Cook Islands Diplomat Leads Pacific Climate Push at COP31
Charlene Hoff, lead mitigation negotiator for Pacific small island states, is steering talks at the Antalya climate summit in Türkiye.
Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in Environmental
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Charlene Hoff, of the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, is the lead mitigation negotiator for 14 Pacific Small Island Developing States and 39 Alliance of Small Island States countries at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye. She negotiates with 190 governments that are Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Why it matters
Pacific island nations contribute less than 0.03 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions yet are among the most vulnerable to climate change. For these states, keeping warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius is framed as a matter of survival.
Pacific small island states represent 53 countries across the two coalitions Hoff leads, while the Pacific region's emissions share is below 0.03 per cent of the global total. The specific negotiating positions the group will press at COP31 were not detailed in the source material.
The players
Charlene Hoff
Hoff is a Cook Islands diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration who serves as lead mitigation negotiator for Pacific and small island state blocs.
Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
AOSIS is a coalition of low-lying and small island nations that advocates collectively on climate change within the United Nations negotiating process.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC is the United Nations treaty body that hosts annual COP climate summits and whose Parties negotiate global emissions commitments.
The details
Hoff leads negotiations with all Parties to bring the world closer to the Paris Agreement commitment, supported by a team that provides coordination and technical work behind the scenes. She first attended COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2022, joined the PSIDS Mitigation Coordination Group at COP28 in Dubai, and became lead mitigation negotiator for AOSIS after COP30.
Timeline
2016: The Cook Islands signed and ratified the Paris Agreement.
2022: Hoff first attended COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
COP28 (Dubai): Hoff joined the PSIDS Mitigation Coordination Group.
September 2026: A UN Environment Programme report showed global temperature has overshot the 1.5-degree goal.
November 9-20, 2026: COP31 takes place in Antalya, Türkiye.
Big Picture
Hoff's work continues the push that produced the 2016 Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree goal, which the Cook Islands signed and ratified that year. A September 2026 UN Environment Programme report showing that global temperature has overshot that target now sharpens the stakes for every negotiating bloc at COP31.
Readers in any country are affected by whether the 1.5-degree goal holds, since its outcome shapes future emissions policy and climate costs worldwide. For Pacific island residents, the talks bear directly on whether their home nations remain habitable.
The takeaway
Follow the COP31 negotiations as they unfold, since the commitments agreed in Antalya will determine whether the 1.5-degree goal remains within reach. Small island states' push for stronger action shows that climate outcomes depend on pressure from nations with the least emissions and the most at stake.
Further reading
For more on the science and policy behind these talks, explore our Environmental coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Cook Islands News.
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