Tuvalu showcases climate risks to Pre-COP delegates with causeway tour

Leaders attending Fiji’s Pre-COP arrived in Tuvalu to a welcome from Foreign Affairs, Labour and Trade Minister Paulson Panapa, a police escort and chants performed by students from SDA Primary School and Nauti Primary School. Prime Minister Feleti P. Teo and Climate Change and Environment Minister Maina Vakafua Talia then led the visitors through a cultural performance and a stop at the historic David’s Drill site. The tour continued to the Funafuti Causeway, a narrow stretch that starkly demonstrates the country’s limited land area, while pupils from Fetuvalu Secondary School waved to the convoy. Officials stressed that the visit gave the delegation a firsthand view of the islands’ climate-change challenges and the nation’s resilience initiatives, urging that these realities be reflected in meaningful action at the forthcoming COP31.