Pacific Islands Forum urges polluters to pay for climate damage

Emissions-belching nations have been challenged to stump up for climate-related damage as a key Pacific islands summit opened, with low-lying Tuvalu declaring: "If you pollute, you should pay."

The Pacific Islands Forum got underway in Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa, with leaders hoping to draw global attention to the region's worsening climate plight.

"We really need to ensure that we continue to push for action from countries that are the most polluting," Tuvalu Climate Minister Maina Talia told AFP on the sidelines of the summit.

"Polluter pays should be on the table."

Pacific leaders will mount a renewed push later this week for a homegrown climate adaptation fund, an idea that largely hinges on financial contributions from foreign nations.

They will also push to speed the transition away from oil, gas and other highly polluting fuel sources.

"We cannot address climate change without addressing the root cause, which is the fossil fuel industry," Talia said.

"It's disaster after disaster, and we are losing the capacity to rebuild, to withstand another cyclone or another flood."

That is awkward terrain for forum member Australia, a coal-mining superpower belatedly trying to burnish its green credentials.

Australia wants to co-host the COP31 climate conference alongside its Pacific neighbours in 2026.

But first, it must convince the bloc it is serious about slashing emissions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is making a rare appearance at the summit, in a trip designed to highlight the Pacific's myriad climate threats.

"The decisions world leaders take in the coming years will determine the fate, first of Pacific Islanders, and then everyone else," Guterres said.

"If we save the Pacific, we save the world."

Security split

Foreign dignitaries were briefly sent scuttling for cover when a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck off Tonga's coast. However no major damage or injuries were reported, and no tsunami warning was issued.

The summit had earlier kicked off with melodic Tongan choir singers and dancing schoolchildren in traditional dress.

Beneath the bonhomie, however, rare fissures have been forming in the 18-member bloc, with Pacific nations torn over China's security ambitions in the region.

"We gather at a pivotal time in our region's history," said forum secretary Baron Waqa, a former president of Nauru.

"We are at the centre of global geopolitical interest."

China's interest, specifically, was evident long before Waqa's opening speech.

Large "China Aid" signs were installed outside the newly built conference venue, a $25 million gift from Beijing.

The United States, meanwhile, has dispatched senior diplomat Kurt Campbell to lead its forum delegation.

Campbell has been one of the key figures behind a US-led push to keep China's Pacific ambitions in check.

"We need to remain vigilant on issues of regional security," warned Waqa, who has taken a dim view of the escalating Beijing-Washington rivalry in the past.