November, 2024 | COP29, Baku, Azerbaijan
Statement delivered by Sheelah Bearfoot.
Madam. President and Parties.
Indigenous Peoples from the seven socio-cultural regions wish to condemn the unethical methods and even more unethical outcomes this COP has produced. There is nothing to celebrate here today. As Peoples, as Sovereign Nations, we join the several other Nations that have voiced their vehement objections to these unacceptable decisions that are continuing to destroy our planet.
We support the CSOs who have chosen to use silence to refuse to give legitimacy to this sham of a process but we have an obligation to speak and hold our place as rights holders in this space and ensure our disappointment is put on record.
It is unacceptable that human rights and the rights of Indigenous Peoples were removed from NCQG, and instead prioritized carbon market financing, which profoundly harms Indigenous Peoples. While we urgently need direct and equitable access to climate finance for adaptation, mitigation and loss and damage across all seven socio-cultural regions we reiterate that we reject the financial colonization that comes from loans and any other financial mechanisms that perpetuate indebtedness of Nations who have contributed the least to climate change yet bear the brunt of its tragedies.
Our lands, waters, ice and territories are melting and burning. Our Peoples are suffering. We can no longer wait. Expecting us to be grateful for 300 billion by 2035 is expecting us to be grateful for you profiting off our preventable deaths.
There is no Just Transition without the rights of Indigenous Peoples being fully upheld. All Adaptation and Just Transition actions must recognize us as the crucial and equal partners - the rights holders - that we are. The Knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples, our worldviews, practices, and sciences are distinct and provide a vital basis for effective adaptation strategies to climate change. Unlike the false solutions being proposed and even celebrated, our practices have been proven to work. Excluding our knowledge system and worldviews from climate action risks the survival of all humanity.
We all deserve better! We need Parties to recommit to the 1.5°C target! Phase out fossil fuels! And transition to sustainable systems that respect human rights and the rights of Indigenous Peoples! We offer you the leadership, solutions, and contributions of our communities in this collective fight for survival.
Thank you. ás(h)ǫǫd
