Prior to the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, Archbishop Peter Chong of Suva (Fiji), president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (map), said that “caring for the environment and addressing climate change must go together.”

“We cannot simply advocate against the climate crisis while continuing to damage our common home,” he continued. “Catholic social teaching instructs that human beings and the care for God’s creation must be at the center of economic development. We will lift up that prophetic advocacy throughout the UN Ocean Conference.”