Only five leaders from outside the Pacific are expected to attend an Australia-organised climate meeting in Fiji and Tuvalu next month, despite efforts by the Albanese government to attract a broader international gathering.
Fiji’s Foreign Minister, Sakiasi Ditoka, said leaders from Antigua and Barbuda, Cabo Verde, Thailand, the Maldives and Timor-Leste had confirmed they would attend the four-day pre-COP event, due to take place from 5 to 8 October.
Pacific leaders and ministers from countries including Germany, Mexico and South Korea are also expected to participate, but the limited number of non-Pacific heads of government is likely to fuel criticism of Australia’s diplomatic push.
The meeting is intended to bring international attention to the impact of climate change on low-lying island states, while highlighting adaptation projects and Pacific-led solutions ahead of the main United Nations climate summit.
Fiji will host the preparatory discussions, while Tuvalu will stage a special leaders’ component. Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water says the programme will put Pacific priorities at the centre of negotiations and allow invited leaders to see the effects of climate change first-hand. ([dcceew.gov.au](https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/international-climate-action/unfccc-cop/cop31))
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, who is serving as president of negotiations for COP31, has defended the event’s purpose. He said the pre-COP would bring the world to the Pacific to examine both the region’s climate risks and possible solutions.
However, Mr Bowen recently acknowledged that pre-COP meetings were not usually attended by world leaders and said Australia was seeking to increase the seniority of the delegation rather than presenting the gathering as a conventional leaders’ summit. ([minister.dcceew.gov.au](https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/transcripts/transcript-national-press-club-address-qa))
The pre-COP was created as part of a compromise between Australia and Türkiye after Türkiye secured the right to host the main COP31 conference in Antalya, rather than Adelaide. COP31 is scheduled to run from 9 to 20 November.
Australia is expected to spend about $150 million on its role in the COP process, including operational and logistical support for Fiji and Tuvalu.
Dan Tehan, the opposition’s energy spokesman, described the attendance as an embarrassment for Mr Bowen and accused the government of spending taxpayers’ money on a “vanity project”.
“This has been a shemozzle from day one, and Bowen should apologise to Pacific leaders and rein in his untapped ego,” Mr Tehan said.
Tuvalu’s Prime Minister, Feleti Teo, said his country was grateful to host part of the event and to have the opportunity to explain the realities faced by its people.
“We’ve been advocating and trying to describe through our limited English vocabulary what the situation on the ground is like,” he said.
