Responding to Climate-Induced Migration with Justice and Compassion

As part of the Methodist Church of New Zealand's 2024-2025 Climate Justice Decade theme focusing on climate-induced migration, it is imperative to understand the gravity of this issue and explore how we can respond.

Impact on Pacific Island Nations

Recent analyses by NASA's Sea Level Change Team indicate that Pacific Island nations, including Kiribati and Tuvalu, will experience at least 15 centimetres of sea level rise in the next 30 years. This projection holds true regardless of future greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Over the past three decades, sea levels around Kiribati have risen by approximately 5 to 11 centimetres, significantly increasing flood risks.

Similarly, Tuvalu has witnessed a 15 centimetre rise in sea levels during the same period, surpassing the global average. Projections suggest that by 2050, half of Tuvalu's main atoll, Funafuti, could be submerged by daily tides.

These rising sea levels lead to frequent flooding, contamination of freshwater sources, and loss of arable land, rendering these islands increasingly uninhabitable. Consequently, residents face the heart-wrenching prospect of leaving their ancestral homes, leading to cultural dislocation and the potential loss of unique traditions and languages.

Effects on Aotearoa

In Aotearoa New Zealand, rising sea levels pose significant risks to coastal communities, including Māori populations. Research shows that 41 marae across the country are currently at potential risk from a one-hundred-year flooding event with a three-metre sea-level rise, with six already exposed at mean sea level today. Climate change is disrupting Māori relationships with their environment, posing threats  to traditional knowledge transmission, cultural practices, social cohesion and well-being.

The loss of land is more than just a displacement issue - it endangers whakapapa (ancestral lineage), tikanga (customary practices), and te reo Māori (language), all of which are deeply rooted in the land and waterways of Aotearoa.

A Call to Action

Guided by the biblical principle from Leviticus 25:35: "If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you," the Methodist Church of New Zealand, Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa is called to act compassionately towards those affected by climate-induced displacement.

The Climate Justice Working Group aims to present a climate-induced migration policy that envisions:

·         Advocating for legal migration pathways and special access category visas for people facing displacement.

·         Strengthening our role in climate justice activism, urging the New Zealand government to take a stronger stance in supporting climate-affected communities.

·         Fostering resilience among affected populations, both within Aotearoa and across the Pacific.

How We Can Help

As members of the Methodist Church, we can:

1.      Educate and Raise Awareness: Inform our congregations about the realities of climate-induced migration and its impacts on our Pacific neighbours and Māori communities.

2.      Advocate for Policy Change: Support initiatives that lobby the New Zealand government to establish legal migration pathways for those affected by climate displacement; and encourage government commitments to Pacific climate adaptation funding.

3.      Foster Community Connections: Build relationships with affected communities through initiatives like establishing twin parish relationships between New Zealand congregations and Pacific churches; and Promote solidarity and provide spiritual, emotional and material support for displaced families.

4.      Support Adaptation and Mitigation Efforts: Engage in and support projects aimed at building resilience against climate impacts, both locally and in the Pacific region; and encourage sustainable church practices and reduce our own environmental footprint.

The time to act is now. Climate-induced migration is no longer a distant threat - it is unfolding before our eyes. As a church, we must be proactive in providing hope, support, and justice to those on the frontlines of climate change.