Press conference, Nadi, Fiji

HON LYNDA TABUYA: Bula vinaka and a very warm welcome to you all. Welcome to our Pacific brothers and sisters. Welcome to our distinguished guests and world leaders.

Welcome to members of civil society organisations and the international press corps. Welcome friends. On behalf of the government and the people of Fiji, the honourable Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, it is our pleasure to host you in Nadi, as we officially start the pre-COP conference with our co-hosts, Australia, my friend Chris and Tuvalu, and it's good to be back.

In 2017, Fiji made history as the, as the first small island developing state to preside over a COP and host its pre-COP right here in Nadi. 9 years later, we returned to the global stage to send a clear message. The Pacific is no longer just raising the alarm. We are leading the global fight against climate change.

We have brought you here because decision makers should hear directly from the communities experiencing climate impacts. Our co-host Tuvalu, will bring the reality of climate change into sharp focus and demonstrate the resilience of their people. Meanwhile, Australia is playing a vital role as COP 31 president of negotiations, backing Pacific leadership and ensuring our regional priorities flow directly into the formal negotiating tracks heading to COP 31 in Antalya in Turkey.

The success in Nandi will be measured by whether we build consensus on the most difficult issues before the world meets in Turkey. This conference must build trust. Clarify areas of agreement.

And identify where further work is required. But you should know that Fiji and the Pacific have 4 non-negotiable policy pillars on which we firmly stand. First, we must keep 1.5 °C within reach.

This is not an abstract target or a political compromise. Every fraction of a degree matters. We are pushing for urgent practical pathways that accelerate emissions reductions.

Second, we must unlock faster, fairer climate finance. Pacific nations have contributed the least to this crisis, yet we bear its highest costs. So we are advocating the statement and action plan on access to finance.

Finance must reach frontline communities, which is why we are also championing our very own Pacific Resilience Facility. This is our own Pacific led mechanism designed to build resilience where it's needed most. Third, we must put the ocean at the heart of climate action.

For us, the ocean defines our identity, our food security and our economic future. You cannot solve the climate crisis without protecting the oceans, which is why Fiji's driving investment into sustainable blue economy solutions, clean shipping and coastal protection. Finally, we must amplify Pacific leadership.

We are grounding our work in indigenous stewardship, elevating youth to the Australia Pacific Youth Climate dialogue. And advancing clean electrification to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels. And so in that spirit, it's to Minister Bowen, my friend Chris, that I also say congratulations on the signing of the Australia Pacific Partnership for Energy Transition Memorandum of Understanding with Vanuatu.

Clean energy is not just about cutting emissions. For small island developing states, it is about energy security. It is about economic resilience and ending our costly dependence on imported fuels, as we have seen in the latest global fuel crisis.

This agreement alongside Australia's vital $7 million allocation toward Pacific clean energy is exactly the practical frontline backing of our region need that we need as we move away from fossil fuels. We commend Australia for turning diplomatic commitments into tangible capital for the Blue Pacific, as we walk this path together towards COP 31. But we look forward to achieving more together alongside Tuvalu.

As the three co-hosts of pre-COP working side by side to find common ground where there are differences ahead of COP 31 in Turkey by bringing global decision makers to our shores, we are ensuring that the road to COP 31 in Antalya is built on Pacific reality, Pacific resilience, and Pacific leadership. Vinak Valu and I will welcome your questions later. Thank you.

HON CHRIS BOWEN: Thank you very much, Linda. The road to Antalya begins here in Fiji, and there's no better place to begin it. And I do want to thank, uh, my friend Linda for your leadership and your team and permanent secretary Savindra Michael, who have been working with Australia and Tuvalu as effectively one team, one Pacific family team, to make this pre-COP not only a success, but a significant meeting.

A pre-CO normally doesn't get much media attention. Here we are today with all of you fine people. Uh, we have wanted to lift the issues of the Pacific in the international agenda, and I think here on day one, we are beginning to do that.

