COP31 hears 1.5°C overshoot not an option for Pacific

The President of the Marshall Islands says the global response to the threat of overshoot of the Paris Agreement's goal must be overwhelming or the world we know, is over.

A new UN report says global warming beyond 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is now inevitable and the world must limit the "overshoot" as much as possibly before reversing it.

Pacific leaders are joining other world leaders in in Antalya, Türkiye for the COP31 climate summit.

The UN report acknowledges that the international community has made progress on climate change.

But it said global action to cut greenhouse gas emissions have not been fast enough to avoid global warming crossing 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the next few years.

Marshall Islands President Dr Hilda Heine described to delegates at the UN climate summit what an overshoot means in the Pacific.

"We are watching eco-systems die, and we are feeling temperatures rise. Every fraction of a degree we warm brings a catastrophe," she said.

"Overshoot must be kept as small and short as possible and be rapidly reverse. We are fallen short of the emission reductions needed to stay under 1.5."

President Heine also told delegates that every new oil well drilled, every piece of coal extracted is a threat to her country's future.

She said the discovery of new fossil fuels resources is not something to celebrate, but something to fear.

"Fossil fuel interest are also the root cause of delayed action, blocking a road to a healthier, safer world. Yet even as fossil fuels supplies fail and economies falter, and the financial case for renewal is clear, we still see trillions in fossil subsidies."

The Marshall president said the Pacific is charting a course to a future - free from fossil fuels dependency.

She wasn't the only Pacific leader to speak about a 1.5 overshoot.

Palau's President, Surangel Whipps Jr said this COP31 must turn the tide as the 1.5 goal is slips away.

"For the Pacific, this is not an abstract target, it is an existential threat to our food, our economies and sovereignty. States must honour their international obligations, noting the International Court of Justice clear finding that breaching climate obligations is an internationally wrongful act, carrying state responsibility."

The President of the Federated States of Micronesia Wesley Simina also addressed delegates at the gathering.

President Simina reaffirmed that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the security, livelihoods and well-being of Pacific peoples.

He said the 1.5 threshold is of fundamental importance for the future of island states.

"Our reefs are more than a eco-system, they protect our shores, sustain our fisheries, feed our families and carry the stories and traditions of our communities. Climate change threatens our tuna stocks, likewise threatening our livelihoods and economy."

President Simina said for Pacific peoples, the ocean is inseparable from their identity, culture and security.

The COP31 climate summit runs until November 20.