ISTANBUL, October 14 — As the world prepares for the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye next month, a series of record-breaking heatwaves, devastating floods, and an unprecedented El Niño climate pattern are driving home the urgency of global climate action. This week, leaders gathered in the South Pacific for a pre-conference to prepare for the intense negotiations ahead and set the agenda.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed joined senior government figures and top policy makers in Tuvalu and Fiji – two Pacific island nations facing the brunt of rising seas and intensifying floods – to lay out the UN’s climate priorities.
Mohammed urged states not to abandon the 2015 Paris Agreement target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, stating that ‘Overshoot is not a reason to surrender, it is a call to accelerate – to make overshoot as short and small as possible and bring temperatures back down below 1.5 as quickly as possible.’ She called on leaders to deliver on promises made at previous climate conferences, most notably the 2023 Climate Change Conference in Dubai (COP28) where leaders agreed to transition away from fossil fuels, triple renewable capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General highlighted the benefits of this transition to renewables by linking it directly to energy security. ‘For the 655 million people still living without electricity, clean power means a mother surviving birth with the lights on, and a child doing her homework after dark,’ she said. She also called for stronger adaptation and protection measures, urging countries to expand early warning systems, which help predict extreme weather events and alert communities before disaster strikes.
These systems must be complemented by resilient infrastructure, secure water supplies, and healthy ecosystems, she stressed, highlighting ongoing efforts in Pacific communities to strengthen coastal resilience and restore marine ecosystems. To enable this transition, a quick, fair, and clear funding scheme is critical. She reiterated that developed countries should take the lead, pointing to the Baku to Belém Roadmap which aims to mobilise at least $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance for developing countries by 2035.
Crucially, she emphasised that funding must be easy to access. ‘Every dollar has to arrive where it is meant to go. A small island ministry with a handful of staff should be able to reach concessional finance quickly and simply,’ she said. As the world awaits the COP31 summit, attention will focus on the commitments made by world leaders and the progress they have made in meeting their climate targets.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General’s call for a swift and fair transition to renewables, strengthened adaptation measures, and easy access to climate finance will be key to achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.
