International: Pacific
The Pacific made history in the courts – now we must do it in the negotiations
Fri 12 Jun 2026
Legal clarity alone will not lead to reduced emissions, more finance or stronger national climate plans – political will is key to meeting states’ obligations.
Coral reefs in French Polynesia are stuck between life and death
3 Jun 2026
Scientists’ discovery of hollowed coral skeletons after a 2019 bleaching event reveals a reef that isn’t coming back.
The nation holding back the sea
22 May 2026
A Pacific island nation on the front line of the climate change threat is building land to try to hold back rising sea levels. But as the majority of Tuvalu’s population applies to relocate to Australia, a haunting question is being confronted: what happens to a country if the people have to leave?
Vanuatu’s legal battle against climate superpowers heads to the UN
18 May 2026
COMMENT: The United Nations General Assembly upcoming vote responding to the International Court of Justice’s landmark 2025 advisory opinion on climate change could help move climate responsibility from political promise to legal accountability.
How climate change threatens the economic backbone of the Pacific
4 May 2026
The vast Pacific Ocean and the islands dotted within it produce more than half of the world's tuna.
Tuvalu to host world leaders before COP31 summit
16 Apr 2026
Tuvalu, the Pacific nation at the forefront of the global climate crisis, will host a special meeting of world leaders before this year’s Cop31 summit, as the conference president expresses “complete faith” in Chris Bowen to lead tough negotiations.
Vanuatu Indigenous leaders raise concerns over plans to build resort for cruise tourists
1 Apr 2026
Indigenous community leaders in Vanuatu have raised concerns over plans by the cruise operator Royal Caribbean to build a private beach club on the island of Lelepa, arguing environmental impact assessments by the company are “incomplete” and “misleading”.
Pacific Nations fear fuel shortages as Middle East war sends oil prices soaring
20 Mar 2026
Leaders of Samoa and Tonga appealed for help this week as the import-reliant Pacific nations raised fears over possible fuel shortages and escalating costs caused by war in the Middle East.
Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution despite Trump opposition
9 Mar 2026
The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort.
World leaders invited to see Pacific climate destruction before COP31
3 Mar 2026
The leaders and climate ministers of governments around the world will be invited to meetings on the Pacific islands of Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu in the months leading up to the COP31 climate summit in November.
What Vanuatu’s UN resolution on the ICJ climate opinion means for the planet
23 Feb 2026
Six months after a landmark climate ruling, the UN is being asked to act.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
8 Dec 2025
Storms in the Southern Ocean influence weather patterns across Australia, New Zealand and the globe.
Asia-Pacific faces ‘$500bn-a-year’ hit from rising seas if current policies continue
4 Dec 2025
Coastal flooding could bring $500bn of annual damages to the Asia-Pacific by the year 2100, if countries do not adapt to rising sea levels.
Pacific Islands rue lost chance to host COP climate summit
21 Nov 2025
Pacific islanders decried on Thursday a wasted chance to draw eyes to their climate troubles, after their bid to co-host next year's COP climate summit was brushed aside.
Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record
21 Oct 2025
The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.
Familiar tensions emerge at the Pacific Islands Forum
26 Sep 2025
With China-Taiwan rivalry, China-Western competition, and big carbon emitters at odds with the islands on climate policy, there is plenty of tension to go around.
China, climate crisis and COP31: Five takeaways from the Pacific Islands Forum
16 Sep 2025
A key climate crisis funding treaty struck as Pacific leaders backed Australia’s bid for Cop31 despite some criticism of its environmental credentials.
Australian PM says Vanuatu security, climate agreement delayed
11 Sep 2025
PM Anthony Albanese says he won’t sign Nakamal Agreement in Vanuatu, despite recent high-level talks on the pact.
Pacific Islands leaders meet with climate change, security on agenda
9 Sep 2025
China and the US are barred from the Pacific Islands Forum as leaders gather for the annual summit in the Solomon Islands.
Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say
13 Aug 2025
Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warms.
Nearly a third of Tuvaluans have applied for climate migration visa
27 Jun 2025
With their country threatened by sea level rise, the people of Tuvalu have been offered an escape route through an agreement with Australia, and many are contemplating leaving their home.
