Artificial Intelligence for the Planet: Pacific Perspectives Ahead of COP31
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How can AI help Pacific communities better understand and respond to climate and environmental challenges?
AFRAN's new report, Artificial Intelligence for the Planet: Pacific Perspectives Ahead of COP31, explores this question through conversations with three researchers and practitioners working across the Pacific: engineer Pearl Winchester, hydrologist Matthieu Aureau, and computer science professor Nazha Selmaoui-Folcher.
Their perspectives carry a common message: before AI can support climate resilience, Pacific countries need stronger foundations for environmental data collection, management, and sharing. Whether monitoring freshwater supplies, predicting floods and droughts, tracking ecosystem health, or modelling erosion risks, reliable data remains the critical first step.
The report highlights innovative initiatives already underway. In French Polynesia and across the wider Pacific, the open-source HydroPacifique platform is helping countries manage hydrological data more efficiently and consistently. In New Caledonia, researchers are using machine learning to better understand environmental phenomena such as soil erosion and the spread of leptospirosis, a climate-sensitive disease influenced by rainfall and environmental conditions. Elsewhere, AI literacy and data management trainings are underway for better water resources management.
Each contributor emphasises that AI systems must be trained on data that reflects Pacific environments and informed by the people who understand those environments best. The interviews point to a vision for AI governance and climate policy in the Pacific centred on local ownership, capacity building, interdisciplinary research, and regional cooperation.
Based on the discussions, the report identifies five priority areas for policymakers:
1. Investing in AI and data literacy across environmental professions.
2. Centring human expertise in the design and use of AI systems.
3. Investing in environmental monitoring and access to quality data.
4. Supporting long-term local research capacity on climate
5. Strengthening regional collaboration.
As the international community looks ahead to the Pacific Pre-COP and COP31, these recommendations provide valuable insights into how AI can support climate resilience while remaining grounded in Pacific realities.
Read the full report to discover how AFRAN members and partners are shaping a unique Pacific approach to AI for climate action.
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