So that's very welcome so thank you in all seriousness to the world's media for coming to this event because as I said, a pre-COP is not normally a big event on the media calendar. There's no better place than the Pacific to begin the process of lifting climate ambition and accelerating action, which is our agenda at COP 31. And as Linda said, we have some key priorities.

Keeping 1.5 degrees of warming within reach, as hard as that is, and in the light of the recent overshoot report which was so clear on the need for further action, of lifting the importance of oceans both in mitigation and adaptation, uh, right throughout the COP negotiations, and these meetings we've had today and over the next few days are an absolutely vital opportunity to do so.

And access to finance for small island developing states from our point of view in the Pacific, but also, I think the Pacific is representative of small island developing states around the world, those countries that need the finance the most, but who struggle to get it the most, and that's not good enough, and we'll be making further progress on that and we'll have more to say in coming days.

And of course tomorrow we'll be taking a significant delegation of prime ministers, presidents, heads of development banks, heads of the Green Climate Fund, current and former COP presidents to Tuvalu, the least visited country in the world. Fewer people go to Tuvalu than any other country on the face of the planet, and tomorrow we're taking just about as large a delegation as Tuvalu can handle, uh, tomorrow to highlight the issues, the impacts of sea level rise, which has already risen 15 centimetres there, with the capital under real threat in this decade, uh, and to really, Uh, bring the world's attention to that.

I know you can't all come, but a representative, uh, pooling arrangement will be in place, uh, to lift that focus, and again we're taking this opportunity, as Linda said, I just signed a memorandum of, uh, uh, memorandum of understanding with Vanuatu with Minister Regenvanu. On APPET, our programme to lift capability in the Pacific for more renewables, and I'm also pleased to announce three funding initiatives by Australia, $1 million for the It's Time Foundation to work with the Fiji Ministry of Education, to see more solar schools in Fiji, in remote and maritime schools, $2.2 million for scaling up renewable energy access across Papua New Guinea's Oro province for 19 communities, and $2.5 million to deliver reliable clean energy for the north of the autonomous region of Bougainville.

This is the sort of practical action that Australia takes to help the Pacific transition away from fossil fuels. Some Pacific countries spend 25% of their GDP on diesel. 25%. That's terrible for emissions.

It's terrible for respiratory health and it's terrible for the economy, and it's terrible for supply chain certainty. So we want to help the Pacific with that, for example, the battery we just opened in Palau will see Palau avoid 1 million litres of diesel a year and lift Palau's renewable energy proportion to 25% of their grid. That's the sort of practical example, but we'll have substantial things to say each and every day.

Um, the programme, uh, for this pre-COP is more substantial than other pre-Cops. We have, uh, 2000 stakeholders, 133 stakeholder events again, I'm told that just doesn't normally happen at pre-COPs, they're much more sedate affairs, for ministers and negotiators to sit around, we've really brought more people to the Pacific for good conversations, a few of which I've had the opportunity to participate in, as has Linda, 120 accredited journalists from around the world.

Thank you for coming to help us tell the Pacific story. I mean, Linda's country, so I'm going to let Linda steer the questions and, uh, uh, and to direct traffic, but we're happy to take some questions from you. HON LYNDA TABUYA: JOURNALIST: Minister Bowen can you confirm what you're spending on pre-COP and whether or not that's good spend of Australia's tax payer money?

HON CHRIS BOWEN: Well, certainly it is a good spend of Australia's taxpayers' money. This is our most important diplomatic engagement in the Pacific certainly this term. Probably for longer than this term, it's out of the $147 million allocation in the budget for increased Pacific engagement on climate issues.

That's a good thing. The reports of around $20 million are in the ballpark, of course we have further reconciliation to do and reporting in the normal budget fashion. We have some money to, recover from, you know, we make hotel bookings and then recover them from the countries that have come, so all that process is in place, but it's diplomacy does come at a cost, of course.

You can choose not to engage in the region as the previous government did. You can choose to lecture the region that climate change isn't an important priority, or you can work with the region on the important issue of climate change that does come at a cost, but it improves Australia's frankly, standing in the region which is so important in this difficult geopolitical time.

