COP28: What is a Just Energy Transition for Indigenous Peoples?

COP28: What is a Just Energy Transition for Indigenous Peoples?

Climate change is decimating Indigenous ecosystems and there are differing interpretations of what a just transition to green energy from fossil fuels looks like. For industry, a just transition means protecting the jobs of oil and gas workers as the economy shifts away from a dependency on oil and gas toward a decarbonized world. Whereas for Indigenous Peoples and allied climate advocates, seeking a global shift to green energy means asserting the importance of justice and fairness; this requires holding rich and industrialized nations accountable for reducing the use of fossil fuels and moving to cleaner sources of energy. Ultimately, if the survival of Indigenous communities’ is considered, what is needed is global renewable energy revolution to reduce the impact of climate change on “communities that played little role in causing [the] crisis.”

The International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate (IIPFCC), often referred to as the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus, addressed the COP28 opening plenary session stating how they would influence negotiations and “assert their inherent, distinct, internationally recognized rights.” Indigenous Peoples representing seven socio-cultural regions of the IIPFCC (i.e., Africa, The Arctic, Asia, North America and the Caribbean, The Pacific, Russia and Eastern Europe) called for several strategies for a “just transition that respects Indigenous rights and knowledge”; these are:

  • A mechanism for presenting grievances when carbon trading and offset schemes might impact the rights and lands of Indigenous [P]eoples;
  • Strategies that prioritize the prevention of catastrophic loss and damage from climate change;
  • Direct access to funds when damage occurs;
  • Equitable phaseout of fossil fuels

All these strategies are part of an overall call by Indigenous leaders at COP28 to end false solutions to climate change in favour of nature-based solutions, and while keeping the aim to limit global warming central. As experts in environmental defense, Indigenous climate advocates have declared that “enough is enough.” Speaking at COP28 Dr. Myrle Ballard of Lake St. Martin First Nation, who is also an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and chief advisor for Indigenous science with Environment and Climate Change Canada, spoke to the CBC about the crucial role that Indigenous Peoples play in witnessing and documenting the impact of climate change on the land; she noted: “It’s Indigenous people’s observations that are really critical because … they’re the predictors of what’s happening in real time, what’s happening on the land. They’re the early warning system.”

At the time of writing this article, the UN was still negotiating a final agreement at COP28, extending the meeting time to reach a final deal, with a phase out or phase down to, ultimately, signal an end to fossil fuels. However, as reported, “[g]lobal consumption of oil is at a record high and is expected to increase further during the next few years at least” and, based on the first draft COP28 agreement, the requirement for a “just transition” to end the use of fossil fuels is looking like an optional one.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

(Image Credit: Eelco Bohtlingk, Unsplash)

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COP28 and Indigenous Peoples

COP28, the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, takes place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 12, 2023. Given the thematic organization of the conference, Indigenous Peoples are highlighted on the sixth day of the conference. Meanwhile, Indigenous advocates are working to place Indigenous rights and self-determination at the forefront of all discussions.

The first two days of COP28, following the launch day, are devoted to the World Climate Action Summit, where a Global Stocktake response will be presented, as mandated by the Paris Agreement, and accountability will be sought from countries. After the opening Summit, COP28 is organized by thematic areas, where each day is focused on a set of themes:

  • Health/Relief Recovery, and Peace
  • Finance/Trade/Gender Equality/ Accountability
  • Energy and Industry/ Just Transition/ Indigenous Peoples
  • Multilevel Action, Urbanization and Built Environment/Transport
  • Youth, Children, Education and Skills
  • Nature, Land Use, and Oceans.
  • Food, Agriculture, and Water

The last two days of COP28 are devoted to final negotiations.

