Science, Faith and the Climate Crisis

Sally Myers, Sarah Hemstock, Edward Hanna, Sally Myers, Sarah Hemstock, Edward Hanna

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781839829864
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Global Warming & Climate Change
• Index: Biological Sciences

The Earth's climate is changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilisation through human-induced global warming, yet public reactions to this scientific truth remain dissonant. Inspired by a 2019 conference, Moana Water of Life, this book showcases the challenges and potential fruits of an open dialogue between stakeholders to navigate the critical challenges to planetary health caused by the climate crisis.
Inviting participants to contribute 'in their own voices', this book cuts across real-life insights, ranging from researchers from the Pacific Islands Region on the front line of devastating water surpluses and shortages, to the thoughts of leading climate change and Earth scientists, social scientists, educators, faith leaders, theologians and activists who are offering practical solutions to the problem. By highlighting this collection of inspiring stories at the local and global levels, the authors offer a vision of hope for communities in the future to communicate, adapt to change and ultimately resist further deterioration of the planet's health.
All royalties from this book are being donated to the Red Cross in the Pacific Island Region.

1

Christianity, Kiribati and Climate Change-induced Migration

Fetalai Gagaeolo, Sarah Hemstock and Connor Price

Abstract

This chapter examines the perceived socio-cultural impacts of relocation to Fiji through the lens of target communities in Kiribati. Findings based on the perceptions of Kiribati communities reveal that relocation is the last ‘adaptation resort’ to escape and offset individual losses caused by climate change. It is viewed as an option that will compromise their socio-cultural practices and values in the long term. This study indicates that attention should not be focused only on factors that drive human relocation but should also prioritise justifications of those who choose not to relocate. This approach will better serve community expectations for in-country climate change adaptation and help shape future strategies and/or policies on climate change-driven relocation. Finally, policies and adaptation initiatives should be holistically framed; integrating values that are important to grassroots level such as socio-cultural values; and spiritual and mobility concerns for informed decision-making at all levels.

Keywords: Climate change; migration; Kiribati; Fiji; spirituality; climate refugee

Introduction

The impacts of climate change on societies and cultures within the Pacific are extensive, far reaching and rapid (Hausia Havea, Hemstock, & Jacot Des Combes, 2018; IPCC, 2018). There are a range of factors that contribute to increasing vulnerability of small island developing states in the Pacific Islands region to climate change, including geographic isolation, ecological uniqueness and fragility, human population pressures and associated waste disposal problems. It is important to note the centrality of Christianity to Pacific culture and the likely implications this holds for understanding and addressing climate change (Capstick, Hemstock, & Senikula, 2018; Hausia Havea, Hemstock, Jacot Des Combes, & Luetz, 2017).

A survey of 1,226 students at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji, found that over 80% of them attended church at least on a weekly basis; this is a sample of the region's educated urban elite, and therefore its future climate leaders (Nunn, 2017). This factor coupled with the climate crisis the region faces makes the relationship of religion and climate change an essential facet to research. The argument for a closer consideration of the role of religion in tackling climate change in the Pacific Islands has begun to be been taken up by researchers, who have suggested that religion has an essential role to play in how people make sense of climate change in the region (Capstick et al., 2018; Hausia Havea, Hemstock, Jacot Des Combes, Luetz, & Liava'a, 2019; McLeod, 2010). Therefore, this chapter looks to explore this relationship with a focus on the spiritual dimension of climate change-induced migration (from Kiribati to Fiji) and its associated cultural impacts.

Background

It is inevitable that ‘migration’ would be viewed as an adaptation strategy and Kiribati was the first nation to prepare for climate-induced migration. In 2014, the Church of England sold their 20 km² land holding in Fiji to the Government of Kiribati, who bought it in a flurry of press attention and political gesture with the intention of using it firstly to improve Kiribati's food security, and secondly as a place to relocate to.

