FONO hears of climate change reality

Climate change is a lived reality every day in the Pacific, says the Church of Englan’s Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Justin Portal Welby said climate change was not a future, but a present event to many parts of the world particularly the Oceania region.

Speaking at the Office of the Anglican Diocese of Polynesia in Suva on Saturday Archbishop Welby said: “In some parts of the world, we know that there are still people who are saying climate change is a myth, well they should come here.” He said the Most Reverend Archbishop Winston Halapua, Primate for Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, had been a living advocate for the Anglican Communion in addressing climate change. Archbishop Welby said it was part of our selfishness that we did not care for creation and for our neighbours.

“In caring for creation, we care for the poorest of the world, and the poorest are the worst hit by climate change. In caring for the poorest, we will always care for God’s creation,” he said.

He said when we failed to take care of God’s creation; it showed a moral crisis in our understanding of nature.

Archbishop Welby said he would be sharing with the FONO some of the things that he had seen around the world, particularly in Africa where he worked on and off and the experience that they are facing which are the expanding deserts.

“It’s the natural world biting back against those who are attacking it,’’ Archbishop Welby said.

He said there is a respect for this region which is greater than the number of its population.

“To recognise the region is essential to the well-being of the world both to the natural creation and the world.

“We can encourage people to focus particularly on the issues that can be dealt with like the cleaning of the ocean and the restriction on the use of plastics.

“A growing and an emotional commitment in a more aggressive approach in combating the ways in which we are contributing into the destruction of our planet.”

The Most Reverend Archbishop Philip Richardson, Primate for Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand said it was the second FONO which is being held in Fiji.

“Fiji has a very significant role in its Presidency on COP23 and we hope our presence here celebrates the leadership of Fiji.

“Fiji is at the forefront.”

He said the relationship between these four provinces, Melanesians, Polynesian, Papua New Guinea and Aotearoa (New Zealand) was a longstanding one.

“But there’s not always any relationship for equity and equality, it often reflected our colonial past.

“We are developing this relationship on a different basis and going forward, we see this as something that opens the part of the life of our children for the next 20 to 40 years. “So we are more intent on listening to each other so we can build strong relationship and strong foundations, we imagine supporting each other across the whole range of services offered in church,” said Archbishop Richardson.