The COP31 preparatory meeting ended in Fiji after delegates discussed the Pacific islands’ exposure to climate change. CNN analyst Américo Martins said world leaders are devoting more attention to security and defense.
World leaders and more than 4,000 delegates took part in the preparatory events. COP31 is scheduled to run in Antalya from November 9 to 20, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Organizers said the Fiji meeting was intended to help prepare negotiations and bring Pacific perspectives into them.
Martins described the situation of the region’s island nations as one of the starkest examples of climate impacts. Many islands and archipelagos face the threat of rising sea levels and global warming. That was the analyst’s assessment, rather than a formal conclusion by the meeting.
He said world leaders are giving more attention to other geopolitical issues, including international security and defense. Martins also referred to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s speech at the United Nations in September. Lula lamented that climate change had not been discussed this year by major international groups, including the G20 and G7.
The analyst urged world leaders to mobilize more funding to combat global warming and find additional climate solutions. Official Pre-COP31 events took place in Fiji from October 5 to 8, with a related leaders’ event also held in Tuvalu.