COP26, Indigenous Voices, and the Path Forward

COP26 may have been 5-months in the past, the conversations that took place last November in Glasgow still resonate and far from becoming irrelevant. Faced with another wildfire and flood season this year, the work on building climate resiliency in Indigenous communities continues. Keeping this in mind, let’s look at 5 things you should know surrounding COP26 and the role of Indigenous voices in the ever increasingly urgent fight against climate change.

Credit: NCR Photo/Brian Roewe

 1.     Indigenous authority, rights and representation  

Why this is important: Indigenous peoples around the world are the stewards for over 80% of earth’s remaining biodiversity. They are also among the most severely affected by climate change effects that were not caused by them. Yet they were only officially acknowledged in 2001 as a “formal constituency” at climate change conferences; and their rights are still being violated by COP climate policy.

Win: COP26 made history for its Indigenous representation – second to the oil and gas lobbyists delegation, IIPFCC was the largest delegation present at COP26.

Needs improvement: From Indigenous rights defenders facing criminal persecution to not having a real seat at some of the inner decision-making tables, access and influence on levels that count is still limited. Edson Krenak from Cultural Survival said it best - “As always, Indigenous Peoples, as guardians of the land did not sit at the table where negotiations and decisions were made. States continue, together with corporations, to try to save the economy, capital, the money machine that is capitalism or colonialism - in this context, it is only these terms that are interchangeable, and they are not working to save the planet!”

Credit: Creative Commons/"Ecuador: Defensores de pueblos

indígenas y ambiente" by Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos

 2.     Divestment away from extractive economy

Why this is important: The fossil fuel industry relies on its financing sponsors. In other words, the banks hold a whole lot of power in affecting climate change. Between 2016-2020 alone, 60 largest commercial and investment banks poured $3.8 trillion into fossil fuel companies. The impact of fossil fuel industry include releasing greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution and perpetuate the environmental inequality that has been rampant, putting already vulnerable populations such as low income and Indigenous communities in higher risk.  

Win: 20 countries including Canada and the United States made a commitment at COP26 to stop public financing of fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of 2022.  

Needs improvement: The commitment is for abroad only and no Asian countries were part of this commitment. While some banks (like JPMorgan) may express targets such as reducing operational carbon intensity by 35% by 2030, its investment portfolio includes projects in tar sands, amazon oil and gas, fracking and coal mining. The “greenwashing” has got to stop.

Credit: Aaron Huey/National Geographic/Getty Images

3. Acknowledging and recognizing Indigenous climate science

Why this is important: Indigenous knowledge in this area has stood the test of time. It cannot and should not be comprehended and evaluated in the same manner as one would in a peer reviewed research study. Cumulative by nature, the long history of interacting with their environment and adjusting accordingly has afforded an extensive well of understanding regarding patterns in weather, wildlife. Together with western climate science, this knowledge is key to adapting to changing climate and sustainability.

Win: At COP26, for the first time, knowledge holders from each region shared and spoke on challenges they experience on their respective lands, and exchanged traditional knowledge and solutions.

Needs improvement: Indigenous knowledge systems are only beginning to be included in climate science and research conversations. There is much room for change when it comes to the Western science community and general public’s collective perception about Indigenous science. Dismissal and discrimination are at play throughout the existing system. And to tackle this change, scientists, leaders, activists, Indigenous and non-Indigenous will need to unite on all fronts. Only when traditional knowledge is truly treated with the respect it deserves, can Indigenous-led nature-based solutions thrive, without getting watered-down or sabotaged by “business models that allow corporations and governments to continue to pollute”, said Jade Begay at COP26.

4. Ending criminal persecution of Indigenous rights defenders

Why this is important: To intimidate, threaten and criminally persecute Indigenous peoples whose actions are carried out to defend their ancestral lands and their sovereignty is not only against the UNDRIP, but inhumane. This is happening to many communities and Indigenous peoples around the world. Steven Donziger, lawyer who led a case representing Indigenous peoples and rural farmers in Ecuador against Chevron said “there are individuals and companies that are causing serious harm, and they need to be held accountable as part of a broader movement to block this general trend toward taking, really stealing, the resources on lands that are held by native peoples”.

Win: At COP26, Indigenous leaders and representatives voiced the troubling truth, making the world re-think about who is the criminal in these cases. Various court decisions have corrected these unjust persecutions on a case-by-case basis.  

Needs improvement: Just days after COP26, 30 people were arrested on Wet’suwet’en land for protesting the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline construction on their territory without free, prior, and informed consent.    

Credit: (Aidan Jonah/The Canada Files)

5. Direct climate finance access for Indigenous Peoples

Why this is important: As more commitments are being made through Indigenous-focused climate action (such as at COP26) pledges, a better climate finance structure is needed. According to Andrew Davis, co-author of the PRISMA Foundation report, financing should be directly supporting local community organizations and in order to do that effectively, the donors need to get to know the territories.

Win: A funding pledge of $1.7 billion was made by the UK, US, Norway and the Netherlands, to support indigenous peoples and local communities in their work protecting lands and forests.   

Needs improvement:

·     The bureaucracy makes it a long and difficult process for Indigenous peoples to get the funding in hand and often governments may take a fee prior to distributing the funds.

·     Often funding is made available to developing countries only leaving out Indigenous peoples in developed countries such as the US and Canada.

·     Investors and shareholders must abandon traditional financing approaches and rules, but focus on climate financing that will work for communities in the long run by having dialogues that honor the local community’s culture and conditions.