The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) says the green economic focus of the Pacific Islands Development Forum’s (PIDF) summit “fails to move beyond ‘growth-centred’ development – that is, it is business as usual.”
The Conference’s General Secretary, Reverend Francois Pihaatae, says this model will not guarantee the kind of development the region’s peoples need
He says the green economy approach to development has well documented shortcomings and risks.
“Without fundamental changes to our appreciation of what wellbeing means, our pursuit of a green economy model will not guarantee the kind of development our peoples in the region need,” Pihaatae said.
“Transformation, as demanded by Christ in the Christian scriptures, is a conversion to God’s vision of compassion, justice, peace and a turning away from the values of empire, most prominently seen in the “endless growth model of development” and “more is better” rationale.”
Pihaatae said the wisdom of religious scriptures speak about sufficiency, recognising moral limits to what man could or could not do and recognising that there were limits to growth and the human desire for more.
“Also of concern is that the path taken by the Pacific Islands Development Forum puts it at risk of being little more than a shifting of reliance of our countries on one group of patrons to another,” Pihaatae said.
The PIDF meeting started on Wednesday in Nadi and its theme is sustainable and resilient green growth.
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