A ACI está indo para o Egito para a COP27
In the coming weeks, Nation States will come together once again to negotiate our lands, our waters, and our collective future.
As the need for real climate solutions increases, so does our sense of responsibility as an Indigenous-led climate justice organization to show up at strategic moments and demand the long standing justice deserved to our people.
Continue reading below to learn more about ICA’s participation in these negotiations and how we plan to bring the needs of our communities to this international stage.
What is the UNFCCC & COP27?
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international response to climate change. It is an agreement between 198 Nation States to outline obligations for how to combat climate change. It was signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and came into force in 1994.
Under the UNFCCC process, the United Nations began hosting a yearly UN Climate Change Conference to serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC Parties (Nation States) and became known as Conferences of the Parties (COP). The first meeting was held in Berlin in 1995, known as COP1. This year, the COP27 for UNFCCC will be hosted in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from November 6-18.
A UNFCCC foi estabelecida antes da afirmação da Declaração das Nações Unidas sobre os Direitos dos Povos Indígenas (UNDRIP) e, portanto, os defensores dos direitos e da soberania indígenas tiveram que trabalhar arduamente para garantir que a liderança indígena fosse ouvida com relação à criação de soluções climáticas.
Por que investir tempo e energia no COP?
As the only Indigenous-led climate justice organization north of the medicine line, we have a responsibility to stay involved, informed and active in international spaces where global colonial leaders are negotiating plans and actions that directly impact our lives, our rights and our culture. Bottom line, no decisions about us without us.
Historicamente, esses espaços têm tratado os povos indígenas como partes interessadas sem mais direitos do que as organizações não governamentais ambientais (ONGAs), apesar de décadas de desafios legais e declarações da ONU que sustentam o contrário.
Em contrapartida, o setor de petróleo e gás investe milhões para semear dúvidas sobre soluções reais e defender seus interesses corporativos, apesar de serem os principais responsáveis pelas mudanças climáticas.
Nas últimas três décadas, os povos indígenas têm promovido algumas das políticas climáticas mais fortes, com base em nossos direitos, idioma, cultura e identidades, aprofundando uma apreciação coletiva da lei natural e da importância dos sistemas naturais vivos como essenciais para a sobrevivência neste planeta.
Nos últimos seis anos, houve progresso na inclusão dos povos indígenas e de nossos conhecimentos nas políticas climáticas internacionais, mas esse processo ainda está atrasado, enquanto falsas soluções, como compensações de carbono e soluções técnicas de curto prazo, como energia nuclear e captura e armazenamento de carbono, continuam a ser promovidas com impactos prejudiciais para nossas comunidades e nossas vidas.
What will ICA be doing at COP27?
Holding our community close to our hearts, ICA’s COP27 delegation will be adding to the ongoing work of the many Indigenous peoples who have participated in past COPs to influence policies, build strategic partnerships, and challenge narratives that uphold systems of colonial violence.
We will use this space to advocate for the sovereignty and self determination of our communities to be key decision makers and leaders for climate solutions in these spaces and in our own communities.
ICA will be participating inside the negotiations space through the Indigenous Peoples Caucus - a relatively new body within the UNFCCC that was established in 2008 to support Indigenous peoples from around the world to engage in the global forum.
Our team will also be participating in key events at the Indigenous Peoples Pavilion and in the Canadian Pavilion to amplify calls for climate justice and ensure Indigenous rights and sovereignty are upheld for the long-term health and safety of our community members.
ICA is also working closely with sovereign community delegations and sister organizations that include Indigenous Environmental Network, NDN Collective, Native Movement and the many strategic allies within It Takes Roots, Climate Justice Alliance, and Just Transition Alliance to take action at strategic moments that influence the international discussions and leverage international attention.
We have identified overarching goals for our participation in these spaces as well as key goals for this year’s delegation:
Overarching Goals
To uphold Indigenous rights and sovereignty
To leverage international attention on Indigenous struggles & issues
To support climate justice solutions
To be in solidarity with global allies
To hold Canada accountable
COP27 Goals
Develop an analysis on Canada in regards to climate change & Indigenous rights
Build ICA’s global solidarity through engaging with global allies
Produce meaningful communications, actions, and engagement that connects with grassroots community members at home in COP27 work
Seeding a call to action for participation in Montreal at CBD-COP15
ICA is also working closely with the It Takes Roots coalition this year and will be focusing on three areas:
Climate Reparations (Loss & Damage)
Focus on Indigenous and frontline communities who have historically been most harmed by colonial economies driving the climate crises
Repair our relations with the land and each other, investments that go directly to communities, and Land Back
Human Rights & Indigenous Peoples Rights
Centre the collective voices of Indigenous and frontline communities most harmed by climate chaos
Prioritize the right to self-determination over settler colonial governments advancing corporate agendas
Community Leadership, Not False Solutions
Uplift Indigenous knowledge, place-based leadership and local ecological practices to effectively tackle climate chaos
Refuse false market-based schemes that are based in capitalism and often cause or worsen the climate crisis
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, ICA’s Executive Director:
I have no interest in trying to change the minds of colonial governments, but to participate and stand up in solidarity with the global Indigenous peoples movements in protecting Mother Earth for future generations by obstructing false solutions and so called climate policies that only serve corporations, white and settler communities and ongoing colonialism and predatory capitalism. By taking up space, calling out false solutions, and demanding the reinstitution of our legal rights as Indigenous peoples we are working towards a decolonial and climate just future for all.
How can I learn more?
ICA will be keeping everyone updated through our COP27 webpage and social media channels!
We also invite you to check out our coverage of previous COPs and other resources that relate to ICA’s goals below:
How can I get involved?
We invite our relatives back home to join in with our delegation as we head to Sharm el Sheik, Egypt to attend the UNFCCC - COP27. Stay tuned for updates on our social media and step up for calls to action that uplift the longstanding work of land defenders, water protectors, and knowledge keepers and center the rights and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples as solutions to the consequences of colonialism that has led to this time of climate chaos.
