As Australia prepares to lead negotiations at the 31st UN climate conference, COP31, it should keep Pacific priorities at the centre and reaffirm its longstanding support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international climate cooperation. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has called for a conference focused on implementation and acceleration. Taiwan’s work with Pacific partners fits that aim. When talks open in Antalya on 9 November, island communities facing coastal erosion and water shortages will need commitments that improve daily security.
Pacific leaders have already defined the security challenge. Meeting in Koror this year, they reaffirmed that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the security, livelihoods and wellbeing of their peoples. At the Pacific Pre-COP, a preparatory meeting in Fiji and Tuvalu last month, leaders adopted the Taku Pakasoa Declaration, which called for improved access to climate finance and stronger community resilience. Climate damage can interrupt essential services and increase pressure on public finances. For Australia, helping Pacific partners manage these risks is part of its regional security interest.
Taiwan also has responsibilities at home. Although not a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it publishes annual greenhouse gas inventories using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines and reporting methods aligned with the Paris Agreement’s transparency framework. Its latest inventory records net emissions in 2024 at 6.59 percent below the 2005 baseline. Taiwan has approved emissions reduction plans for each sector of the economy for 2026 to 2030 and completed its first round of carbon fee collection in 2026. Implementing these policies and supporting communities through the transition remain demanding tasks.
Taiwan’s work with Pacific partners offers practical experience in adapting technology and development assistance to local needs. Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko has described small, flexible transitional funding from the International Cooperation and Development Fund as a bridge to larger international climate funds. In Tuvalu, Taiwan’s agricultural cooperation has established two water-saving drip irrigation demonstration sites to respond to insufficient rainfall. Under the wider project, more than 112 tonnes of locally grown fruits and vegetables have been produced for schools and communities, alongside training and advisory support for local agricultural personnel.
In Palau, cooperation on coastal fisheries management has produced further practical results. By June 2026, the project had established fisheries monitoring and catch-reporting sites, installed six vessel identification receiving stations and 162 vessel transponders, and brought a fisheries information platform into operation. These are measurable steps in strengthening local resource management, although their longer-term environmental impact will need continued assessment. Taiwan has also pledged US$3 million (A$4 million) over three years to the Pacific Resilience Facility, supporting a Pacific-led approach to community resilience.
In my view, the longer-term value of this work lies in what local institutions can sustain. Equipment needs maintenance, and training has to leave people able to operate that equipment. Communities should help judge whether projects meet their needs. Taiwan’s role as a development partner of the Pacific Islands Forum fits this approach, with priorities set by Pacific governments.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change provides opportunities for countries and organisations to exchange knowledge on adaptation, technology and practical experience. Taiwan has attended COP meetings through the Industrial Technology Research Institute, a non-governmental observer organisation. This existing channel supports professional exchanges, although participation in particular technical meetings remains subject to the relevant procedures and invitations.
Where existing arrangements permit, qualified Taiwanese specialists could contribute experience from Pacific projects to adaptation-related technical workshops and knowledge-sharing activities. They could explain what has worked, what remains difficult and how local partners are maintaining the results. Exchanges with practitioners from other regions could also help improve future projects. More consistent opportunities for such cooperation would strengthen the connection between practical development work and international climate knowledge.
Australia already supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations and conferences. It can reaffirm that position at COP31 while respecting the convention’s established procedures. Separately, through the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, of which Australia is a member, Australia and Taiwan could support technical exchanges requested by Pacific partners on climate adaptation, local capacity and project maintenance. In 2024, Australia collaborated on a climate adaptation workshop jointly organised by Taiwan and Tuvalu. In September 2026, the Australian Office in Taipei joined Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment and other framework partners in organising a workshop on energy resilience and supply chain security, featuring more than 40 international experts from 28 countries. In October, the Australian Office chaired the framework’s joint committee meeting. Such cooperation would build on existing partnerships without requiring changes to Australia’s policy settings.
For Australia, listening to the Pacific includes helping turn its priorities into work that local institutions can carry forward. Supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international climate cooperation would allow relevant expertise to contribute more consistently to that effort. Pacific partners should continue to guide the agenda and assess what it delivers.