JOURNALIST: And how many leaders outside of the Pacific are attending tomorrow's event in Tuvalu? HON CHRIS BOWEN: We’re taking 36 people to Tuvalu tomorrow, 14 heads of state or government, a majority of which are from the Pacific, as you'd expect. I'd make this point.

World leaders don't generally come to pre-COPs. This is the first pre-COP where we've invited world leaders have been invited at all, as the president of Palau said, if you get one prime minister, you're doing well because prime ministers and presidents don't go to pre-COP. We have the Prime Minister of Mauritius, the president of Timor-Leste, as well as Pacific leaders, as well as the head of the Asian Development Bank, as well as the head of the Green Climate Fund, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC.

The various representatives of, current and former COP presidents, uh, so that's, I think, for the first time that, we've invited world leaders to a pre-COP, which was the Pacific's request and suggestion, which we accepted. It's a good opportunity. I think, Linda can add further comments, but that's a good first step, and as I said, I hope, and I'm sure you'll help us do that, the world's media gets some attention out of that visit tomorrow where we will visit the world's least visited country.

HON LYNDA TABUYA: Yes, thank you, and I wish to add to that and just to say, for all our Australians who are watching. We, we thank you. Thank you very much for your support for the Pacific.

We are the Pacific, we are one family and for our big brother Australia to come through for our Pacific nations to be able to host pre-COP here in Fiji and also in Tuvalu, we thank you. JOURNALIST: Can I ask both of you - HON CHRIS BOWEN: I don't, I don't think Australian media should dominate, with all due respect, Adam. JOURNALIST: My question about Australia being a coal mining nation.

What assurance can you give to the Pacific that our voices will be heard on the international level at home? HON CHRIS BOWEN: Well, here we are ensuring that Pacific voices are heard, and look, the Pacific is unified but not uniform. You know, we are unified in our objectives, but of course Pacific countries will express their views in slightly different ways from time to time.

My position remains publicly and privately. The way to transition away from fossil fuels is to build more renewable energy, to replace the need to replace the need for fossil fuels. That's what we're doing in Australia.

You know, we have the lowest gas use in our energy system in 26 years. Why? Because we've put in 550,000 home batteries in the last 18 months, which is reducing the need for gas at night.

When you reduce the need for gas, you you reduce the need to exploit gas, and a similar story with coal, we're building the resilience to replace coal fired power stations, but also, to those who say Australia's only 1% of emissions, that's true. That's why we're seeking to work with countries to influence 99% of emissions, uh, in this President of Negotiations role so that we've taken on.

So we've always recognised, and I think, as a fossil fuel exporting nation, we can actually come to this conversation and say, as a fossil fuel exporting nation, we can bring something different to the table, which is the need for countries to work together on the transition, both on demand as well as supply. JOURNALIST: What kind of partnership do Australia and Turkey have in COP 31? [indistinct] What do you expect from it.

To this camera. HON CHRIS BOWEN: To that camera, OK. Yes, well, Australia's relationship with Türkiye is first class, and in fact I said in a meeting this morning with Türkiye, we no longer have two teams, we have one team which happens to come from two different countries.

We are working hand in glove. We are meeting daily, comparing our notes, working on challenges, working out you know, am I best placed to do something or is Minister Kurum best placed to do something, so we're working hand in glove with Türkiye and this is two middle powers, working together, and I think genuinely the partnership which Australia and Türkiye have entered into, may, may become a model in future years where parties may say well let's not have one country, let's have two countries run this process because Australia and Türkiye did it well by drawing on our respective strengths.

There are relationships that Türkiye has that Australia doesn't have, and vice versa. You know, Türkiye would not be here in Fiji if it wasn't for the partnership with us. That is a great tribute to Türkiye that the COP President has come here, he's been in all the meetings this morning, he's actively participating, he's coming to Tuvalu tomorrow.

I think that leads to a better COP and a stronger COP, and I want to thank Türkiye for their partnership. JOURNALIST: This is a question for you directly. Um, we've been hearing a lot of promises over the years and a lot of support for the Pacific and all of that, and, um, with all due respect, Minister, what matters is what happens in the negotiation room, and there are some themes that Australia is not in line with the Pacific.

