Australia’s bid to co-host the UN climate summit COP31 with Pacific Island countries was built around a clear objective to elevate Pacific climate concerns. That objective is now at risk. The paper proposes that Australia should position the pre-COP for selected global leaders, using it to align Pacific priorities with those of other climate-vulnerable countries.

The global development landscape faces profound upheaval as major donors sharply cut back on foreign aid. The Pacific Islands face an especially uncertain outlook as the world’s most aid-dependent region. This edition of the Pacific Aid Map presents five key findings that are critical to understanding the future of development and competition in the region.

This policy briefing argues that Australia should establish a $2 billion COVID-19 Pacific recovery financing facility, and advocate for other parts of the international community to increase their own contributions, to help the Pacific recover from the worst economic shock in the region’s modern history.

This analysis reviews the evidence surrounding China’s debt practices in the Pacific and the extent to which they have contributed to rising debt sustainability risks in the region.