Vanuatu criticises Australia for extending gas project while making COP31 bid
4 Jun 2025
Vanuatu’s climate minister has expressed disappointment over Australia’s decision to extend one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas projects and said it raises questions over its bid to co-host the COP31 summit with Pacific nations.
Pacific Island nations support China's Taiwan claims at high-profile foreign ministers' meeting
30 May 2025
Pacific nations have backed China's claim over Taiwan during a high-profile meeting, but have shied away from directly endorsing Beijing's push to "reunify" the democratically ruled island with the mainland.
We bear the brunt of the climate crisis. A Pacific COP could help shape the global response
27 May 2025
COMMENT: By hosting next year’s climate conference together with the Pacific, Australia would have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to both catalyse its own clean transition to a decarbonised economy and to elevate its relationship with the Pacific.
Nauru sells citizenship to help fund relocations as sea levels rise
27 Feb 2025
A new 'golden passport' scheme aims to raise funds to relocate people inland as climate change raises sea levels.
Funding for Pacific Islands to help manage tuna threatened by climate change
21 Feb 2025
The New Zealand government is stumping up a $25 million grant to help 14 Pacific Island nations manage one third of the world's tuna in the face of the climate crisis.
Leaders in the Pacific raise alarm over 'direct impact' of Trump's climate retreat and aid freeze
3 Feb 2025
Samoa's prime minister says US withdrawal from Paris climate agreement is 'very disappointing' and puts the survival of Pacific countries at greater risk.
Trawl the sea or mine for metals? Pacific nations wrestle with how to protect oceans - and livelihoods
16 Dec 2024
Palau plans to allow more fishing in its marine sanctuary, as countries across the region seek to balance conservation with economic needs.
Tuvalu: The disappearing island nation recreating itself in the metaverse
25 Nov 2024
Facing erasure due to climate change, the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu is digitally backing up everything from its houses to its trees as it endeavors to save whatever it can.
NZ adopts 'underwhelming' Commonwealth Ocean Declaration
30 Oct 2024
Commonwealth nations including Aotearoa and Pacific Island states have adopted the Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration.
PNG will not attend UN COP29 summit: Foreign Minister Tkatchenko
30 Oct 2024
Tkatchenko said: “Papua New Guinea is making this stand for the benefit of all small island nations. We will no longer tolerate empty promises and inaction, while our people suffer the devastating consequences of climate change.”
Climate on the agenda at Commonwealth heads of govt meeting
22 Oct 2024
Climate change and the fate of global oceans will be in sharp focus at the meeting in Samoa, which will feature King Charles and possibly Elon Musk.
Oil spill from Manawanui shipwreck: recovery 'challenging'
8 Oct 2024
People living on the southern coast of Upolu have reported the strong smell of oil, highlighting concerns about a spill from New Zealand naval ship the HMNZS Manawanui.
NASA analysis shows irreversible sea level rise for Pacific islands
7 Oct 2024
In the next 30 years, Pacific Island nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Fiji will experience at least 15 centimeters of sea level rise, regardless of whether greenhouse gas emissions change in the coming years.
Bats and bees help ni-Vanuatu predict storms — but will climate change interfere?
18 Sep 2024
In disaster-prone Vanuatu, Indigenous ni-Vanuatu people traditionally rely on plants and animal species as indicators that predict extreme weather events and help them prepare.
World Bank head sees climate change devastation in Tuvalu
12 Sep 2024
Since taking on the role of World Bank President, Ajay Banga has visited every region where the World Bank operates.
Climate change leaves future of Pacific Islands tourism 'highly uncertain'
11 Sep 2024
The Pacific Islands are scattered across a vast area of ocean, with some of the clearest waters in the world, and pristine beaches and rainforests.
Three ways Pacific nations are adapting to climate change
10 Sep 2024
Vunidogoloa holds the unenviable title as the first community in the Pacific forced to relocate due to climate change.
A rare behind the scenes look at the Pacific power tussle
6 Sep 2024
Tonga’s sleepy capital Nuku’alofa was buzzing last week as leaders from across the Pacific region descended upon it for the annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) meeting.