What guarantee do we have that when we’re goinf from PreCOP to COP31 that you’re in line with our priorities? HON CHRIS BOWEN: Well, I, I thank you for the question. I'm not sure I entirely agree with the premise, because Australia and Pacific are working very closely together.

We had a meeting, Linda and I chaired this morning, a meeting of all the Pacific climate ministers. I have said during COP 31, the Pacific climate ministers will meet with me every day. To update on the negotiations, that doesn't mean the negotiations will be easy.

They won't be easy. A COP is never easy. We won't get everything we all want.

That's not how a COP works. But I will be keeping the COP- they'll be keeping the Pacific nations fully advised of the negotiations, what the obstacles are, how we're going, what challenges there are, and consulting about the way forward. I'll be very frank with you, as I was with ministers this morning.

Oh, this is, this will be my 5th COP. I've seen Pacific ministers called in to meet with the COP president at 2 o'clock in the morning after the agreement's reached with no say. That won't happen in this COP.

The Pacific ministers will be part of the process, consulted closely, as I said, I'm not here to promise you. The COP decision will be everything that the Pacific ministers would write, because that's not what a COP is. We have to consult with 190 countries and get consensus.

That means goodwill, that means flexibility, that means pragmatism. But it means the Pacific being more at the table than they ever have been at a COP before. That is the guarantee I make.

JOURNALIST: Um, some Pacific leaders have urged Australia to stop expanding coal and gas projects at home, and that continues to happen. Do you echo those calls from other Pacific leaders? HON LYNDA TABUYA: Uh, at our meeting this morning, we had a very frank discussion with our Pacific.

Uh, Climate ministers who are with us and Chris, and yes, we had sentiments expressed, um, from, uh, our, uh, certain countries, but for the Pacific it's important at this pre-COP that we find common ground. There will be things that we disagree on, but we can agree to disagree, and uh we're just very grateful for the support of Australia and the commitment uh towards renewable energy, and I think that's the direction that we need to take, especially in the Pacific.

I myself shared my experience from my own island province here in Fiji, where we have no electricity at all, and we hope to go straight to renewable energy rather than having to rely on fossil fuels. So there's a there's a huge part of the Pacific that aren't on the grid, that don't rely on fossil fuels, and so we can go straight to renewable energy and that's an opportunity that we invite Australia and we invite the world to support us in, and I think that's something we can focus on, that we can find common ground on, and yes, we will, we will disagree on certain things, but we are here for pre-COP to be able to commit to a common ground and action going into COP 31.

JOURNALIST: Can I ask you both about uh what keeping 1.5 alive actually means. Fossil fuels are the main driver of the problem. I've seen plenty of evidence that that their use needs to be cut globally.

I'm talking not just in Australia, understanding your arguments, um, incredibly rapidly. What, what's your view on what keeping 1.5 means for global fossil fuel use? HON LYNDA TABUYA: It's certainly the same as we've always stated in terms of commitments from our developed countries in terms of reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning away from fossil fuels, but not just transitioning but a just transition and what does that mean?

That is really keeping The Pacific and other areas in the world or countries in the world that suffer the most, um from this and so we rely on and we appeal to countries to commit to climate finance, to commit to projects to help us to have a just transition away from fossil fuels. HON CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah, and, and I mean, I guess I'd say keeping 1.5 alive means hope.

Hope for Tuvalu, hope for, uh, Kiribati, hope for small island, small island atolls around the world. It does mean, it does mean working to increase renewables, and also electrification, which is a key focus for us, which we'll have more to say about this week as well, electrifying those things that can be electrified and moving away from direct fossil fuel use.

All that is part of keeping 1.5 degrees alive, as it, as hard as it is, as we freely acknowledge that 1.5 will be, there'll be overshoot. The overshoot report which you've read and reported on Adam makes clear the need to keep going and to work harder, which is what we're all doing. That seems like a wrap.

Thank you. HON LYNDA TABUYA: Great, thank you, thank you. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture.

We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.