Pacific nations aren’t asking for favours. They just want Australia to meet the moment on climate justice

In the Marshall Islands, rising sea levels threaten to engulf entire communities, writes Tim Flannery. Photograph: Rob Griffith/AP

My first visit to the Pacific Islands was in 1981 and, for two decades, I spent several months each year carrying out biodiversity surveys and conservation work there. Even in the 1980s, Pacific communities were acutely aware of climate change, experiencing it first-hand through rising seas and intensifying storms. Over time, their understanding of the role that climate pollution plays in worsening these impacts has deepened, leading to a highly organised movement to limit pollution from big coal and gas exporters such as Australia.

As the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) approaches, Australia must urgently align with the position of its Pacific neighbours and take decisive action to reduce climate pollution further and faster.

The PIF has 18 members, including Australia and New Zealand, and is a critical space where leaders can meet as equals to tackle pressing issues, with climate change always at the forefront. Through this, Pacific nations have asserted their sovereignty and worked to drive stronger global action on climate change.

This year’s PIF in Tonga is especially significant as climate impacts become increasingly severe. Discussions will likely focus on adapting to these impacts, accelerating the shift to renewable energy and addressing the loss and damage inflicted on specific communities by the global failure to move more quickly beyond fossil fuels. Australia’s stance will be closely scrutinised by both Pacific leaders and the wider global community. With Australia bidding to host international climate negotiations in 2026 – in partnership with the Pacific – this is a pivotal moment for us to prove we can be a true partner to Pacific neighbours.

Pacific nations are not asking for favours; they are demanding justice. They recognise that the climate crisis, driven largely by industrialised nations such as Australia, poses an existential threat. Consider the Marshall Islands, where rising sea levels threaten to engulf entire communities, or Fiji, which has been repeatedly battered by increasingly severe cyclones. Australians are already feeling the impacts too, from devastating bushfires to prolonged droughts and unnatural weather events.

In the early 1990s, Pacific Island leaders were among the first to declare climate change a dire threat. Their leadership in global forums, including the Alliance of Small Island States, has been instrumental in shaping global climate cooperation, including the 2015 Paris agreement. These leaders have used their moral authority and skilful diplomacy to press for the climate action that the world desperately needs. However, Australia, as a major fossil fuel producer and exporter, has often prioritised the economic interests of coal and gas exporters over the urgent need to protect our citizens and neighbours from the impacts of climate pollution.

This year, I’ll attend PIF at the invitation of the Tongan royal family to screen my documentary Climate Changers in Tongan schools and discuss climate change with students. I’ll also engage with the leaders’ meeting, where I hope to see a united front by Pacific nations that lays the groundwork for collaboration with Australia at the United Nations’ climate conference (COP31) to be held in 2026. Jointly hosting such an event could have enormously positive implications. Bridging the gap between Australia and the Pacific to develop effective, coherent responses would be a world first that strengthens regional ties and sets a powerful global example.

As a regional power, Australia must shift from being a lukewarm participant to a proactive leader in climate action. This means reducing rampant climate pollution from coal, oil and gas by halting new fossil fuel projects, and scaling up investment in renewable energies such as solar and wind. We must also support our Pacific neighbours to adapt to the impacts they are experiencing and reflect both the scientific urgency of the climate crisis and the moral imperative to act faster now.

Australia can take several steps to be a better neighbour. First, we need climate pollution targets aligned with science and with our responsibilities as a developed nation, demonstrating our commitment and rebuilding lost trust. Second, we should deepen engagement in forest conservation and carbon sequestration across the region, which aligns with the interests of many Pacific nations. We must also collaborate genuinely to protect biodiversity, such as coral reefs and mangroves, respecting the deep knowledge within Pacific Island cultures, and their expertise in managing their natural environments

A successful outcome at PIF will depend on Australia approaching the meeting as an equal partner, not a dominant one. We must abandon any attitude of superiority and seize this opportunity to listen and learn.

The Albanese government is cutting climate pollution further and faster, in some areas, than its predecessors. Seeking to co-host the UN climate talks with Pacific Island nations in 2026 is an opportunity to do much more. Australia’s leadership on the global stage must be backed by concrete actions at home. This includes making much deeper cuts to climate pollution and ensuring that our energy policies align with the Paris agreement’s goals.

The stakes are high. Failure to act jeopardises Pacific Island nations’ futures and undermines Australia’s credibility as a security partner. We cannot afford to let this opportunity slip by. The world is watching, and our Pacific neighbours are counting on us. If we fail them, the repercussions will be felt far beyond our shores.