Pacific leaders have slammed Australia for putting politics ahead of their island neighbours after they undermined a consensus on a climate change communique.

Key points: Groups accuse Australia of "turning a blind eye" to their Pacific neighbours

Groups accuse Australia of "turning a blind eye" to their Pacific neighbours New Zealand has been praised for its approach to tackling climate change

New Zealand has been praised for its approach to tackling climate change Critics say Australia's focus on coal has undermined its Pacific Step Up

After marathon talks at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Tuvalu, Australia could not reach an agreement on the Tuvalu Declaration made by smaller Pacific countries, one that called for a rapid phase-out of coal.

Frank Bainimarama, Fiji's Prime Minister, said he was disappointed in the outcome.

"We came together in a nation that risks disappearing to the seas, but unfortunately we settled for the status quo in our communique," he said on Twitter.

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"Watered-down climate language has real consequences — like water-logged homes, schools, communities, and ancestral burial grounds."

Matthew Wale, deputy opposition leader in Solomon Islands, also condemned the decision on Twitter.

"What a missed opportunity to really 'step up'. 'Family' has been exploited for domestic Australian politics," he said.

"Pacific islanders were hoping for sincerity when we hear 'we're family'. We were mistaken."

Earlier Tuvalu's Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga described a heated exchange with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

"I said: 'You are concerned about saving your economy in Australia … I am concerned about saving my people in Tuvalu,'" Mr Sopoaga said.

Children in Tuvalu sit in water to demonstrate the threat of rising sea levels as they greet Scott Morrison. ( Twitter: Pacific Islands Forum )

In Tuvalu Mr Morrison reiterated the impact of climate change on Pacific islanders was "real and happening to them right now".

But he defended the communique and their statement on the small island states, saying it "was exactly the same as what was agreed last year" and that it "was a sensible thing to do".

'Australia bullies its way through negotiations'

Scott Morrison used a lump of coal to make a point during Question Time in 2017. ( ABC News: Nick Haggarty )

Mr Bainimarama, who headed the 2017 UN Climate Change Conference, had earlier taken a much warmer tone in relation to New Zealand, praising Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

"When combatting climate change, it's good to have an ally like New Zealand in your corner. Together, we can save Tuvalu, the Pacific, and the world," he wrote.

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Youth-led grassroots group 350 Pacific singled out Australia, saying the Government "has turned a blind eye to its closest neighbours' plea for an end to the coal industry".

Managing director Fenton Lutunatabua noted Mr Morrison had pledged $500 million over five years for climate resilience funding, but described the funding as a ploy, saying "in fact [it] is a diversion of funding that was already allocated for supporting the Pacific Island states".

"The appalling fact in all this is that Australia is granted a seat at the same PIF Meeting table as nations literally struggling to protect the lives and cultural integrity of their people," said 350 Pacific's Patricia Mallam.

"Australia bullies its way through negotiations, attempting to mask the gravity of the climate crisis on paper — when the visible proof in our lives shows otherwise."

The pipped PIF communique also drew criticism at home.

"The Pacific Islanders desperately want us to phase out coal mining. Instead, Morrison backs it in 100%," Greens MP Adam Bandt said on Twitter.

Labor's Pat Conroy, Shadow Minister for International Development and Pacific and a spokesman on climate change, said Mr Morrison's Pacific "step-up"' had been "completely undermined by his intransigence on climate change".

"Because we did not listen to the region and actually actively opposed their deep existential interest, the Pacific 'step-up' is in tatters," he said.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has maintained that exporting coal is an important part of Australia's economy.

But Mr Conroy said a Labor government could have respectfully disagreed on the Pacific's coal requests if it had tackled other climate concerns.

"If we'd gone to the PIF with genuinely responsible targets … I'm confident a sensible compromise could have been achieved," he said.

"Rather than what occurred here, which is Australia just dug its heels in and has clearly just set itself at odds to the 17 other nations."

The ABC has approached Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Alex Hawke for comment.

Environmental groups also criticised the climate clash.

"Coal will endanger the environment, threaten jobs and expose even more Australians who are already suffering from the volatility of extreme weather as a result of carbon pollution," said Rachel Kyte, CEO and special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All.

"This approach to coal is not only short-sighted, it's reckless and cruel."

Richie Merzian, Climate and Energy program director at The Australia Institute, said the group's research revealed Mr Morrison's "carbon credits loophole is equivalent to eight years of fossil fuel emissions for the rest of the Pacific and New Zealand — and the Pacific rightly asked Australia to cancel them".

"The world was watching to see if Australia meets or sinks the hopes of its Pacific Islands neighbours," he said.

"Australia's Prime Minister waved a lump of coal around Parliament — and now he has put his love of coal ahead of the Pacific's survival."