The Fiji government should ensure environmental policies at home reflect the climate messages it promotes abroad, Fiji's Catholic archbishop says.
Peter Loy Chong. Photo: Pacific Theological College
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has been championing the fight against global warming as president of the current UN climate round, the COP23.
But the archbishop, Peter Loy Chong, said the government's policies needed to be consistent with the proposals it touted during COP23.
Current government policy did too little to protect landowners, the archbishop said.
The government needed to ensure landowners fully understood environmental impacts when negotiating contracts for activities like mining.
"The majority of the people are not aware of the full consequences of mining, logging, stone extraction, black sand mining and how these will impoverish their food bank," he said.
"It will have an implication on the shores on which they rely for food."