When Sofaia Momo thinks about climate change, she thinks about family.

Raised in Fiji but with maternal roots in Nanumaga, Tuvalu, Sofaia's connection to climate change is visceral. Having visited Tuvalu as a child, she says returning years later revealed just how much her atoll had changed.

Her concerns sit squarely inside the priority areas identified by Pacific governments for this October’s pre-COP31 event in Fiji and Tuvalu, an event that will push Pacific voices to the forefront of the global conversation on climate change.  

“I am here today to speak on behalf of my family and my vanua,” she said. “As a mother, a woman and a young person, I want to help spread awareness and be part of the fight against climate change.”

Sofaia was one of more than 100 young Pacific Islanders who took part in the first pre-COP31 Pacific Youth Talanoa. 

Co-designed and co-led by the Pacific Youth Council and the United Nations in partnership with Pasifika Communities University and Pacific regional organisations,  the three-part series seeks to unify Pacific youth climate priorities, strengthen capacity, and create clear pathways for young people to engage with decision-makers and shape national, regional, and global climate processes in the lead up to COP31 and beyond. 

The first Talanoa brought together young people from across the region to reflect on climate action through a Pacific lens, while helping build the knowledge, networks and confidence needed to engage in regional and global climate discussions.

For participants like Sofaia, climate resilience is also about belonging. During the Talanoa, young people spoke about protecting cultural identity, traditional knowledge and connections to place, recognising that climate change threatens not only ecosystems, but the stories and relationships that define Pacific communities.

Across the room, Mele Samoa Vailea was reflecting on a different question: where does climate leadership begin?

For the Tongan postgraduate student studying Marine Management at the University of the South Pacific, it starts with understanding who you are and where you come from.

“Before we advocate for climate change, we have to know ourselves and truly understand our communities,” she reflected. “Sometimes we assume we know what people need without first listening.”

As someone looking to shape a career in support of protecting the Blue Pacific, Mele has a deep interest in the ocean-climate nexus. She believes climate solutions are strongest when they are grounded in Pacific realities.

Her reflections echoed a broader theme of the Talanoa, where participants highlighted traditional knowledge, cultural practices, intergenerational learning and community stewardship as some of the region’s greatest strengths in responding to climate change.

For Viliame Manchester Etuweni, a Fijian working as a Field Officer with Corals for Conservation, the Talanoa reinforced the importance of collective action.

“We need the Earth to survive. The Earth doesn’t need us,” he said, recalling advice from a former geography teacher.

For Viliame, climate action is about responsibility, to the environment, communities and future generations. His message to fellow youth was simple: “Individually we are a single drop, but together we are an entire ocean.”

That same spirit emerged throughout the discussions. Participants pointed to youth leadership, strong partnerships, community ownership and shared responsibility as the foundations of successful climate action across the Pacific.

Although their stories are different, Sofaia, Mele and Viliame arrived at a common conclusion: climate action in the Pacific is about more than policies and negotiations. It is about protecting people, cultures and the places Pacific Islanders call home.