Praising Pacific Islanders for being strong and resilient while continuing to expand fossil fuels becomes a moral excuse for inaction, delaying climate finance and leaving Pacific communities to bear the consequences of an atmospheric crisis they did not cause.
This has been highlighted by the Head of the Catholic Church in Fiji Archbishop Peter Loy Chong while delivering a reflection during the Ecumenical and Inter-Faith Sunday Service at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nadi ahead of Pre-COP31, which begins tomorrow.
He says Pacific Islanders have for too long been praised for their resilience while the expansion of fossil fuels continues.
Archbishop Chong says resilience is no longer enough and the world must acknowledge the vulnerability and suffering of Pacific communities.
He says the theology of vulnerability demands that diplomatic and polite language is stripped away and the world honestly acknowledges the grave moral wound at the centre of the climate crisis.
He says Pacific communities are hurting, their land is dry and their suffering is profoundly unjust.
Archbishop Chong says global leaders and polluting industries should not stand at the foot of Pacific communities’ suffering and admire how bravely they carry the burden of climate change.
He stresses it is a sin before the Creator for wealthy nations and extractive industries to applaud the sacrifice of Pacific communities while granting new drilling licences, burning more coal and offering empty pledges.
Archbishop Chong says true ecological conversion demands that repentance be matched by restitution and justice.
He demands uncompromising and radical reductions in emissions, full accountability for loss and damage, direct, grant-based climate finance, not loans and subsidiarity and inclusive governance, so people who are victims of climate change are invited into important climate meetings.
He adds the world must turn grief into justice, vulnerability into solidarity and collective will into the salvation of the common home.
Negotiators from about 36 countries are convening in Nadi from tomorrow until Friday for Pre-COP31 to discuss key issues ahead of COP31.
The Pacific Pre-COP31 discussions will focus on four key pillars including keeping 1.5°C within reach, enhancing access to climate finance, elevating the ocean-climate nexus, and amplifying Pacific voices and leadership.
