Pacific island national leaders declared a climate emergency on Friday and agreed to try to bring Kiribati back to the region’s main diplomatic grouping.

Kiribati announced it had withdrawn from the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum ahead of a leaders’ summit in Fiji this week. The move was seen as a sign of China’s growing influence in the region.

The leaders “welcomed and fully supported” the new Australian government’s commitment to the forum’s climate change priorities, Australian Associated Press reported.

Australia, the wealthiest and most populous of the forum nations, has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by the end of the decade.

The nations are eyeing “progress on turning pledges into action” consistent with containing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

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