‘Immoral and unacceptable’: Tuvalu calls on Australia to set urgent deadline to end fossil fuels
30 Aug 2024
A day after agreement was ratified at the Pacific Island Forum, the country’s climate minister says ‘root cause of climate change’ must be addressed.
‘The wells are salty’: how the invading ocean is contaminating Vanuatu’s water
19 Aug 2024
As the climate crisis causes the Pacific to rise, the archipelago’s water is increasingly unsafe to drink.
How the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu drastically cut plastic pollution
1 Jul 2024
With lagoons once choked by rubbish, pressure from the appalled community led the government to ban certain single-use products.
Tuvalu is being swallowed by the ocean. Its people face a difficult choice.
24 May 2024
In a suburban cream-brick church in Melbourne’s outer west, 5000 kilometres from a homeland facing extinction, the mellifluous voices of a congregation of Tuvaluans rise in song.
Widespread flooding in Fiji’s West region
21 Mar 2024
Unrelenting torrential downpours over the weekend in Fiji’s Western Division caused widespread flooding in the region.
The Marshall Islands aren’t giving in to sea level rise
5 Feb 2024
The precariously placed island nation has put together a comprehensive—if expensive—plan to survive sea level rise.
Flying hurts the planet but it’s vital for island tourism. Is there a greener way?
22 Dec 2023
Electric aviation and renewable energy among shifts needed for the Pacific to build a more sustainable tourist industry.
Pacific women are among the most vulnerable to extreme weather
24 Nov 2023
Roughly 90 kilometres from northern Bougainville, the Carteret Islands were the first place in the world to move people due to climate change-related sea level rise.
Australia boosts regional security influence with Tuvalu accord
13 Nov 2023
Australia has signed a security, climate change and migration accord with Tuvalu, which analysts say also highlights Canberra’s attempts to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
Can the PIF leaders’ meeting break the cycle after another climate fund setback?
8 Nov 2023
The PIF Leaders’ Meeting is an important chance to jolt the world into action on a climate Loss and Damage Fund after decades of fighting for justice.
Australia declares El Nino set to be strongest in decades
Wed 17 Jun 2026
Australia's weather bureau warned on Tuesday that an El Nino weather pattern has formed in the tropical Pacific and could intensify in the second half of 2026 to become one of the strongest in seven decades.
Trump wants to put a $75m coal terminal in this liberal California city. Residents aren’t having it
Wed 17 Jun 2026
Residents of West Oakland, which suffers from toxic waste and high pollution rates, is rallying against a coal export facility.
China warns of risk of 'extreme floods' in desert regions
Mon 15 Jun 2026
China warned communities in its northwestern Xinjiang and nearby regions on Friday to prepare for "extreme floods" this summer, driven by abnormally high temperatures, heavy rainfall, and rapid glacier melt.
Steel and chemicals giants demand freeze to EU’s flagship climate policy
Wed 17 Jun 2026
The attack on the Emissions Trading System is among industry's most direct calls yet for the EU to change course on climate.
Millions of UK homes at risk of sinking as climate crisis worsens
Fri 12 Jun 2026
Millions of homes are at risk from climate-related subsidence, according to an analysis by the British Geological Survey.
Canada signs landmark LNG energy deal with Germany
29 May 2026
Canada has announced a landmark energy agreement with Germany that will see the first-ever long-term shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to Europe in the coming years.
Solar overtakes gas power in Asia for first time ever
Mon 15 Jun 2026
Solar has overtaken gas power in Asia to become the continent’s third-largest source of electricity, according to new analysis by Carbon Brief.
Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average
Tue 16 Jun 2026
A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’.
Aid cuts and climate change drive deadly malaria surge in Zimbabwe
29 May 2026
A surge in malaria cases in Zimbabwe is exposing fragile health systems and growing treatment shortages in rural areas.
Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle
26 May 2026
Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?
UN’s first Paris Agreement carbon credits face human rights and climate concerns
Wed 17 Jun 2026
Civil society groups allege the cookstove project in Myanmar exaggerated its climate impact while maintaining ties with military junta.
