Thank you, Mr. Chair. Pahad ni maagaw tayon amin.
My name is Asami from the Ikalahan-Kalanguya cultural community in the Philippines, and I am speaking on behalf of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus.
Indigenous Peoples have been practicing just, equitable, and climate resilient solutions for generations. Our knowledge, science, practices, and innovations benefit all humanity and safeguard biodiversity.
For Indigenous Peoples, climate change is a matter of life and death. State actions continue to fall short and climate change continues to devastate our lands, territories, and resources as well as our cultures and economies. Parties must urgently deliver their commitment to the Paris Agreement in a manner that respects and protects human rights, including our rights as enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
We must have direct and simplified access to and management of new, predictable, and sustainable climate finance available to all seven socio-cultural regions. We call for parties to ensure active participation of Indigenous Peoples in the decision-making of the loss and damage fund, which must strive for prevention while also addressing the cultural losses connected to our identities and lifeways.
Adaptation must ethically and equitably engage with Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge systems to prevent maladaptation and violations of our rights. Mitigation efforts must include real reductions at the source, and ensure that the green energy transition does not recreate the removal, dispossession, and criminalization that Indigenous Peoples continue to face in the current energy system.
We look forward to working and continuing our relationship with the COP 28 presidency to create a space for our effective participation and leadership inclusion, including of our youth, women, and persons with disabilities.
Thank you.
Image courtesy of Loss and Damage Coalition.
