1.5°C to stay alive: Aligning finance, justice and community voices to keep 1.5°C in reach
Description
Workshop context
Pacific island countries helped secure the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C. Keeping warming to this threshold is key to the survival of island nations threatened by climate change and sea level rise. Pacific countries are partnering with Australia and Türkiye to shape the agenda for COP31. This event takes place alongside a raft of pre-COP events in the region:
28 Sept - 4 Oct: Pacific Climate Week activities at various locations in Fiji
5-6 Oct: Tuvalu hosts special leaders' meeting
7-8 Oct: Official Pre-COP events in Fiji
5-8 Oct: Side events take place in Fiji
Limiting warming to 1.5°C now most likely requires temporary overshoot, followed by net-negative emissions to gradually reverse global warming. Overshoot pathways entail considerable risks and uncertainties and raise major equity, feasibility and governance challenges.
Workshop description
This academic workshop brings together leading scholars and key thinkers to consider what it will take to keep 1.5°C within reach, and to unpack Pacific expectations for COP31 and beyond. It is organised around COP31 priorities agreed by the Pacific and Australia:
1. Keeping 1.5°C Within Reach
2. Enhancing Access to Finance
3. Elevating the Ocean-Climate Nexus
4. Amplifying Pacific Leadership and Voices
The program will end with a high-level Talanoa attended by Pacific ministers and officials.
Speakers include the Tuvalu climate minister Dr Maina Talia; COP31 Envoy for Oceania Tina Stege; Vanuatu Minister of climate change Ralph Regenvanu; Director climate change at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Coral Pasisi; Director of Climate Change at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) Tagaloa Cooper; and leading Pacific scholars and civil society representatives.
There are registration options for in-person and online participation.
Program (please note updates may be made between now and the event)
8:30am - 9:00am | Arrivals / Welcome / Opening Prayer MC Assoc. Prof. Awnesh Singh. Opening prayer by Rev. James Bhagwan, General Secretary, Pacific Conference of Churches. Welcome from Siosiua Tuitalukua Tupou Utoikamanu, Pro‑Chancellor, USP. |
|---|---|
9:00am - 9:30am | Keynote Address: Keeping 1.5°C within reach COP31 Envoy for Oceania Kristina Eonemto Stege |
9:30am - 10:30am | Expert panel; The science of 1.5°C Unpacking the latest science on limiting warming to 1.5°C Chair: Prof. Rupert Sutherland, University of the South Pacific Dr Morgan Wairiu (Solomon Islands National University, IPCC Lead Author) · Assoc. Prof. Awnesh Singh (USP Centre for Sustainable Futures, IPCC Coordinating Lead Author) · Espen Ronneberg (Pacific Community) · Tagaloa Cooper (Director, Climate Change Resilience Program SPREP) |
10:30am - 11:00am | Tea break |
11:00am - 12:15pm | International law and 1.5°C Pacific and Australian scholars consider obligations to limit warming to 1.5°C Chair: Prof. Ben Newell, UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response Prof. Jacqueline Peel (University of Melbourne) · Vishal Prasad (Director, Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change) · Gillian Moon & Nathan Kennedy (UNSW) · Assoc. Prof. Siobhan McDonnell (Australian National University) |
12:15pm - 1:15pm | Lunch break |
1:15pm - 1:30pm | 1.5°C and the arts Pacific, Australian and New Zealand artists consider the climate crisis through an Oceania Pacific Arts Residency. Chair: Dr Katarina Talei Igglesden |
1:30pm - 2:30pm | 1.5°C and oceans Leading thinkers consider impacts of ocean warming and sea-level rise Chair: Dr Wes Morgan, UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response Taholo Kami (Strategic Advisor to Blue Prosperity Fiji at the Waitt Institute and former Fiji COP23 Special Envoy for Oceans) ·Dr Milla Vaha (University of the South Pacific) · Kate Scheutze (Amnesty International) · Dr Liam Moore (James Cook University) · Dr Tina Newport (Cook Islands Research Association) |
2:30pm - 3:30pm | Adaptation and finance at 1.5°C Exploring adaptation and finance needs for a warming planet Chair: Prof. Christoph Nedopil‑Wang, University of Queensland Te’o Lau Dr Viliamu Iese & Prof Kathryn Bowen (University of Melbourne) · Prof. Wendy Steele (RMIT) · Emeline Siale Ilolahia (Pacific Islands Association of NGOs) · Joshua Cooper (University of Hawaii) |
3:30pm - 4:00pm | Tea break |
4:00pm - 5:00pm | High Level Talanoa: Pacific expectations for COP31 and beyond Chair: Salā Dr George Carter, Australian National University Dr Maina Talia, Tuvalu Minister for Climate Change · Inia Seruiratu, COP31 Envoy for the Ocean · Sefanaia Nawadra, SPREP Director General · Coral Pasisi, Director of Climate Change, Pacific Community (SPC) · Zali Steggall, Standing Committee on Climate Change, Australian Parliament · Noelene Nabulivou, DIVA for Equality |
5:00pm - 6:00pm | Evening refreshments Spoken word poetry, Brittany Nawaqatabu; Peter Sipeli |
This event is hosted by the COP Universities Alliance and University of the South Pacific, with other contributors including University of Melbourne (Melbourne Climate Futures); University of NSW (Institute for Climate Risk & Response) and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade.
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