‘This is about our survival’: Fiji tells COP30 in Brazil to deliver real results

Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Mosese Bulitavu, says the ongoing COP30 in Brazil can no longer be 'business as usual', urging global leaders to deliver meaningful outcomes for the world’s most vulnerable communities.

With all eyes on Belem, where the UN Climate Conference is now underway, Minister Bulitavu said the Pacific’s call is clear, the climate crisis is personal and existential for island nations like Fiji.

“This work is about our survival. We are fighting for our identity, we are fighting for the protection of our culture, we are advocating for the protection of our lands and coastal communities which have been badly affected by this crisis,” he said.

The Minister said the “lived reality” of climate change in Fiji is already devastating.
“Families, communities and villages need to relocate now, this is already happening in some parts of Fiji,” he said.
“Identities and cultural aspects have been lost due to the impact of climate change. So this work is for our survival, it’s for our future, it’s for our children, their children and generations to come.”

COP30 is being held amid record-breaking global temperatures and increasingly severe weather disasters, with Pacific nations among those most affected.

During the opening session, the COP30 Presidency underscored the need for collective action and the integration of climate policy with economic development.

Minister Bulitavu welcomed Brazil’s decision to make Oceans a key focus of this year’s conference.
“We acknowledge the COP Presidency of Brazil for providing a space to have an Ocean Special Envoy for COP30. With the initiation of blue packages, it’s even more significant as these discussions are taking place at the Amazon, the green lungs of the planet,” he said.
“It’s a good platform for us, especially as we push for a Pacific COP next year, which will be on Oceans. Already here, there have been plenty of moving parts and we see this COP as a critical step as we prepare for the next COP where Fiji will become co-chair to the Ocean dialogue. We want to ensure that Ocean becomes a permanent agenda item on the COP table.”

With Australia and Turkey bidding to host COP31, the Pacific has already thrown its support behind Australia’s bid, which has been promoted as a “Pacific COP.”

“For us in the Pacific, having COP come to our part of the world is very important. We want the world to come to see our region, to see the vulnerability we are in, and we want them to get a sense of what we come to these COPs and amplify our voices about all the time,” Bulitavu said.
“We want them to see why climate finance is so important, why we need 1.5, why we need green and blue solutions, why COP matters to our Pacific region.”

Pacific delegations are already engaged in negotiations aimed at keeping the 1.5°C goal alive and pushing for urgent, ambitious action.

Minister Bulitavu also praised the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the OneCROP mechanism for coordinating Pacific engagement at COP30.

“I want to acknowledge and thank SPREP for leading this work with the support of One CROP in uniting our Pacific as one family, one Ocean, so we can strategise and amplify our voice in this space,” he said.
“Our voice will be stronger and have more impact on the global stage if we are united. We are large Ocean states, and we thank organisations like SPREP and all the partners for the work they do, to allow us to have a space to strengthen our voice. The Moana Blue Pavilion is like our home away from home.”