An expected call on the future of a major Australian gas project could cast a shadow over the final days of a climate change-heavy Pacific leader talks.

The final go-ahead for the Woodside North West Shelf gas hub to continue operating until 2070 could be granted by federal Environment Minister Murray Watt as soon as Friday, following years in approvals limbo.

Australia's fossil fuel exports have long been a source of tension for climate-vulnerable Pacific islands on the front line of rising seas and severe weather, a point reiterated by Vanuatu climate change adaptation minister Ralph Regenvanu in Honiara on Wednesday.

The high-profile climate minister said Australia's long-held argument that it was only responsible for cutting the greenhouse gases it emitted within its borders "is no

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