Pacific – This weekend, hundreds of people from Suva to Samoa, from Majuro to Melbourne all took to their streets, communities and shorelines to demand stronger action to stay below the limit of 1.5℃ of global heating.

The Draw the Line mobilisation came just days after Australia released their emissions target of a 62%-70% reduction by 2035. Pacific groups were clear that this was not aligned with the 1.5℃ target and insufficient to secure a safe or livable future. That statement was reiterated in demonstrations across the Pacific region, as well as in diaspora communities in Australia, New Zealand and the US.

Netta Maiava, Pacific Climate Warrior (Melbourne) says,

“It was very important for us to gather our community since the recent announcement of our government’s dangerous and insufficient climate plan. We centered our event on culture and community because that’s where our hope is strengthened – and hope is what we need to continue to push for 1.5 degrees, even if Australia’s fossil fuel expansion and poor climate policies try to hold us back.”

George Nacewa, 350.org Pacific Organiser says,

“A line has been drawn, and we are not letting polluters shift the goalposts. All countries, especially high polluters, need to align their national climate plans with the target of 1.5 degrees. Today was a clear sign from our communities — the Pacific will not drown, we will fight. The climate crisis is very real for us, and we will do what we must to ensure our children can survive and thrive in the Pacific.”

From September 19-21, Pacific people of all ages held demonstrations in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Niue, New Caledonia, Palau, Samoa, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. These demonstrations joined over 100,000 people worldwide in over 200 actions in over 85 countries, for what has become a global rallying cry to Draw the Line for climate justice.

Dr Sivendra Michael, Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Environment and Climate Change says, “This global mobilisation calls on people to draw a line in the sand that we must not cross. That we will not give in to greed at the cost of our oceans, we will not give into political pressure at the cost of our survival, and we will not give in to despair at the cost of action.”

Rufino Varea, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network Regional Director says, “We are here to draw the line at 1.5°C because we believe that protecting this number is a sacred duty. It means protecting our traditions, our sacred history, and the way of life we are fighting to preserve.”

Next week, world leaders will meet at the UN General Assembly in New York. Six weeks later, they’ll meet again in Brazil for the UN climate summit (COP30), a defining moment to hold rich countries and big polluters accountable for the climate crisis.

Jobod Silk, Jo-Jikum Youth Coordinator (Republic of the Marshall Islands) says, “We draw the line at our shrinking borders. Pushing back against colonial rule and fossil fuels, against twenty inches of rising seas and becoming ocean nomads, refugees. We challenge the pushback of 1.5 – a promise undermined.”

Nemuko Caihe, Pacific Climate Warrior (New Caledonia) says, “I’m drawing the line for a Pacific powered by justice, not extraction. Our people deserve clean energy and freedom from climate harm.”

KEY DEMONSTRATIONS

Suva Fiji – Fijians “Draw the Line at 1.5” with a line of traditionally woven mats featuring the stories of climate impacts and the loss of culture due to the climate crisis. The Suva event featured cultural performances, speakers and an art build for children and families. Speakers included:

  • Dr Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
  • Frances Namoumou, Pacific Conference of Churches
  • Rufino Varea, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network
  • Vishal Prasad, Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change
  • Noelene Nabulivou, DIVA for Equality

Melbourne, Australia – A vibrant Pasifika mobilisation that spotlights what’s at stake in the climate crisis. Held near the beach, sarongs were joined into a 150-metre line, representing “Drawing the Line” at the 1.5-degree limit for Pacific cultures.

Sydney, Australia – Pacific youth held a demonstration outside the Sydney Opera House, demanding the Australian government heed to limit of 1.5 degrees to honor their Pacific partnerships ahead of COP31.

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea – The demonstration combined PNGs 50th Independence Celebrations with urgent calls for climate justice. It featured representatives from different regions spotlighting climate disasters faced by PNG and the urgency of the climate crisis.

New Caledonia – Community members from multiple islands gathered on their shorelines to demand a clear limit to global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid further loss and damage.

Wellington, New Zealand – Pacific Climate warriors held a solidarity action to uphold the 1.5 degree limit as well as support the campaign to Vote Yes for Maori Wards.

Palau – Together with Reng Collective and Create Belau, Pacific Climate Warriors highlighted the Non-Economic Loss and Damage that will be incurred beyond the 1.5 degree limit.

##