On 25 August 2026, WLI will host an online Learning & Networking event focused on Climate Mobility across Pacific Island countries. The event is for Australia Awards scholars and alumni from the Pacific and their families, as well as development colleagues in our region.
About Climate Change in the Pacific
Across the Pacific, climate change is no longer a future challenge. Communities are experiencing its impacts through rising sea levels, increasingly severe weather events, coastal erosion, changing livelihoods, and growing pressure on land and resources. While mobility has always been part of Pacific history and identity, climate change is creating new complexities around where people live, how communities adapt, and what happens when remaining in place becomes increasingly difficult (Pacific Islands Form Secretariat [PIFS], 2024; South Pacific Regional Environmental Program [SPREP], 2026).
Through the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility, Pacific leaders have articulated a distinctly Pacific approach that places people, dignity, culture and rights at the centre of decision-making. The Framework recognises the need to support communities through a range of pathways, including staying in place, planned relocation, migration and responses to displacement, while ensuring Pacific values remain central throughout (SPREP, 2026; PIFS, 2023).
A consistent theme emerging from the recent Pacific Pre-COP 31 meeting in Fiji and Tuvalu was the need to move beyond dialogue and into tangible action. While policy frameworks are increasingly in place, stakeholders continue to grapple with what climate mobility means in practice and how governments, communities and development partners can work together to prepare for and respond to future challenges (United Nations Climate Change, 2026; PIFS, 2023).
About the event
This online event will explore how commitments emerging from international climate negotiations can be translated into national and community-centred action. It will examine evidence from relocation experiences across the Pacific, reflect on the social and cultural implications of mobility, highlight promising approaches and actions, and consider the role of women and emerging leaders in shaping climate-resilient futures.
The event will feature a live expert panel discussion, audience Q&A, and break-out group discussions.
Event details
Date: 24 November 2026
Time: 12.00pm – 2.00pm AEST
Location: Online, via Zoom