In July 2017, in his opening address at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP23 President, the Prime Minister of Fiji Frank Bainimarama, in an awesome speech, stated:

…No one living in the Pacific can be left in any doubt about what is at stake. … As Pacific Islanders, we are fighting for our very survival. …

Of all the vulnerable nations of the world, you [Kiribati and Tuvalu] are the most vulnerable….

And even if the battle to keep your islands above the water is lost, we will continue to stand shoulder- to-shoulder with you. Fiji has offered to give permanent refuge to the people of Kiribati and Tuvalu, our closest neighbours under threat. ….

In a worst-case scenario, we know that there will be climate refugees throughout the world. But the people of Kiribati and Tuvalu will not be refugees. We Fijians will embrace you and take you into our homes and our hearts. That is our solemn promise to you as Pacific neighbours and friends. …

(Bainimarama, 2017)

Following on from this momentous commitment from Fiji, in 2018, New Zealand legally recognised the status of ‘climate refugees’ and offered 100 visas a year to Pacific Islanders on that basis (Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2019). It is a token gesture since it would take more than a 1,000 years to evacuate Kiribati's current population of approximately 116,000 people, but the recognition of ‘climate refugee’ status is important. Oakes, Milan, and Campbell (2016) found that in Kiribati, 94% of households had been impacted by natural hazards between 2005 and 2015, with 81% being affected by sea level rise. Relocation seems a sensible option in the face of those impacts.

However, this study finds that Kiribati communities (I-Kiribati) are not willing to leave. It is apparent that many Pacific Islanders are ready to accept the impacts of climate change on their islands and are opposed to forced relocation which they recognise as compromising their solid foundation and faith in God.

I was born as a Kiribati, so I will die as a Kiribati. I don't care if I would die poor here on my own land. Just wait, if it's God's will to wash Kiribati away, so be it. We do not know the hour and the day for the end of time to arrive. We can relate this to Noah's time. We have to blame ourselves because of the rumours of climate change that have been ongoing; it is a sign that we have changed a lot. Climate is changing because humans are changing; we are modifying the natural resources from God and living rebelliously.

(#15 Male, Abaiang, Kiribai)

It would be a mistake to overlook these views given their prevalence among the communities in Kiribati, where more than 90% of the population identify as Christian, and the Pacific as a whole (Nunn, 2017). These views on climate change are complex and to some extent can be demonstrated through multiple formulations of the Noah story with corresponding ethical and political imaginaries (Fair, 2018). However, these accounts provide locally meaningful and morally compelling counter-narratives of Pacific regional climate change issues.

Study Design

The design of this study was non-experimental. Most of the participants involved in this research were randomly selected with a few selected key informants irrespective of age, sex and status. A total of 56 interviews were conducted. Primary data were qualitative and record personal experiences and perceptions of climate and environmental changes. Relocation was explored in relation to how it would influence socio-cultural issues with specific reference to Fiji as the host country. The study was conducted in Kiribati where core information and data were collected from two islands: South Tarawa and Abaiang.

Emerging Themes

The study sets out to discuss the spiritual dimension of relocation experienced by I-Kiribati moving from Kiribati to Fiji.

From interviews it emerged that spirituality enabled people to cope with climate change impacts in Kiribati and could potentially provide successful adaptation strategies. Most studies on climate change-induced mobility (Australian Government, 2014; Donner, 2015; Remling, 2020) focus on migration patterns or the political, environmental, socio-economic and scientific aspects. Previous studies have little emphasis on the concerns and justifications of those who refuse to migrate and specifically, no studies were found which examine those who refuse to migrate on a spiritual basis. It is important to note that the refusal, based on spiritual beliefs, of many I-Kiribati to relocate to Fiji does not mean that they are in denial or climate sceptic. Their refusal is rooted in their awareness of dangerous climate change impacts worldwide, so efforts to escape it are viewed as pointless. In response to this acceptance, study participants were actively adapting to climate change ‘spiritually’; hence building up their spiritual persona by ‘realigning their ways to God's decrees’ which they believe to be their best adaptation option. Peoples' justifications are based on their own Christian biblical interpretations which they used to explain their real-life experiences.

