The impact of climate change on the security of the Pacific region will be a key issue facing Scott Morrison, Joe Biden and other leaders at a major forum.
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The prime minister and US president are set to address the Pacific Islands Forum, which will be chaired by Fiji but staged online on Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting marks 50 years to the week that Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga met in Wellington to speak on "matters of common interest".
It follows a special online leaders' retreat in February.
The leaders will consider a draft declaration on preserving maritime zones in the face of sea-level rise related to climate change, and discuss the COP26 climate talks to be held in Glasgow in November.
"We find ourselves at a defining juncture in our history and we are faced with unprecedented political, economic and socio-economic challenges across the region," incoming PIF chair and Fiji prime minister Frank Bainimarama said in a statement ahead of the talks.
PIF deputy secretary-general Dr Filimon Manoni said in a podcast ahead of the meeting climate change was the "nexus" to all other issues.
"Efforts to promote sustainable development, human security and peace will not be durable if we fail to recognise the interaction of climate change and the socio-economic, political and demographic factors," he said
"For the region, the key question is not whether, but rather how, climate change interacts with the potential security dynamics and how the leaders of the region and of course globally will address these emerging risks."
Australia is supporting Pacific nation COVID-19 vaccination programs and working to reopen passenger flights across the region.
An in-person PIF leaders' retreat is planned for Fiji in January 2022.
Australian Associated Press