Tonga’s Prime Minister and Pacific Islands Forum Chair, Dr. ‘Aisake Eke, met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York on 28 April to press for urgent climate action and sustainable development support.
Joined by Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa, the leaders reaffirmed the Pacific’s commitment to climate justice and called on the international community to honour financial pledges, including doubling adaptation finance to at least $40 billion annually by 2025.
Dr. Eke expressed gratitude for Guterres’ “steadfast advocacy” and reiterated the region’s leadership in global climate dialogue. “We are committed to working with Secretary-General Guterres and the United Nations to drive urgent climate action,” he said.
The meeting builds on Guterres’ 2024 visit to Tonga for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum, where he warned that sea levels in the South West Pacific are rising up to three times the global average, threatening the very existence of island nations. “I am in Tonga to issue a global SOS – Save Our Seas – on rising sea levels,” Guterres stated during that visit.
The leaders also discussed the Pacific Resilience Facility, a regional fund aiming to raise $500 million by 2026 to support community-driven climate and disaster resilience initiatives.
Looking ahead, the Pacific Islands Forum will convene in the Solomon Islands in September 2025, where leaders plan to further advocate for climate action and sustainable development on the global stage.