Responses indicated three themes to explain how people are coping with climate change spiritually. First, people have strong ‘faith in God’ to defend them in this climate crisis; second is their strong belief that as long as their ‘inner being’ is secure and in tune with God, then the direct threats of climate change on their physical being are not a worry; and third was the biblical belief that climate change was one of the apocalyptic signs of the world's end times. Since the majority of the responses were from people with Christian backgrounds, they formulated conclusions based on the Bible to justify their views. Based on their faith, the Bible provides the normative and definitive basis for interpretation of all events. For those that adhere to such interpretations, it reveals the secrets to the unseen fixed and predetermined future that awaits the world, including climate change.

Theme 1 – A Strong Connection to and ‘Faith in God’ as the Source of Refuge

The participants who refused to relocate were very optimistic about their decisions despite their awareness of their vulnerability to climate change. One of the responses was,

Wait, because at the moment there is still not yet a clear sign that Kiribati would submerge. Relocation can be the answer right now, but we still have to wait on what the Lord has for Kiribati.

(#12 Male, South Tarawa)

For us, we believe that Jesus is coming soon. If we're faithful to Him, then the problem won't matter, because we also have another ‘home in heaven’. We have a lot of plans like building a ship but if we have faith then I'm sure God will see us through, we have to be prepared.

(#21 Male, South Tarawa)

Given their interpretation of God as the creator of nature, it is understandable why the grassroots are claiming God to be more trustworthy in delivering them from climate change impacts than human scientific knowledge and physical solutions. One respondent mentioned,

We run here and there to our neighbours but they are also affected. So that was the chance for us to look up to God for a heavenly solution. Maybe God has allowed climate to change to draw people closer to Him.

(#10 Female, South Tarawa)

Theme 2 – ‘As Long as My Inner Nature Is Saved and in Tune with God's Will’

The second justification was the belief that

…as long as the inner nature or spiritual person is saved and in tune with God's will, then the means of relocating for the security and safety of the physical nature is not obligatory.

One of the detailed responses was,

No (I won't move), it is better I stay and die here in Kiribati rather than dying in a foreign country that we have no knowledge about. Fiji cannot save me from dying; we will all die no matter where we run so it's better I die here. I will not move as long as my inside person is safe and secure no matter what would happen with my physical being.

(#5 Female, South Tarawa)

Another respondent mentioned,

Wait, I will not go as long as I am saved in the inside. Kiribati will not be submerged because God says in His bible that there would be no more flooding.

(#35 Male, South Tarawa)

These responses created more questions than they answered, namely, ‘What does it mean, “as long as the spiritual person is saved”, and what is the “spiritual person” and what are they being ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• About the Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1 Christianity, Kiribati and Climate Change-induced Migration
• 2 Moana: ‘Oku mafeia he ‘Otua ‘a e me'a kotoa pe (Moana: Nothing Is Impossible with God (Luke 18:27)): Reflections of a Tongan Early Career Researcher on God and Climate Change
• 3 The Rivers of Humankind
• 4 Earth, Air, Fire and Ice: Exploring Links between Human-induced Global Warming, Polar Ice Melt and Local Scale Extreme Weather
• 5 Climate Change and the Role of Education
• 6 Towards Citizen Governance for Climate Change Education and Justice: A Science–Policy Perspective
• 7 Ocean of Love – Science, Policy, and Spirituality of the World Water Crisis
• 8 Reading the Bible as Waters Rise: Ecological Interpretation of Scripture
• 9 Reaching ‘Net Zero’ – An Energy Perspective
• 10 Sustainislandhome.org: An App for Climate Action and Advocacy
• 11 Faith in Action at the United Nations: A Confluence of Rivers
• 12 Different Voices: One Call
• Conclusion
• Afterword
• Index