Indigenous Peoples are concerned that the COP28 talks will lead to an expansion of false climate solutions rather than nature-based solutions to climate change. World Indigenous leaders will continue to shed light on “how resources needed for sustainable energy threaten Indigenous land and people.” Indigenous Climate Action (Canada) intends to put Indigenous rights at the forefront of COP28 talks, while drawing from their 2021 Report Decolonizing Climate Policy in Canada. Furthermore, enhancing Indigenous participation in decision making at COP 28 will remain a priority for Indigenous advocates.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

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Connecting Climate Justice and Social Justice

Climate justice and social justice are inextricably linked. Climate justice recognizes how climate change has impacts on communities already made vulnerable by social, economic, health and other impacts, and who have contributed the least to climate change. In turn, climate change worsens existing social injustices. The connections between climate justice and social justice are drawn more clearly by those working on gender-based and youth-based climate justice initiatives and through projects that also shed light on the impacts of climate change on low-income countries.

Climate justice advocates call for a “gender transformative approach” when undertaking initiatives that address the impacts of climate change. For example, according to CARE International, climate justice initiatives should put effort into addressing  gender and power differences and vulnerabilities that emerge in efforts, including:

  • projects aimed at increasing climate resilience.
  • efforts that enhance men and women’s engagement in household practices of nutrition and health care.
  • conversations with traditional, religious, and elected leaders regarding the impacts of climate change.

Weather shocks, such as floods, droughts and historical fluctuations in temperature, heighten climate injustices when also considering age and gender. A recent study shows “[g]irls and women are particularly vulnerable to the social responses triggered by weather shocks, especially in places where they face restrictive gender norms.” Young boys in agriculture-based economies may be taken out of school to work, and adult males may be forced to choose to leave their households to migrate to places where they can find alternative sources of income due to the impacts of weather shocks.

According to UNICEF, youth define climate justice relationally. That is, youth consider climate actions to be intricately associated with other actions, including human rights, sustainable development, and addressing numerous injustices, such as social injustice, gender injustice, economic injustice, intergenerational injustice and environmental injustice. In order to address climate injustices, youth call for  “people-centered” efforts that address climate change, knowing that “not everyone has contributed to climate change in the same way.” To facilitate climate justice, youth call for:

  • skills development to enable youth and children to contribute to decision making.
  • consistent and reliable financing for youth activists to undertake projects and actions that enable them to implement their collective vision to address climate justice.
  • non-monetary forms of support in the form of partnerships to assist with climate justice action initiatives.

According to the World Climate Risk Index 2020, between 1999 to 2018, among the top countries most affected by extreme weather events, “seven were developing countries in the low income or lower-middle income country group, two were classified as upper-middle income countries (Thailand and Dominica) and one was an advanced economy generating high income (Puerto Rico).” Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti ranked highest among the countries most affected by extreme weather events. Poor families are paying the most when it comes to the effects of climate change.

Achieving climate justice requires ensuring the protection of human rights and inclusion in decision making by those made most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

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Climate Justice

The term “climate justice” emphasizes how climate change is a social justice issue and a collective concern. Seeking climate justice involves recognizing the inequities in “social, economic, public health and other adverse impacts” of climate change, experienced by diverse communities and across differences in gender, age, ability, income, and other experiences. According to a World Bank Report (2020), by 2030, between 32 and 132 million additional people will experience extreme poverty due to climate change.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stated that: “Climate change is happening now and to all of us. No country or community is immune. And, as is always the case, the poor and vulnerable are the first to suffer and the worst hit.” Climate change can also worsen existing inequities, and some communities have fewer resources to address climate impacts (e.g., heat waves; air pollution; food insecurity, associated health implications; etc) than others. Consequently, climate change is a “threat multiplier and further threatens peace across geographic regions and between people, also provoking global human migration and displacement. Applying climate solutions that involve a commitment to climate justice include “governments paying for their fair share to the people who have suffered,” such as loss and damages caused by climate change events.

