Pacific Small Island States are preparing their position as a bloc for this year's UN climate change summit in Cancun in Mexico.
The 19th SIS meeting preceded this weeks Pacific Islands Forum leaders' summit in Port Vila in Vanuatu.
Opening the meeting, the Forum Secretary General, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, said Pacific countries shouldn't allow their disappointment over last year's climate summit in Copenhagen to distract them from the goal of binding targets to cut carbon emissions.
Pacific Island countries want a more unified approach from the Forum as a bloc than was seen in Copenhagen when Australia's negotiations were at odds with its Pacific neighbours.
Kiribati's President Anote Tong says a unified approach is critical.
"Its the different reacions and that's to be expected. We come from different sides of the climate change debate and here we are arguing about our survival while other countries are arguing about their poor. There are things that you know not to step over, OK? it's about human values. It's not about politics, it's not about economics, it's about human values."
