Kiribati is hoping a declaration reached at a climate change conference in Tarawa will be recognised at the UN conference in Mexico next month.
The Tarawa Climate Change Conference is being attended by 18 countries and six non-governmental organisations.
It started today with the first part of the morning spent on discussing the urgency of the climate crisis.
Andrew Teem, a senior policy advisor to office of the President, says delegates will this afternoon talk about common grounds, with the aim of wording a declaration to be taken to Cancun.
"Whether it will be adopted there or not will be the decision of the conference itself. But the hope is that will be enough recognition of the efforts that the Tarawa conference has made towards bringing out those issues of agreement and maybe help move the process along in Cancun."
Andrew Teem says delegates attending the conference will also be able to see first-hand the effects of climate change on the island.
