Excellencies, colleagues, and friends,
Talofa, and Bula vinaka.
Prime Minister Teo, thank you. You have brought the world to Funafuti and asked us to stand on the ground of a nation whose future will be shaped by our collective decisions. By being here, we see and feel that reality and understand what is often difficult to describe in words alone.
I will be direct. We have not gathered to discover the problem. Every country and region is affected and threatened by this crisis. But here we see the problem at an existential level, and we can reflect not only on the challenge Tuvalu faces, but on the broader global challenge of which it is part. The science is settled, and the legal structures the world has built together are clear on our obligations. And we have agreed, in Glasgow, in Dubai, in Baku and in Belém, on the imperative to act yet now face the imminent overshoot of our most critical target. The Pacific is in no position to settle for inaction, and we will not backtrack on decisions we have all made together. The 1.5-degree limit is scientific redline for us, not just a political one. Today, on the brink of overshoot, against the backdrop of a super El Niño, and on the shores of Tuvalu, we have a responsibility to move forward, not backwards, and to accelerate our efforts with every tool available to us. This place is the reminder of why we must.
That is why the intention to produce and agree on the Taku Pakasoa Declaration matters. Taku Pakasoa: “strength in unity”. It is a Tuvaluan phrase, but it describes the very basis of multilateralism and collaboration. In the Pacific, unity is everything. When we were told we were too small to matter, we stood together and took our case to the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the General Assembly. Small nations turned to international law because we knew we did not stand alone, and that the principles, the intent, the mandate for action are undebatable.
Now the world is watching: can we, together, do it again, in this room, before Antalya?
The Declaration we make must send a clear signal that we can carry to COP31.
First, we must be clear that under our watch the 1.5 degrees threshold will be protected, commit us to doing what is required to limit the magnitude and duration of overshoot. We must bring forward ambitious decarbonization commitments and implement the transition away from fossil fuels in a just and orderly way. That is not radical. It is in line with our agreements, our obligations, and the scientific realities from which no one is exempt. The transition away from fossil fuels was agreed by all of us in Dubai. It is not a new ask, and it is not open for renegotiation.
Second, the Declaration must be clear on the priority of ensuring climate finance reaches the people who need it as a means to ensure their safety and protect their future. Our communities are not asking for charity. They are asking for a system that works at the speed required to deliver protection in the midst of an escalating crisis. This is a global challenge that we must address. In Baku, we agreed a new collective goal on climate finance. The task in Antalya is to deliver it, not to reopen it.
Third, the risk of marine ecosystem collapse in an overshoot scenario is very real. The ocean sits at the heart of climate action. It is not only our home, but also the source of nourishment for billions, and the planet’s greatest climate ally. It can no longer be an afterthought in the negotiations. This Declaration seeks to strengthen our ability to make meaningful progress on ocean protection through the UNFCCC. We have already recognized the ocean’s place in our UNFCCC decisions. We must build on that, not let it slip back to the margins.
I know every delegation here has its own priorities and its own red lines. So do we. The Declaration serves to reflect all of us. Let us not spend this meeting picking at words. Where divergence exists, let us settle it in the spirit of sautalaga.
To those countries still holding back on ambition, I say this with respect: remember what you have witnessed here. Remember that the Pacific is a bellwether – showing the shape of things to come if we do not take action. Let that, and not the comfort of distance, decide what you are prepared to agree.
Because if we cannot agree here, among friends, on the shores of a nation that is fighting for its existence, then where?
This evening, I will walk into a room in Nadi where ministers and leaders will be waiting to hear what we have decided. Let us send them a clear and united signal.
[Close with ONE of the following, depending on the state of play]
[If there is no Declaration] If we cannot agree a Declaration today, let us be clear about what we carry to Antalya instead: real action to curtail overshoot, finance that reaches our people, and a proper place for the ocean. The absence of a text is not an absence of resolve. We go to Antalya as one.
[If the PSIDS text is agreed] The text before us is not perfect, but it is strong enough to hold all of us to account. Let us agree this Declaration today, and endorse it together in Nadi tonight. Let us go to Antalya as one.
[If the text is reopened] If we must open this text, let us open it to raise it, not to lower it. The Pacific will not put its name to anything weaker than what we have already agreed. Let us find that ground together today, and go to Antalya as one.
Vinaka vakalevu. Fakafetai lasi.