Pacific leaders urge climate action as UN pre-COP talks open in Fiji

The UN "pre-COP" climate gathering kicked off on Monday in the Fijian city of Nadi, where Pacific leaders are seeking to draw the world's attention to life on the frontline of climate change. The South Pacific is among the most vulnerable regions in the world to global warming -- from rising sea waters jeopardising homes to increasing temperatures causing coral bleaching. This week's talks in Nadi and on the atoll nation of Tuvalu are a precursor to the larger UN-sponsored global climate summit -- known as COP31 -- to be held next month in Turkey. Pacific leaders are pushing for the world to stick to a target of limiting global warming to 1.5C, enhance access to climate finance and give more attention to the impact on oceans. "Our prime minister will carry three clear messages to the leaders this week: keep 1.5 degrees within reach, make finance reach the communities that need it and give the ocean its rightful place in the climate regime," Fiji's climate minister Lynda Tabuya told the opening ceremony. Sea levels are rising at a record pace, driven by warming oceans and glacier melt, according to a UN report. Up to 1.2 billion people could be displaced by 2050, with Pacific island...