Indigenous-led climate justice initiatives place a priority on climate solutions founded on Indigenous rights and self-determination. In turn, climate solutions should also work to “dismantle” barriers and mitigate the impact of historic injustices that oppress communities further marginalized by climate crises.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

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Integrating climate policy into municipal plans and decision making

Over the past ten years and more, Canadian cities have been implementing policies and practices to address climate change adaptation through urban planning. Building climate adaptation policies into urban planning facilitates how cities address the intensity and adversity of extreme weather events (e.g., heat waves, floods, storms).

Climate change priorities can vary from city to city, such that “increased variability and the difficulty in predicting what is coming is one of the biggest challenges” in planning for climate change. For cities to be able to adapt to increased volatility and uncertainty in the weather, city plans need to be flexible, incorporating information as new research data and technologies emerge. Nature-based climate solutions can also be integrated into city plans, including “[w]ater features or green features, trees, grass” that also act as carbon sinks.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has advocated for including climate change data into community planning. The FCM developed the “Guide for Integrating Climate Change Considerations into Municipal Asset Management” as part of the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (2017-2022). The guide draws from drawing from the insights and approaches of eleven municipalities participating in the FCM’s Climate and Asset Management Network (CAMN) and the former Leaders in Asset Management Program (LAMP). The guide highlights community planning as a key tool for climate adaptation and shows how climate data is crucial to understanding both the types of changes to emerge and the ways that cities can adapt to climate change impacts. Regulatory tools such as zoning bylaws and larger-scale infrastructure plans would both require considerations “to incorporate climate risk, vulnerability and adaptation actions.”

Chapter 2, (p.11) of the guide presents four approaches to integrating considerations about climate change into municipal decision making:

  1. Starting as early as possible basing it on scientific evidence.
  2. Engaging and applying solutions across disciplines, sectors (energy, waste management, water treatment, infrastructure, health, and consumption) and all levels of governance.
  3. Providing clear short, medium, and long-term goals and establishing the commitment for these goals in [a] municipality’s asset management policy.
  4. Identifying implementation opportunities, create budgets, provide clear roles and responsibilities of key personnel, and create concrete measures for the assessing process.

Indigenous Peoples live in cities, and cities are located on Indigenous lands. It is crucial to consider the means for integrating climate change in municipal policy, urban planning, and design, rooted in Indigenous knowledges and experiences. For example, the Black + Indigenous Design Collective in British Columbia aims to increase opportunities for Black and Indigenous urbanists and designers to contribute and shape urban policy-making processes, when historically, Black and Indigenous Peoples have been excluded from urban planning processes. If cities are to be indigenized through climate change policy, it will be necessary to go beyond established principles for integrating considerations about climate change into municipal decision making, and better engage with the work of Indigenous designers, planners, and innovators and their contributions to the liveability and sustainability of cities.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

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Indigenous-Led Natural Climate Solutions

Natural climate solutions are climate change initiatives that “draw on the power of nature to reduce emissions, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and store it in natural systems.” According to a report by Nature United, “natural climate solutions could reduce Canada’s greenhouse gases by as much as 78 million tonnes a year in 2030.”

In 2020 the Government of Canada developed a funding program for Indigenous-led Natural Climate Solutions (INCS) with the intention to support Indigenous communities “to undertake on-the-ground activities for ecological restoration, improved land management, and conservation” to facilitate resilience to climate change and “human well-being.” The Indigenous-led Natural Climate Solutions map shows initiatives across Canada that have received funding in the first two years of the program. Natural climate solutions work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; however, desired outcomes of those initiatives funded by the program can also include:

  • increased community resilience and adaptation to climate change,
  • improvements in food security,
  • support for species at risk and/or species of cultural importance,
  • increased capacity and economic opportunities, and
  • the intergenerational transfer of knowledge.

