ECO is happy to share this part of our publication with the Indigenous Peoples Caucus (IPO) to help amplify their voice. This article reflects the views of the IPO.
With greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures, and sea levels rising, climate change is a matter of life and death for Indigenous Peoples in all seven socio-cultural regions of the world. We are the stewards of over 80% of the world’s biodiversity, and as stewards of our lands and territories, we are protecting the future generations for all of humanity.
For hundreds of years, Indigenous Peoples and our lands and territories have suffered under the predatory systems of colonialism, imperialism, genocide, and ecocide. This continues today, with the extraction of fossil fuels forcing Indigenous Peoples lands to become sacrifice zones, and violating our rights outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Fossil fuel industries violate our right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent, yet they persist with land grabbing, water contamination, hazardous air and living conditions, and ultimately threatening the health and well being of all living things.
Consultation is not consent, and as Indigenous Peoples we say NO to any new fossil fuel projects, development, and infrastructure! We demand a binding global phaseout of fossil fuels and all extraction and production at source, or we will surpass the 1.5°C limit.
As Indigenous Peoples, we call for an END TO FOSSIL FUELS and an end to extractivism altogether. A world without fossil fuels, where does that leave us? Today, our world is plagued by systems like capitalism and colonialism which are deeply rooted and reliant on extraction and greed. To move forward in a world without fossil fuels, is to return to the natural cycle of life- a world filled with and guided by Indigenous values: reciprocity, relationships, respect, and responsibility.
Here at COP28, climate negotiations and developments remain in the mindset of extraction and exploitation – from climate finance to mitigation, adaptation finance to loss and damage. Climate change is simply being treated as the newest arena for capitalism, financial expansion and development, once again entrenching the dynamic of exploitation and violence from the Global North under the guise of helping the Global South and developing countries. In each of these areas, institutions like the World Bank choose projects based on their ability to generate profit and maximize private sector involvement. This is history repeating itself – it is the same development paradigm that contributed to the climate crisis in the first place, this time with even less accountability hiding behind a greener image.
As Indigenous Peoples, we stand united and do not support the extractive systems of any natural resource, especially fossil fuels because they inevitably damage Mother Earth, the web of life, and each other. All states must commit to an equitable and rights-based phase out of fossil fuels at COP28, a moratorium on false solutions that violate our collective rights, coupled with a commitment to a fair and just transition to sustainable, non-carbon-based energy sources. This is the only way to ensure achievement of the Paris Agreement Goal of 1.5°C global temperature rise, that protects our ways of life, food and eco-systems and collective rights to survival.
As Indigenous Peoples, we say YES to a just transition, especially for impacted communities on the frontlines where fossil fuel financing continues to exacerbate inequalities and result in human rights abuses. We say YES to Parties honoring their historical responsibility and financing the protection and restoration of our lands and territories – from the South to the North. We only have one Mother Earth, and we all must work together to protect her and the next seven generations.