A pre-COP conference, aimed at advancing climate negotiations ahead of **COP31**, began in Nadi, Fiji, on October 5, 2026. Pacific leaders are using the event to highlight the urgent challenges their region faces due to climate change, such as rising sea levels and coral bleaching. The pre-COP, hosted by Fiji and running from October 5 to 8, is intended to prepare for **COP31**, the major global climate conference under the auspices of the United Nations, which is set to take place in Antalya, Turkey, in November. The south Pacific is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, with rising sea levels threatening homes and increased temperatures damaging coral reefs. Pacific leaders are urging the global community to commit to limiting global warming to 1.5°C, improve access to climate financing, and pay more attention to the impact of climate change on oceans. A report by the UN secretariat published in August highlights that sea levels are rising at a record pace due to ocean warming and glacier melting. This could displace 1.2 billion people worldwide by 2050, with island nations facing sea level rise twice the global average. The report also points out a significant funding gap: developing countries, which would need between $310 billion and $365 billion to adapt to climate change, had only $26 billion available for this purpose in 2023. Regional leaders, led by Australia, have presented the pre-COP as an opportunity to draw global attention to the Pacific. "The influence of the Pacific on global climate action has always been greater than its size," said Lynda Tabuya, Fiji's minister of Information, Environment, and Climate Change. "The pre-COP will place the priorities and solutions of the Pacific at the heart of global discussions and contribute to transforming commitments into concrete actions," she said. However, officials acknowledged that the guest list would be smaller than expected, with fewer than a dozen world leaders publicly confirming their attendance. In the streets of Nadi, most residents seem unaware that a global summit is taking place there. Visitors, on the other hand, appear more drawn to the city's status as a top tourist destination than its role in climate diplomacy. Australia indicated in September that 4,000 people from 60 countries would participate in the event, without providing a detailed breakdown. Among the participants will be Nepal's foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, whose country is still recovering from devastating floods in the Himalayas in August. Fiji has also indicated that it is counting on the heads of state and government from Antigua and Barbuda, Cape Verde, Thailand, the Maldives, and East Timor. The events will begin on Monday morning at 09:00 local time (21:00 GMT Sunday) with an opening ceremony, followed by a day of workshops and roundtables. On the agenda for the main delegates is a visit to Tuvalu, a small island state preparing population relocation plans in response to rising sea levels. Delegates will observe embankment construction in Tuvalu, where the highest point only reaches two meters above sea level. Two of the country's nine coral atolls are already largely submerged. "Rising sea levels are not a future threat, they are a present reality," said the country's prime minister, Feleti Teo, at the UN last week. Only a handful of leaders, however, are expected to travel to Tuvalu. Australia, the leader of climate negotiations, is accused of hypocrisy and criticized for "double talk" by environmental activists, as a major producer of gas and coal, the fossil fuels contributing to warming. Climate minister Chris Bowen states that the country is rapidly increasing its renewable energy capacity. "The Pacific should not become a sacrifice zone for the major polluters and fossil fuel companies," said Shiva Gounden of Greenpeace.