As part of the INCS, the Government of Canada has committed to invest three billion dollars to support planting two billion trees, develop urban forest plans, and initiate measures that will facilitate carbon sequestration, “the practice of capturing and storing carbon dioxide.” Investments into Indigenous-led conservation and natural climate solutions in Canada are expected to create new jobs and revenue streams for Indigenous communities and expand protected areas by 30 percent by 2030.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

(Image Credit: Dave, Unsplash [Z9d7CYpBDqo]).

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Combatting Global Deforestation

Climate change is closely connected to global deforestation. While preventing deforestation has an immediate effect in reducing C02 emissions, reforestation programs often take over twenty-five years to have an impact. In turn, a combination of strategic partnerships across countries and between organizations and Indigenous forest stewards is needed to combat global deforestation.

The world’s forests are carbon sinks, absorbing “a net 7.6 billion metric tonnes of CO2 per year.” Deforestation raises greenhouse gas emissions levels and is detrimental to biodiversity. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Global Forest and Resources Assessment 2020 reports that approximately, “420 million hectares of forest were lost due to deforestation between 1990 and 2020.” Furthermore a reforestation report released by McKinsey notes that roughly ten million hectares of land are deforested on an annual basis, for commercial and agricultural purposes. Stopping deforestation has an immediate impact of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

On June 29, 2023, the European Union (EU) Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was passed. The new law comes into full effect in December 30, 2024. Under the EUDR, “goods exported or placed on the EU market must… no longer contribute to deforestation and forest degradation in the EU and elsewhere in the world.” These goods include a wide range of pulp and paper products (including books), meat and leather products, chocolate, soybean and soybean products, palm nuts, palm oil and derivative products, wood, and lumber, just to name a few. The impact the EUDR will have on commercial industry is yet to be fully documented; however, a key challenge for governments will be to ensure corporations follow EUDR’s standards for corporate due diligence.

Reforestation and sustainable wildlife management are vital components to combatting global deforestation and protecting the livelihoods and cultures of Indigenous peoples worldwide. For example, the Mbuti Indigenous People who live in the rainforests of the Congo Basin have witnessed both rapid deforestation and the depletion of their Indigenous food supply due to the increase in the commercial hunting and trade of wild meat. The Sustainable Wildlife Management Program, a joint initiative of African, Caribbean and Pacific states, funded by the Democratic Republic of Congo, the European Union and co-financed by several countries, and international organizations, is intended to protect the ecosystems and food security of the Mbuti.

Indigenous Peoples are considered the world’s best forest guardians. For example, in the Amazon, the deforestation of lands under Indigenous tenure is “two to three times lower than outside these areas.” In another example, as stewards and guardians of forests, the McLeod Lake Indian Band in South Mackenzie, British Columbia, planted over six million trees in 2021 and 2022, in partnership with Tree Canada, to reforest areas that were decimated by spruce beetle. According to Tree Canada, this tree planting project – part of their Green Program – “advances natural reforestation by thirty years.” Natural reforestation involves trees renewing through self-seeding or through other methods.

Combatting global deforestation requires multiple approaches, partnerships across countries, and sustained support for Indigenous forest guardianship.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

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The Impact of Europe’s Green Transition on the Sámi

Efforts by European government and industry to reduce carbon emissions and promote a “shift toward economically sustainable growth” and a fossil-free economy are referred to as “the green transition.” However, Europe’s approach to achieving a future that involves clean energy is adversely affecting the Indigenous Peoples of Scandinavia – the Sámi.

Europe is on a fast pace to achieve its goal to become “the world’s first net-zero emissions continent by 2050”; their efforts include building large-scale wind and solar farms, mining materials and metals for electric vehicles, and harvesting wood and other natural materials for constructing buildings.

The green transition (on top of climate effects and colonization) is affecting the Sámi’s way of life and their symbiotic relationship with reindeer. The Sámi have inhabited northern Scandinavia (i.e., Norway, Sweden, and Finland) for thousands of years. Rising Arctic temperatures have led to changes in reindeer behaviour and food availability. When the snow melts and then refreezes quickly, the reindeer cannot freely graze and get to the lichen, their food. Furthermore, wind turbines farms, aimed to harness the wind as an alternative energy resource are being built on reindeer calving and grazing lands, thus disturbing the behaviours and severely limiting the regeneration of reindeer herds.

