As global military spending reaches its highest level ever recorded and war economies continue to divert vital resources away from climate action and human needs, a diverse gathering of global faith leaders has issued a profound challenge to the world’s economic order.

From 26 to 28 August 2026, theologians, church leaders, economists, youth, and Indigenous leaders from across the globe met in Panama City for the New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NIFEA) Consultation on the Economy of Peace. The NIFEA initiative—a joint ecumenical venture that includes the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Methodist Council, the Council for World Mission, and the United Society Partners in the Gospel—has released its communique, offering a vision for a world rooted in justice rather than extraction.

Confronting the “Economy of War”

Meeting in a nation shaped by empire, colonialism, and commerce, the consultation participants discerned that true peace cannot exist without economic justice. The communique critiques the current global landscape where war economies thrive, noting that between a quarter and half of international wars since 1973 have been linked to the control of oil and strategic power. Militaries also account for nearly six per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

The text highlights the irony visible in Panama itself. While disruptions to global energy transport generate record financial gains for multinational corporations, the Panama Canal faces severe climate-driven challenges.

The consultation also raised alarms over a “patriarchal military-industrial complex” driving the race for critical minerals. The communique notes that minerals essential for renewable energy also fuel missiles, drones, and artificial intelligence. This extends to the digital frontier, where hyperscale data centres seize massive amounts of energy, water, and land, often from Indigenous communities, perpetuating a form of “digital and environmental neocolonialism.”

Decolonising Theology and Economics

The gathered leaders emphasised that building a future free from violence requires moving away from fossil-fuelled, extractive capitalism. They called for a “decolonised and truly just transition” that prioritises the wellbeing of impoverished and climate-vulnerable communities.

A significant portion of the communique centres on learning from Indigenous epistemologies. In Panama, the Guna people’s practice of war ued, a ceremony restoring balance, and their understanding of the Earth as Nabguana (kin rather than a resource) were highlighted as operational proposals for how to approach territory. The leaders called for an end to “carbon piracy.” They demanded that Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) be authentically sought and granted, including the right of communities to say “no” to extraction.

The text also challenges the church to confront historical complicity. “The biblical concept of shalom cannot be proclaimed as a universal good without being decolonised through truth-telling,” the communique states, urging the church to move away from neutrality and listen to the voices of the marginalised, women, and youth who have been left out of mainstream theological and historical accounts.

Affirmations and Commitments

Muna Nassar, executive secretary for mission and advocacy of the WCRC, served on the drafting team for the Communique. Reflecting on the conversations from the consultation, she shared, “True peace is not a passive absence of conflict, but the active presence of right relationships—economic, social, and ecological. The NIFEA consultation has affirmed that we cannot proclaim true peace without addressing root causes of crisis, without truth-telling, without decolonising our theology and our economies.”

To put these affirmations into action, the participants made concrete commitments. They pledged to stand in solidarity with communities non-violently resisting military dominance and the seizure of Indigenous lands. They committed to building “economies of enough” within their own institutions, moving away from profit maximisation, and embracing joy, rest, and Sabbath as acts of resistance that sustain movements for the long term.

Calls to Action for Churches and Governments

The NIFEA consultation concluded with direct calls to action for both the church and global institutions:

To the Churches: The communique calls on churches to advocate for cuts in military spending, debt cancellation, and tax justice. Specifically, they urge support for a global two percent tax on billionaires and an international minimum corporate tax of twenty-five percent. Churches are also called to move their own investments out of militarisation and extractive industries and into renewable energy and community-rooted vehicles like local currencies and community banks.

To Governments and International Institutions: The leaders demand an end to militarisation and the redirection of resources toward poverty eradication and climate change. They call for regulating fossil fuels and critical minerals, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and implementing debt relief for heavily burdened nations. Furthermore, they insist that AI and digital infrastructure must serve the common good rather than military hegemony.

As the WCRC and its ecumenical partners continue to walk this path, the Panama communique stands as a call to move from an economy of war to an Economy of Peace, one built on dialogue, equity, and the flourishing of all creation.

To read the full NIFEA Consultation on Economy of Peace Theological Communique, click here.

Photo by Robyn Davis Sekula of Presbyterian Foundations