World leaders must turn years of promises to support vulnerable Pacific nations into concrete action on climate change, Amnesty International has said ahead of Pre-COP31 meetings in Fiji and Tuvalu.
The human rights organisation warned that the expected absence of many major world leaders from the Pacific-led meetings must not become an excuse for further delays in tackling the climate crisis.
The meetings, taking place from 5th to 8th October, come as Pacific communities face rising seas, extreme heat, drought, flooding and saltwater intrusion, with threats to access to food, water and housing, as well as cultural and human rights.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said: ‘World leaders have spent years talking about the climate threats facing the Pacific. Now they must come to Fiji and Tuvalu, listen to Pacific communities and act. Rising seas are already eating away at people’s lands, livelihoods and cultures. Concern without action will not hold back the tide.
‘Those who do not show up in person cannot evade their responsibilities. Their absence will not stop the seas from rising or erase the obligations of high-emitting countries towards communities paying the highest price for a crisis they did least to cause.
‘An empty seat is not the greatest failure. The greater failure is an empty promise. Pre-COP31 must turn years of rhetoric into concrete commitments and action that deliver the climate ambition the world needs at COP31 in November.’
The organisation singled out Australia, which will serve as president of negotiations at COP31 in November, saying it must translate its claims of Pacific climate leadership into action.
Australia is due to host negotiations for the UN climate summit, which will take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9th to 20th November.
Amnesty said Australia should use its position to push for an ambitious, human rights-focused agreement, while ending support for fossil fuel expansion.
The organisation highlighted the disparity between the Pacific’s contribution to global emissions and the scale of the impacts it faces. Tuvalu, for example, accounts for less than 0.003% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while facing severe risks from rising seas and other climate impacts.
Callamard said a visit to Tuvalu in 2025 had shown her the efforts being made by communities and authorities to reclaim land threatened by the sea.
‘The reclaimed land in Tuvalu is not a tourist backdrop. It represents a country fighting for its survival,’ she said.
Amnesty also pointed to a landmark International Court of Justice advisory opinion issued in July 2025, following a campaign led by Pacific students. The court said governments have legal obligations to protect human rights from the effects of climate change.
The organisation is calling for three priorities ahead of COP31:
- Stop the climate crisis at its source by ending fossil fuel expansion and accelerating a full, fast, fair, funded and human rights-compliant transition away from fossil fuels, with states most responsible going further and faster. Renewable energy is less expensive than fossil fuels; governments must stop supporting their allies in the fossil fuel industry with taxpayer-funded subsidies.
- Support communities to thrive by ensuring the Just Transition Mechanism is operational and accountable and can help deliver funding and support to affected communities, including Indigenous Peoples.
- Scale up finance from high-income, high-emitting countries where it is needed most by significantly increasing public, grants-based funding for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, without pushing lower-income countries further into debt.
Amnesty also launched a global campaign highlighting the role of environmental human rights defenders, including Indigenous communities challenging fossil fuel projects.
They warned that environmental defenders around the world face harassment, surveillance, criminalisation and violence and said Australia and Fiji should ensure Indigenous Peoples and affected communities can participate in climate discussions and protest peacefully without intimidation or reprisals.
Callamard said: ‘“Environmental defenders are protecting our shared future. Governments must listen to them, protect them and ensure they have a meaningful say in climate decisions.
‘COP31 must deliver more than promises. Anything less would betray our shared responsibility to uphold human rights and secure climate justice.’