Oceania’s Pacific Islands are especially vulnerable to climate change, a climate conference in Rome heard this week.
Registrations for the “Oceania Speaks” conference included representatives from the Holy See diplomatic corps, religious communities and charitable organisations.
The June 23 event aimed to raise awareness of the impact of climate change in the Asia Pacific region.
The Australian Embassy to the Holy See-organised event incorporated an impassioned plea from Fiji’s Archbishop Peter Loy Chong.
Listen to Oceania
In a video message, Loy Chong said “The world has yet to really listen deeply to the voices, particularly to the ‘tagi’ [cries] of Oceania people”.
We are vulnerable to the immediate and enduring impacts of climate change, he told those at the conference.
“We have to educate, empower and allow the regional voices of peoples of the Pacific to be heard, and not to be dominated and framed by politicians and funders who dominate these climate narratives.”
Pacific is forgotten
A United Nations Development Programme report found about three quarters of Pacific Island nations’ populations are affected by natural disasters.
The impact of climate change in the region is “largely overlooked” the report says.
It poses a serious threat, particularly to young people and future generations.
The report says that, as a result of rising sea levels, they will face the potential loss of their homelands, their cultural identity and work opportunities.
The report estimates that sea levels will rise between 25.5 centimetres to 61 centimetres by 2050.
Laudato Si’
Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has stressed our responsibility to care for creation.
This includes everyone’s “integral human development”, particularly that of the poor and vulnerable.
He has written the encyclical Laudato Si’ (2015) and the apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum (2023) on the topic.
Francis also discussed these issues at the UN General Assembly in 2015 and at COP – the annual UN climate change conference.
Global response needed
At “Oceania Speaks,” the Vatican’s Archbishop Paul Gallagher said there is an “urgent need for a unified global response” to the crisis.
“In the context of Oceania, the impending threat posed by rising sea levels to many small Pacific islands states is deeply alarming, reaching beyond mere geographical boundaries.
“Entire villages [are] on the brink of destruction, forcing local communities — particularly families — into perpetual displacement that erodes their distinct identities and cultural heritage … [and their] natural heritage.”
Logging and mining devastate
Foreign mining and logging in Papua New Guinea are causing devastating ecological and social problems, the conference heard.
Sister Philomena Waira of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea said local people are paying a cost.
“In the past, people had no problem with food and water.
“[People] were able to grow crops without fertilisers.
“As the years went by the governments are allowing foreign investors into our countries.
“After the mining is done, it has affected climate change, peoples’ fishing, and animals have also run away.”
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