COP28 (12/8): Listening to Indigenous voices
Link of the day: “Here’s what’s at stake for Indigenous peoples at COP28” (Grist)
Gary Payton writes:
Indigenous climate advocates from around the world are making their presence known, their voices heard, at COP28. Tom BK Goldtooth (Dine/Dakota), the Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network could not be more direct: “Climate change is a matter of life and death for us in all regions.” Lauded for their connection to and care of the natural environment (80% of the world’s remaining forest biodiversity resides within Indigenous peoples’ territories), indigenous leaders call for a phase out of fossil fuels and a recommitment to holding to the 1.5 degrees Celsius target. Many view their lands as sacrifice zones of the energy industry (coal, oil, gas, and uranium). Impacts abound: health (especially of children and elders), land theft linked to fossil fuel exploration, tribal sovereignty, and the lasting legacy of colonialism. Key questions remain. Will Indigenous communities have access to the Loss and Damage funds approved on Day 1 of COP28? Will their lands be protected from further encroachment by fossil fuel companies? And ultimately, will the final Global Stocktake text call for a fossil fuel “phase out” in unambiguous terms?