Fiji Red Cross at COP31: Listen to the Pacific experience

By the Climate Centre

The Director General of the Fiji Red Cross Society, Ragigia Dawai, has called for Pacific nations to be recognized as “partners in shaping the global response” to climate risk, and not simply as countries seeking assistance.

In a video message Monday as the UN climate talks got underway, Ms Dawai said she was “attending COP31 as part of the IFRC global delegation, representing the society and bringing the perspective of the society working at the intersection of climate risk, disaster response and community resilience.

As a National Society, we have a particular responsibility and perspective. We are present in our communities across Fiji. We have a network of volunteers who understand local realities, and we work alongside people through preparedness, response and recovery.”

The Pacific region had a great deal to contribute, she added: “Our knowledge, our experience, community-led solutions, and a clear understanding of what is at stake.”

‘Decisions being made this week and next will shape the operating environment for humanitarian organizations for years to come’

The questions that mattered most to her National Society, Ms Dawai continued, were ensuring that climate finance reaches local actors, and connecting climate science, disaster preparedness, public health, and community action.

“I want our engagement at COP31 to help advance a climate agenda that takes humanitarian consequences seriously. Recognizing the role of local actors delivers the resources and partnerships needed to protect our people.

“The decisions being made today and this week and the coming week will shape the operating environment for humanitarian organizations for years to come.”

At Pre-COP31 talks in Fiji and Tuvalu, the Pacific showed the world what urgency looks like in addressing the serious health impacts of the climate crisis: “COP31 must follow suit and deliver for people and the planet,” the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate said in a commentary also published Monday.

“Pacific countries have long been leading the way, turning climate-health solutions into more resilient communities,” it added. But three practical shifts can accelerate delivery: investment in country-led priorities and the people who deliver them; making climate finance faster and easier to access; and continued strengthening of the multilateral system.

A still from the video message to COP31 of Fiji Red Cross Society Director General Ragigia Dawai. (Image: FRCS)