Climate, security on Pacific forum agenda

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will arrive in Suva on Tuesday for the talks, which come as the 18 PIF members grapple with rising sea levels and worsening storm seasons and China seeks to reach bilateral security deals and invest more in the region.

Mr Albanese and New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern on Friday agreed to invite Pacific leaders to take part in a joint bid to host a future United Nations climate summit.

The leaders acknowledged in a joint statement after their Sydney meeting that climate change is the "single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific".

They agreed to improve climate finance and help Pacific island countries with the infrastructure and technology needed to address climate resilience.

Environmental groups and Pacific leaders are urging Australia to show support for the region by abandoning plans for new fossil fuel generation.

In December last year, Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said Australia had a "dangerous addiction to coal" before welcoming Mr Albanese's election, hoping he would "put the climate first".

Former leaders from Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Palau have co-signed a statement asking countries to improve their emissions-cutting effort.

"The latest assessments are clear: global emissions must be halved during this decade. There is no room for new coal and gas," the statement said.

Mr Albanese said jointly hosting the UN Conference of the Parties was an important step in engagement on climate in the Pacific.

Australia has a new emissions reduction target of 43 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030, which Mr Albanese has described as an emissions "floor".

NZ has increased its UN commitment to a 50 per cent emissions cut and pledged $1.3 billion in climate financing with at least 50 per cent of that going into the region.

At current warming trends, a Climate Council report suggests, the region will endure more destructive cyclones, coastal flooding, the loss of 99 per cent of coral reefs, all of which will hit food and water security and precarious economies.

The meeting comes amid concerns about China seeking deals with Pacific nations, undermining regional co-operation and potentially extending the reach of its navy.

Dr Will Stoltz, policy director at the ANU National Security College, told AAP the strategy risked island states "fracturing off from one another over the issue of Chinese influence".

"China is becoming bolder and grander in its economic and security offerings to Pacific states, as demonstrated by the region-wide security and development arrangement floated by Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his recent tour of the region," Dr Stoltz said.

"For some, such as the Solomon Islands, the PRC's offerings are welcomed as a means to solicit economic and political advantage.

"Other members of the Pacific Islands Forum, for example, are attune to the risk greater Chinese influence presents to the self-determination of the Pacific community.

"However, in the absence of readily available alternative offerings from Western states, the scale of China's economic and security programs may prove too good to pass up on for countries that quite rightly are prioritising urgent development goals to improve the material well-being of their citizens."

Professor Graeme Smith, senior fellow at the ANU Department of Pacific Affairs, said there was "zero prospect" of consensus being reached on a regional security agreement, given that four members recognise Taiwan while at least others recognise China.

PIF was founded in 1971 and comprises Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Australian Associated Press