Kristina Eonemto Stege from the Marshall Islands, Inia Seruiratu from Fiji and Ruel Yamuna from Papua New Guinea have been formally appointed as Pacific COP31 Envoys to push the region’s climate priorities on the global stage.
The appointments were endorsed by Pacific Climate Change Ministers and formalised through a joint letter from the COP31 President-Designate and President of Negotiations.
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Divavesi Waqa said the process would give the region a platform to shape global climate negotiations.
“Pre-COP and COP31 provide a critical and unprecedented opportunity for the Blue Pacific to strategically advance this agenda,” Mr Waqa said.
“Through the Pacific’s role in hosting pre-COP and helping to shape the COP31 process, we have a unique platform to ensure that our priorities are not only present but clearly heard and reflected in global outcomes.”
Ms Stege, a climate negotiator and current Climate Envoy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, will serve as Envoy for Oceania with a focus on keeping the 1.5°C temperature goal within reach.
Mr Seruiratu, a former Global Climate Champion and senior Fijian leader with experience in climate policy, disaster risk management and ocean stewardship, will serve as Envoy for the Ocean.
Mr Yamuna, Papua New Guinea’s Special Envoy for Climate and Environment and an alternate board member of the Green Climate Fund, has been appointed Envoy for Access to Climate Finance.
The envoys will seek stronger support from governments, international organisations and non-state actors for Pacific climate priorities.
Their roles are backed by the COP31 Australia-Pacific partnership and are intended to reflect strong regional ownership in the lead-up to negotiations.
The envoys will work closely with Türkiye, which will host COP31, to help deliver an outcomes-focused conference based on consultation, mutual respect and shared responsibility.
COP31 represents a Türkiye-Australia arrangement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Under the framework, Türkiye will hold the COP31 Presidency, Australia will serve as President of Negotiations, and the Pacific will host pre-COP31 meetings.
Those meetings are scheduled to be held in Fiji and Tuvalu before negotiations continue in Antalya, Türkiye.
The envoys will take part in the pre-COP31 meetings and continue their advocacy throughout the COP31 negotiations.
Their work will centre on Pacific priorities including adaptation, resilience, loss and damage, ocean protection and climate finance.
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Director General Sefanaia Nawadra said the envoys would bring Pacific voices and lived experience into the process.
“Our Pacific Climate Envoys carry more than a title, they carry the voices, values, and lived realities of our Blue Pacific,” Mr Nawadra said.
“Having strong Pacific Envoys advocating for our people is essential for ensuring our Pacific priorities remain central to global climate action.”
Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the envoys would strengthen Pacific advocacy.
“Australia is proud to partner with Pacific nations to appoint these three Pacific Climate Envoys,” he said.
“The Climate Envoys will be strong advocates for the Pacific on the global stage.
“Their leadership and expertise will help shape the global response to climate change, and to protect the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the people of the Pacific.”
The appointments come as Pacific nations prepare to press for stronger outcomes on adaptation, resilience, loss and damage, ocean protection and climate finance.
