National

Leaders want Pacific voices heard on climate change

By Sebastian Tan

Jul 15, 2026

Oceania's First Voices group want their stories and experiences on climate change heard at COP31. -AAP Image

Australia needs to lead by example on climate change as it takes the driving seat at a global climate conference, Pacific and Indigenous community leaders say.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Yuin woman Takesa Frank says the government has "so far to go" in terms of climate action.

Australia will take a leading role in the United Nations climate change convention COP31 in Turkey, where federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen will serve in the plum role of president of negotiations.

The government has already pledged more than $150 million for November's global summit, but Ms Frank says Australia must not overlook the voice of First Nations people.

"(It's important) that calls to action are actioned by governments at these global stages," she told AAP.

"Here on the country that I live on, it changes the way that we get to celebrate culture and connect to country.

"We saw the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires, where we saw 85 per cent of our forests get burnt at that time, but also we saw a lot of our culture get burnt."

Ms Frank is part of the Oceania First Voices workshop, a group of leaders from Australia and across the Pacific who are presenting their priorities and lived experiences to the government.

Ahead of COP31, a group of Pacific leaders will also host the Pre-COP gathering, which aims to show delegates a first-hand experience of the impact of climate change on the island nations.

Anahera Nin from New Zealand says that Pacific voices must be at the centre of discussions.

"We're on the front line, we do have the answers, and what we need from states with power is to support us to progress the climate movement," Ms Nin said.

"It's a moment. I see this as an opportunity for collectiveness to amplify and to demonstrate what's happening in the Pacific."

Climate change is one of the biggest threats to the Pacific's future, with sea surface temperatures rising at three times the global average since 1980, according to the World Meteorological Organisation.

Climate disasters in the region have also ballooned by an average of 700 per cent in the last decade, with the costs soaring above $7 billion, research from Oxfam Australia has found.

Fiji's Lavenia Naivalu said telling their communities' stories was crucial.

She said climate change had already depleted her family's fishing grounds, disrupting their way of life.

"I ask myself, and I ask world leaders when I'm given platforms to speak, what did my children do wrong?"