PM Wale urges Climate Conference to turn Pacific knowledge into Pacific action
Honiara, 16 September 2026 – Prime Minister Hon. Matthew Wale has challenged the Pacific region to move from dialogue to delivery, declaring that implementation must become the defining measure of Pacific regionalism on climate change.
Officially opening the Fifth Pacific Ocean – Pacific Climate Change Conference in Honiara yesterday, Prime Minister Wale said the strength of the Blue Pacific Continent will not be found in the number of meetings held, but in the difference made for future generations.
His central message to the Conference is simple: to turn Pacific knowledge into Pacific action, and that every session should help answer what a community, ministry, university, utility or enterprise can do differently, what policy, finance, skills or partnership will make that possible, and who will take responsibility for the next step after leaving the room.
The Prime Minister called on scientists and academics to produce knowledge that can travel beyond journals and conference halls, on policymakers to create pathways through which evidence changes laws, budgets and public investment, on development partners to support Pacific priorities through long-term capacity, simpler access to finance and genuine partnership, on community leaders and knowledge holders to continue to test, guide and hold institutions accountable, and on young people, noting that their leadership is not deferred to the future and that their ideas and scrutiny are needed now.
On national action, Prime Minister Wale said Solomon Islands will lead with its own resources first.
He recalled that from the floor of Parliament he had criticised the mismatch between fine climate speeches delivered abroad and token allocations in national budgets at home, and said he will not, as Prime Minister, practise what he once condemned.
He confirmed his Government will back its climate commitments with real appropriations in the national budget for adaptation, early warning, climate-resilient infrastructure standards, and for the planned and dignified relocation of low-lying communities that can no longer wait.
Development partners are welcome to walk with Solomon Islands and are asked to walk faster, but the country will lead with its own resources first, which is what pragmatism demands and what self-respect requires.
Prime Minister Wale said the gathering must build enduring networks among Pacific researchers and institutions and strengthen a unified Pacific voice as the region prepares for Pre-COP31 and COP31, noting that unity is the region’s greatest political asset.
He said the Pacific may be many nations with different circumstances, but on the survival of its peoples and its ocean it must stand together, and that fragmented financing, competing interests or short-term pressure must not divide the region where core interests are shared.
Delivering a direct message to the international community, the Prime Minister said to keep 1.5 degrees within reach, raise national ambition in line with science, accelerate an equitable transition away from unabated fossil-fuel dependence, deliver climate finance at the scale and speed required for adaptation and loss and damage, protect the ocean and recognise the special circumstances of Small Island Developing States.
He said the Pacific is not asking for favours but is asking States to meet their responsibilities and honour their commitments, and that global climate action must be judged by delivery, including how much finance reached vulnerable communities, how much adaptation was implemented, how many people became safer, and how far emissions actually fell.
He added that Solomon Islands and the wider Pacific must also lead through actions at home, by protecting ecosystems, improving governance, investing wisely, building resilient infrastructure and listening to its people.
The Prime Minister said let Honiara send a clear message that 1.5 degrees is the Pacific’s right to survive and a responsibility owed to all humanity, that Solomon Islands is ready to do its part, and that the world must do its part too.
The Conference continues in Honiara this week.
Prime Minister Mathew Cooper Wale
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