Only two leaders from outside the Pacific join Australia's pre-COP visit to Tuvalu
The low turnout is a setback for a meeting moved to Fiji to draw global attention to the countries most threatened by rising seas.
Only 14 national leaders will join an Australian-organized visit to the low-lying atoll nation of Tuvalu on Tuesday, and just two of them come from outside the Pacific, the Australian government said Monday at a preparatory climate meeting in Fiji.
The two are Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta and Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam. They will be joined by European Union climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, the heads of the Asian Development Bank and the Green Climate Fund, United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell and Murat Kurum, Turkey's environment minister and the incoming president of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31).
Australia and Pacific leaders pushed to hold this year's pre-summit meeting in the region to spotlight nations whose existence is threatened by climate change. About 4,000 people gathered in Nadi, but distance and the main summit in Antalya, Turkey, just weeks away made the Tuvalu trip a hard sell.
"It is important that Pacific voices are heard, because the Pacific is the frontline of action on climate change," said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, attending his first United Nations climate meeting since taking office more than four years ago.
At home, opposition energy spokesperson Dan Tehan called the conference a "farce" and a waste of taxpayers' money. The government has also faced criticism for approving large new coal and gas projects. Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka asked delegates to see the Pacific not with sympathy but "as a bellwether" for the challenges ahead.
This brief is based on reporting by Adam Morton, published Oct. 5, 2026, in the Guardian. Read the original: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/05/mixed-start-for-pre-cop-as-just-two-non-pacific-leaders-accept-australian-invitation-to-climate-summit
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
