Speech, Closing Pre-COP day 1, Nadi, Fiji

Well thank you very much, Minister Kurum - not only for your contribution, but I think it goes without saying by now, our partnership and our friendship. We are working hand in glove, for the parties together, for a very strong outcome. I thank you all for your participation and valued contributions as we bring day one of Pre-COP to a close.

We are back tomorrow. But today has been an important day. Together we're shaping the possibilities ahead for COP 31.

We only have a handful of weeks before Antalya. So being here is an important opportunity to find common ground, to bridge divides and coalesce around our shared priorities and accelerate global climate action. I've seen this spirit of collaboration and dialogue on display here today.

Murat and I asked you to come in a spirit of cooperation. We asked you to come in a spirit of goodwill and flexibility, and you've done so. This spirit will move us closer to strong outcomes at COP 31.

We know the impacts of climate change are real and immediate.Some of us saw that yesterday firsthand in Tuvalu. It reminds us of the critical importance of keeping 1.5 degrees within reach, to minimise overshoot and correct course rapidly. The challenge is growing, but so is our agency.

Many of you have emphasised that the solutions we need are already in hand. Renewable energy, grids, storage and electrification are creating opportunities to strengthen resilience, improve energy security, and reduce emissions at the same time. These are proven, commercial and scalable today Now is the moment for faster implementation.

I welcome the perspective shared by Observer constituencies today as well as I know Minister Kurum does. Your views enrich and ground our discussions in different perspective and lenses right across the world. And I appreciate the candid views which have been reported to us from the breakout sessions on mitigation, finance, and the just transition.

To all our co-facilitators, I thank you all for your leadership of these sessions and I look forward to your reflections on the sessions for the whole group tomorrow afternoon. Now, from our consultations this year and your comments today, there is a clear expectation that COP31 must respond to the global moment - to send a clear message to accelerate implementation.

In an uncertain and contested global environment, it must do so in a way that builds on our commonalities and shared vision for the future, rather than divide us. And to demonstrate our continued commitment to multilateralism, to international cooperation and to the Paris Agreement. There are significant issues for delivery across the negotiating streams and we will work with you to drive the best outcome across them all.

At the same time as a Minister, I can see that we need to further elevate our work to more clearly speak to decision makers, investors and the broader global community. I've spoken extensively with Minister Kurum and after listening carefully to your remarks and consulting with groups and parties this year, we have agreed to take forward a presidency-led decision for COP31, which captures the global moment and calls for action.

In keeping with our upfront, transparent, and consultative approach - as Minister Kurum and I have said many times - we want to indicate our intentions to you openly, at this early point in advance of COP31. We don't want to negotiate a lengthy political statement, but a focused and concrete response to the challenges and opportunities of our time. A presidency-led decision could recognise: The 1.5 overshoot report and the urgent need for climate action, support and international cooperation to go further and faster.

The tangible progress that has been made in the real economy and enormous economic and social opportunities and benefits in the global transition. The catastrophic impacts that climate has and are already being felt across the world; and The urgency of the work ahead of us to build resilience and adapt to those climate impacts. It could bring profile to high impact solutions for mitigation and adaptation, such as accelerating electrification, addressing methane, expanding coverage of early warning systems and giving greater focus to improving access to finance and elevating the role of nature-based solutions such as forests, oceans and waterways, of course, amongst other solutions.

It could reaffirm and give greater confidence around the delivery of climate finance, including timely progress and delivery of the NCQG and $1.3 trillion, and the and the call to to at least triple adaptation finance. I want to be very clear - as Murat has been - that our intention is not to duplicate negotiations or create new ballooning mandates and processes.

We don't want to set out a single pathway or prescribe what countries must do. We want to respect and enable the nationally determined nature of your plans, actions and implementation. We need to pull every lever to advance international cooperation and help countries make progress across the diversity of circumstances and capabilities.

We want to bring to the fore the solutions that many of you are already embracing and work with you to send an unambiguous message to the world; that despite every challenge, we are going faster and we are not looking back. Minister Kurum and I look forward to working with all of you intensively, to build an outcome that advances our shared future. Again, I thank you for your engagement today.

I thank you in advance for your engagement in coming weeks and in Antalya. 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.