It is a privilege to be here in Antalya at COP31, and I want to acknowledge our friends in Türkiye who are providing such wonderful hospitality with us.
I also want to acknowledge that the objective here, there on the back, wherever you go around this wonderful conference, dialogue, consensus, and action is what we are here for.
Turning climate ambition into practical action, and that's precisely what the Pacific Resilience Facility is about.
At this year's Pre-COP, hosted in the Pacific, global leaders came together to witness climate impacts firsthand during our visit to Tuvalu.
The reality is clear there; homes are threatened by storm surges, water supplies are affected by drought and saltwater intrusion, and livelihoods are under growing pressure.
This is being exacerbated by this year’s super El Niño event, part of a broader pattern of climate impacts facing all of us.
The climate has become less predictable and more intense.
And all in line with what the science told us would occur if we didn't act.
Not every individual weather event is the result of climate change.
In Australia, we have always had extreme weather events, but what is clear is that they are more frequent and they are more intense.
And we have had cyclones in places that we have never had that before, including in the state of New South Wales, where I'm from.
Pre-COP also demonstrated that communities must be at the centre of the response — because resilience is strongest when local people shape the solutions that protect their homes, their cultures and their way of life.
That is the promise of the Pacific Resilience Facility.
A Pacific idea, developed by the Pacific, for the Pacific.
Designed to deliver simple, timely and sustainable support directly to communities on the front line of climate change.
The Pre-COP showed that this vision is gathering real momentum.
Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands announced contributions, bringing the total number of investors to 23.
Importantly, Fiji announced a contribution of US$10 million, a powerful demonstration of Pacific ownership and confidence in this institution.
As my friend Prime Minister Rabuka said, the Pacific is “not asking for our partners to do what we are not prepared to do for ourselves”.
The Pacific has designed a practical solution to climate finance challenges. And they are investing their own scarce resources to make it work.
To date, the Pacific has provided 46 per cent of the total funds. It is asking the rest of the world to step up and join it.
Australia was proud to be an early investor, backing the Pacific vision from the beginning with our $100 million contribution.
And the Facility is already delivering impactful projects, backed by strong governance.
In Kiribati, the PRF is helping vulnerable schools secure access to water.
In Solomon Islands, it is supporting community sanitation and waste management to strengthen resilience.
The PRF matters because it connects global finance with local action.
It is improving water security, food systems, infrastructure and disaster preparedness.
It will help communities act before disaster strikes, rather than leaving families and governments to bear far greater costs afterwards.
And it offers lessons that matter well beyond the Pacific.
The challenge now is to build on the momentum created at Pre-COP and capitalise the Pacific Resilience Facility at the scale that Pacific communities need.
So my message to governments, to development partners, to financial institutions, investors and philanthropic organisations is straightforward: Back this Pacific‑owned and Pacific-led solution.
Turn support into commitments, and commitments into contributions. Turn climate ambition into practical action.
Here in Antalya, we can show that when the Pacific leads, the world listens and acts.
Now the global community must match its ambition.
Together, we can build resilience that lasts.
Thank you.