While the green transition is touted as a necessary path for Europe to achieve net zero, industrial and government efforts must address the principle of “do no significant harm” to prevent negative outcomes for the Sámi.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

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Indigenous Youth: Leaders and Collaborators in the Fight Against Climate Change

Indigenous youth are fighting against climate change and advocating for Mother Earth through collaborative projects across the globe. Their leadership and collective engagement inform a resurgence of Indigenous traditions and an incorporation of new technologies to address persistent problems caused by climate change.

For example, In the Tata Province of Morocco, the hot summers and cold winters, and threatening extremes in rainfall have led young people to restore and maintain the khettara system, an ancient system of water irrigation – “a network of wells and sloped underground canals that delivers drinking and irrigation water from aquifers to fields, relying only on gravity.” And while the “over-extraction of groundwater” continues to be an issue, especially during severe drought and heatwaves, the presence of solar-powered pumps has enabled collective access to water. The khettara system had fallen into disrepair and neglect, and youth are calling for a return to a collective community-based approach to maintaining the khettara system, including the removal of detritus after floods.

Rapid changes in climate have an impact on hunting in the Canadian Arctic. The Igliniit Project involves a collaboration between Inuit hunters in Canada and geomatic engineering students. Together, they use digital technologies, including GPS, to collect and map data about climate change (including weather conditions and changes in sea ice) and the movements of animals. The project started in 2006 and it continues in 2023. Igliniit is an Inuktitut word for “trails routinely travelled.”

In the Yukon, Indigenous youth have been recruited to assist in implementing a vision to address climate change and uphold the self-determination of First Nations. Over a two-year period, the Council of Yukon First Nations partnered with the Assembly of First Nations Yukon Region and called upon people under thirty years old to determine, for all 14 Yukon First Nations, how to take climate action over the long term. The resulting youth-driven climate plan called Reconnection Vision, was released on June 30, 2023.  The Reconnection Vision is not a rigid document, rather it draws in readers and implicates them to consider their “role and responsibility to the children, land, and life of tomorrow.” The Reconnection Vision draws from the intentions that were planted in the “Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow” document from 1973 that led “the federal government to begin a negotiation process a modern-day treaty, the first in Canada.”

To mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, on August 9th, Indigenous youth shared their experiences and initiatives online at the Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change. The event was designed by youth for youth, to offer them a virtual platform over a twenty-four-hour period, to hold space for one another, and discuss their climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

As stewards of Mother Earth, Indigenous youth are leading the way, inviting collaboration with Indigenous governments and diverse knowledge keepers, to tackle the impact of climate change on the livelihood, culture, and well-being of their communities.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

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The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2023: Highlighting Youth and Climate Change

The 9th day of August commemorates the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, as adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in December 1994. This date also reflects when the first meeting of the UN Working Group of Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was held in 1982.

The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Indigenous Youth as Agents of Change for Self-Determination.” Self-determination is foundational to Articles 1 and 2 of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and works with the right to self-govern. Many Indigenous Youth are engaging in land stewardship practices and social, cultural, and economic matters in their own communities and schools or are learning how to do so. Some are already leaders engaging in climate action on the global stage.

As part of this year’s commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, The United Nations has identified three areas informing the right to self-determination of Indigenous Youth; these are:

  • Climate action and the green transition.
  • Mobilizing for justice
  • Intergenerational connections

While these three themes are interrelated, the theme of climate change and the green transition aims to recognize the different roles that Indigenous Youth play in contributing to their own families and to sustaining their communities, and how youth are integral to facilitating a transition to alternative energy solutions. Look for the commemorations online on August 9th.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

(Image Credit: Li An Lim, Unsplash)

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