The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGO) Alliance and civil society representatives have officially released “The Funafuti Call for Climate Justice.” The landmark declaration follows the Civil Society Regional Dialogue for Pacific Voices ahead of Pre-COP31 and COP31, held in Funafuti, Tuvalu.

Gathering at a critical crossroads for the region, diverse representatives, including indigenous movements, women groups, youth networks, persons with disabilities, faith-based groups, and PIDSOGIESC communities, have issued an uncompromising mandate to regional and global leaders.

We strongly assert that the 1.5°C warming limit remains a non-negotiable threshold for Pacific survival, backed by the recent legal weight of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion (ICJ AO). The declaration rejects a future in which the Pacific is remembered only for what the world allowed to disappear. “We claim instead a future shaped by Pacific peoples, not as passive victims, but as active agents of justice, custodians of our lands and ocean, and leaders of global transformation.”

Executive Director for the Tuvalu Climate Action Network (TuCAN), Richard Gokrun, states that Pacific Civil society has delivered a very clear mandate and that it is now up to our leaders to carry it into critical discussion spaces.

“For Tuvalu, there is no distance between what is negotiated in these rooms and what happens to our homes, our ocean, our culture and our future. 1.5°C is our survival threshold. Pacific leaders must reject any outcome that puts it out of reach. We expect them to stand together and hold major emitters and development partners accountable. The world has heard the Pacific’s warnings for decades. What we need now is action that matches the scale and urgency of what our communities are living, ” he adds.

Miliana Iga, Pacific Youth Council (PYC) Coordinator, adds that the Funafuti dialogue stood as a powerful reminder that the climate crisis posed real, existing problems for Pacific communities and that immediate action is needed.

“We are not seeking charity; we are calling for climate justice, genuine partnership and action that matches the scale of the challenge. Pacific young people have the right, and the responsibility, to help shape the decisions that will define our future. As leaders gather in Nadi and Türkiye, we urge them to protect the 1.5°C limit, end fossil fuel expansion and deliver the support Pacific communities need, “ she states.

The Pacific Regional NGO Alliance highlights several core demands within the mandate:

 

●        An Immediate Fossil Fuel Phase-Out: Calling on states to cease all exploration, licensing, and subsidies for coal, oil, and gas immediately. The Alliance demands that developed nations lead this decline “first and fastest” while rejecting false solutions such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) or geoengineering.

●        True Partnership over Hypocrisy: The declaration takes a firm stand against development partners who arrive offering climate solutions while simultaneously driving the crisis back home through fossil fuel extraction.

●        Demilitarisation and Demilitarised Oceans: Condemning recent missile tests by global superpowers in Pacific exclusive economic zones, civil society firmly rejects strategic ambiguity pacts (such as AUKUS) and the growing militarisation of their waters, emphasising that security must be defined by Pacific communities through climate and nuclear justice.

●        Reparations for Loss and Damage: Demanding predictable, grant-based climate finance and direct reparations for irreversible economic and non-economic losses, such as the disappearance of ancestral lands, burial grounds, and cultural practices.

●        Data Sovereignty and AI Accountability: Raising the alarm on physical artificial intelligence infrastructure, subsea cables, and data centers invading the region, the text demands strict environmental reporting, electronic waste take-back obligations, and absolute Pacific data sovereignty.

Executive Director of the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisation (PIANGO), Emeline Siale Ilolahia said Tuvalu stands as a global symbol of the existential climate crisis and frontline resilience.

“The convenings in Funafuti are not mere diplomatic stops, but spaces where community leaders, traditional wisdom holders, youth, and advocates bring unfiltered realities to the forefront. Expanding this energy means ensuring that high-level policy frameworks, whether on climate mobility, loss and damage, or economic development, are directly informed by the lived experiences of our people.”

We stand in solidarity and amplify Tuvalu’s rallying call to global delegates heading into multilateral negotiations: “Lose Tuvalu, Lose Our World. Save The Pacific, Save Our World.”

 

The Pacific Regional NGO Alliance calls on all Pacific Governments to stand firm on these outcomes during upcoming Pre-COP and COP31 sessions, ensuring civil society is institutionalised as an equal partner in climate governance rather than being consulted as an afterthought.

The convening of Pacific civil society ahead of Pre-COP31 and COP31 was hosted by the Government of Tuvalu, with support of the International Organisation (IOM) and UN partners. ee1