Page 24 - IB April 2018

Religion

But some witnesses think less of that
voice.
Climate campaigners had hoped Fiji
would make the issue of loss and damage
a key tenet of its presidency. More so after
Cyclone Winston left a damage bill of $1.4
billion in Fiji in 2016.
But Fiji remained silent and the issue
Is Climate wasn’t even discussed in the pre-COP23
events and forums.
Additionally, there was internal squab-
Change bling between Fiji’s chief climate negotia-
tor Nazhat Shameem Khan with foreign
consultants the Fiji government hired.
She increasingly objected to the influence
the Australian and European consultants
a Myth? were having on the presidency, which the
government had a leaning towards.
Last month, Khan was sidelined and
replaced by Luke Daunivalu, Fiji’s deputy
Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Photo: Supplied Ambassador to the United Nations in New
York for the remainder of Fiji’s term.
The chasm has further deepened eco- China and other emerging economies
nomic injustice where the allegory is have also raised concerns that the consul-
showing effects worse than climate tants paid for by countries like Australia,
change. although drafting statements for a Pacific
The rich countries have got where island nation, deemed to favour developed
they’ve got to through using the resources world narratives.
By Joe Yaya of the world. The cause and effects of climate change
“Now they’ve kicked down the ladder is an ongoing debate in the science world.
they’ve climbed and telling poor countries The UN scientists are blaming increases
WHEN the Archbishop of Canterbury, Jus- to be careful about their use of resources, in anthropogenic activities produced by
tin Welby visited Fiji in March, I asked him although they weren’t.” humans as causing the planet to warm
about his views on climate change, if he Inequality is also seen in the way re- up and as a result, we are getting adverse
thought the skeptics who say it’s a myth sources are deployed to bolster capacity for weather patterns that are also causing sea
have a point, and more importantly, as the resilience for communities trying to cope levels rise.
leader of the global Anglican Church, what with extreme weather events, with some Another group of scientists say the
the Bible has to say about the effects of places getting more attention than others. planet has warmed before, even during
rising sea levels. The UN sanctioned Green Climate Fund pre-industrial revolution times, and that
His answer was full of optimism and set up in 2010 to assist vulnerable com- we are going through another natural
pessimism. munities is struggling to release payments cycle.
He said the premise for mankind’s to countries that apply for funding for Archbishop Welby says scientists are
responsibility to the planet is primarily mitigation and adaptation projects. never 100 per cent certain because they
stewardship. That’s largely due to the fact that the cof- are always asking questions, and need to
“It’s our responsibility to nurture, care fers, which industrialised nations promise conduct tests, supposing they are wrong.
for and look after creation. to fill, has only received 10 per cent of its “But if the overwhelming proportion
“Today, society has failed to live up to US$100 billion target for 2020. of scientists agree that its human caused
the mandate largely due to the behavior Tuvalu and Kiribati, two coral island climate change, it would be grossly irre-
of rich and powerful nations who continue nations in the Pacific, are still waiting after sponsible for us not to take precautions.
to feed their gluttonous appetite for eco- three years for funds to build sea walls and “If the world is to emerge in a hundred
nomic progress at the expense of poor, yet desalination plants for safe drinking water. years in the kind of world that we would
resource-rich countries.” So they’ve had to use their own money. want our descendants to live in, then we
He particularly pointed out the 35 OECD Tuvalu has spent US$8 million so far and better start getting it right.”
countries and the G7 group. Kiribati was forced to access its trust fund. Relating the story of the Flood of Noah
“As a result of ignorance rather than Other Pacific countries on the wait- in the Bible, Archbishop Welby is ada-
malice, they did not recognise the impact ing list include Nauru, Marshall Islands, mant rising sea levels will not destroy the
of their activities on the natural world.” Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa and Fiji. earth, as the rainbow is there to remind
The phenomenon is very visible in The Archbishop was particularly im- us about it.
Africa where large numbers of Anglicans pressed with Fiji’s presidency of COP23 Climate change, he says, would make
are vulnerable to the effects of climate that will run out in December. people living in low lying areas move to
change caused by the extraction of valu- “They are punching far above their higher ground, meaning many areas in
able resources at the peril of damaging the weight in terms of their population, but the Pacific could become uninhabitable.
natural habitat. they have the voice of the witness.” r yayajoe@gmail.com

24 Islands Business, April 2018