Fiji urges 'just' climate transition, financing at pre-COP gathering

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🗞️ Driving the news: UN climate chief Simon Stiell warned that extreme heat is increasingly associated with premature births, stillbirths, low birth weight and maternal complications
• The warning came as Fiji hosted Pacific pre-COP31 talks focused on the region’s exposure to climate impacts

🔭 The context: A new survey cited by Stiell found that more than two-thirds of health professionals across five continents had observed heat-related complications in the previous five years
• Pacific countries are also pressing for stronger climate finance, adaptation measures and efforts to keep the 1.5°C goal within reach

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The health impacts of warming are extending beyond heat illness to pregnancy and maternal health
• Pacific islands face additional risks from sea-level rise, coral bleaching and increasingly intense heat

⏭️ What’s next: Delegates will travel to Tuvalu, one of the world’s lowest-lying nations, before COP31 in Türkiye next month
• Fiji is also pushing for greater adaptation finance: developing countries were estimated to need $310–365 billion in 2023 but received only $26 billion

💬 One quote: “Climate-driven extreme heat during pregnancy is increasingly linked to premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal complications.” — Simon Stiell

📈 One stat: More than two-thirds of surveyed health professionals across five continents reported seeing complications linked to intense heat over the past five years.

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