastline communities.

"It's really important that the COPs continue to progress and elevate the commitment [...] to transition away from fossil fuels," said Green.