| The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) is an international Indigenous Peoples non-governmental organization founded in 1977 to promote and celebrate the unity of 180,000 Inuit from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka in the Russian far east. ICC works to promote Inuit rights, safeguard the Arctic environment, and protect and promote the Inuit way of life. As the international voice of Inuit, ICC is calling upon global leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to listen, support, and act upon climate issues identified by Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples. The recommendations in this position paper are based on commitments in the Inuit Circumpolar Council 2022 Ilulissat Declaration passed at its General Assembly in July 2022 and the Statement of the Arctic Peoples’ Conference 2023 – Inuiaat Issittormiut Ataatsimeersuarnerat 2023. |
Inuit call on States, governmental authorities, private corporations, research institutions, and civil society to advance the following recommendations:
● Recommendation 1: Recognize that Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples hold a distinct status, and that all climate change work must be based on a strong human rights foundation including the human rights affirmed through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
● Recommendation 2: Ensure that all research and decision-making that impacts Inuit and Inuit Nunaat, our homeland, includes the equitable and ethical engagement of Inuit and the utilization of Indigenous Knowledge;1
1 For ICC’s definition of Indigenous Knowledge, see our Circumpolar Inuit Protocol for Equitable and Ethical Engagement.
● Recommendation 3: Actions to combat climate change must not infringe on our distinct rights, including our inherent right of self-determination, as Indigenous Peoples;
● Recommendation 4: Create direct pathways for Indigenous Peoples to access equitable climate finance, including the Loss and Damage Fund, and other adaptation and mitigation related funding;
● Recommendation 5: Governments must recognize the link between climate change and other environmental threats and support the advocacy and positions of Indigenous Peoples in other global processes.
Background and Context
Since the Earth Summit in 1992, the ICC has been a party in the global climate dialogue, informing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change with Indigenous Knowledge and environmental stewardship. For decades, we have witnessed the direct impacts of a changing climate in our homeland and have consistently advocated for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to prevent these changes from becoming a global norm. Our call for action to the international community is urgent and we call on Parties to pivot towards immediate and substantial climate action that recognizes our rights, incorporates our free, prior, and informed consent, and acknowledges our inherently sustainable relationship with the land, water, and ice and our traditional food resources. These are not only resources, but are also central to our culture and worldview.
We urge global leaders to commit to meaningful action that reflects our shared respect for the environment and secures the health of our planet for future generations.
We have consistently delivered the Inuit voice, and Inuit warnings, to many international fora as well as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Inuit contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report that brought our Indigenous Knowledge and observations into a final report that warned that the countries of the world have a very narrow window to reach the Paris Agreement target of limiting global temperature increase to 1.5C.
That was before a summer of massive wildfires, floods, droughts, landslides, global ocean temperature increases and other climate change related weather events swept the planet. The World Meteorological Organization reported that “extreme weather, climate and water-related events caused 11,778 reported disasters between 1970 and 2021.”2 Thousands of people lost their lives. Millions lost their homes or were displaced. The human, economic and ecological costs of climate change are compounding. As the first Global Stocktake ends at COP 28, it is clear that we have collectively failed and the most vulnerable are paying the price.
2 World Meteorological Organization.
As ICC prepares for the 28th Conference of Parties for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, there is hope that the stark warnings, which Inuit have been bringing to international fora for decades, will finally show that Parties need to pay attention to Inuit. Inuit remain ready to share our Knowledge, perspectives, and experiences with the world; however, Parties also hold the responsibility to truly listen and act accordingly.
Our Knowledge, adaptation and mitigation strategies and management practices are critical to addressing the challenges and changes occurring in the Arctic. Inuit should no longer need to prove and advocate that our Knowledge is equal to science – this has already been proven.
We need to transform the global economic system to one built upon multi-generational thinking that does not deplete the Earth’s ever scarcer resources. Governments need to move beyond measuring value only in terms of GDP growth. We need other indicators that measure the value of intact 3
ecosystems, healthy oceans, clean air and sustainable, secure food systems within a new, more holistic paradigm to hold Governments, industries, researchers, accountable for their action, or lack thereof.
We remain committed to fora that help amplify the voices of Indigenous Peoples, in solidarity, such as the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform. Until our Rights, as affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, are fully implemented, we will continue to advocate for free prior and informed consent in decisions that impact us including through the increasing threat of ‘green colonialism’ and the so-called ‘just-transition,’ both of which are discussed in this paper.
1. Recognize that Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples hold a distinct status, and that all climate change work must be based on a strong human rights foundation including the human rights affirmed through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Inuit, as Indigenous Peoples, have distinct rights and responsibilities. All work in relation to climate change must recognize that Inuit are rights holders to the lands, waters, and species found within Inuit Nunaat, our homeland. Ethical, equitable, fair, just, and meaningful climate work must be built on a strong human rights framework that recognizes our distinct rights as Indigenous Peoples, including that Indigenous Peoples and local communities are not equal entities, and that the false dichotomy of developed and developing countries overshadows the ongoing colonial challenges posed for Indigenous Peoples across the globe to address climate change.
It is only through a human rights approach and free, prior, and informed consent that Parties, authorities, corporations, institutions, organizations, and civil society can productively engage us in the climate discourse.
2. Ensure that all research and decision-making that impacts Inuit and Inuit Nunaat, our homeland, includes the equitable and ethical engagement of Inuit and the utilization of Indigenous Knowledge.
Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples have not been the main contributors to human-induced climate change, yet our livelihoods and ways of life are directly and dramatically impacted by its effects. We urge States, governmental authorities, corporations, research institutions and civil society to empower Indigenous Peoples to lead efforts to address climate change that are in line with our rights, Indigenous Knowledge, and ways of life. 3
3 Statement of the Arctic Peoples’ Conference 2023 – Inuiaat Issittormiut Ataatsimeersuarnerat 2023.
4 http://pikialasorsuaq.org/en/
ICC has a longstanding commitment to elevate Indigenous Knowledge in decision making through our work and advocacy to inform local, regional, national, and international climate research, knowledge synthesis, and policy development in all climate governance actions. This effort is taking place in many international fora. For example, the protection of Pikialorsorsuaq4, an Inuit-led conservation initiative, as well as our ongoing work within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to galvanize support for Indigenous Knowledge holders and scholars to serve as substantive authors and contributors, and to advocate for an Indigenous Peoples’ Expert and Indigenous Knowledge Holder 4
Advisory Body to the IPCC. We also advocate for more support for community-driven research and promote the use of Inuit monitoring and early warning systems.
Any engagement with Inuit must be guided by ICC’s Circumpolar Inuit Protocols for Equitable, Ethical Engagement aimed at all decision and policy makers, researchers and others operating in the Arctic.
3. Actions to combat climate change must not infringe on our distinct rights, including our inherent right of self-determination, as Indigenous Peoples
The Statement of the Arctic Peoples’ Conference 2023 – Inuiaat Issittormiut Ataatsimeersuarnerat 2023 states: “Climate change cannot be an excuse to infringe on our distinct rights as Indigenous Peoples.” It is incumbent on all to support Indigenous Peoples as leaders and equal partners, including youth, in climate change adaptation, mitigation, and ‘just transition’ efforts, as we hold the answers for our peoples, lands, waters, and ice.
Indigenous Peoples and our rights can no longer be an afterthought. We need to be equal partners at the table and a rights based approach needs to be incorporated into all adaptation, mitigation, and just transition efforts. As the IPCC 6th Assessment Report stated, “Meaningful participation and inclusive planning, informed by cultural values, Indigenous Knowledge, local knowledge, and scientific knowledge can help address adaptation gaps and avoid maladaptation (high confidence).”5
5 IPCC Synthesis Report, 2023.
6 Inuit Circumpolar Council 2022 Ilulissat Declaration.
7 Statement of the Arctic Peoples’ Conference 2023 – Inuiaat Issittormiut Ataatsimeersuarnerat 2023.
To avoid falling further behind, the international community needs to change its perspectives and our norms to ensure our Knowledge, rights, and values are meaningfully built into climate agendas. Our Knowledge, adaptation and mitigation strategies and management practices are critical to addressing the challenges6 and Inuit need to be engaged in this work on an equal footing.
Our youth are a massive force for hope in the Arctic, and now is the time for States, governmental authorities, corporations, research institutions and civil society to weigh heavily the messages, priorities, and perspectives of our youth and to empower them to leadership and success. ICC aspires to equal participation for Indigenous youth in any and all processes relating to Indigenous futures.7
Nevertheless, our rights are being infringed upon and our lands continue to be exploited, but now, it is masked by conservation initiatives that don’t involve us or ‘green’ energy projects now often referred to as part of the ‘just transition’. As such, ICC has felt the need to provide our own definitions for these terms to ensure it is truly just.
Just Transition: A transformation from a colonial, capitalist, and extractive system, based on the exploitation of the most vulnerable and of the lands, waters and animals, to a system built on human rights and a reciprocal and respectful relationship with the land. The just transition must come from an understanding that our lands cannot be compensated for, that is founded with an ethical and equitable respect for our Knowledge and that upholds our free, prior, and informed consent for matters that impact us. It involves acknowledgement and redress of harms incurred by Indigenous Peoples and a new foundation for a relationship built on the respect for Rights, for equitable and ethical engagement, and for future generations8 |
| Green Colonialism: The justification of the ongoing illegal occupation, exploitation and destruction of Indigenous lands and rights to support Parties’ climate agendas, often for economic gain. This includes resource extraction, renewable energy and mining production, and protectionist non-Indigenous-led conservation that is undertaken without the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples’, all at the expense of Indigenous Peoples’ reality.9 |
8 This definition was developed from the Statement of the Arctic Peoples’ Conference 2023 – Inuiaat Issittormiut Ataatsimeersuarnerat 2023 and the Inuit Circumpolar Council 2022 Ilulissat Declaration.
9 This definition was developed from the Statement of the Arctic Peoples’ Conference 2023 – Inuiaat Issittormiut Ataatsimeersuarnerat 2023 and the Inuit Circumpolar Council 2022 Ilulissat Declaration.
10 Circumpolar Inuit Protocols for Ethical and Equitable Engagement.
4. Create direct pathways for Indigenous Peoples, to access equitable climate finance, including the Loss and Damage Fund, and other adaptation and mitigation related funding
Inuit are experiencing a warming climate more than three times faster than the rest of the world, yet we face enormous hurdles accessing sufficient funding for our climate change work, which depends on outside, often non-Indigenous organizations, or is bound by government priorities. Inuit, and all Indigenous Peoples, need direct and equitable access to climate finance.
Indigenous Knowledge and authority need to be at the forefront of discussions and financial decisions to support the adaptive and holistic approaches and decision-making needed in today’s rapidly changing environment.10 In order for the voices and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples to be included, there is a need for capacity. To make this happen, financial support is required for Inuit-defined and led climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies to ensure that we can address present and future challenges as well as gaps that exist within our communities. Parties need to recognize the false dichotomy between the developing and developed world of global politics that excludes Indigenous Peoples from many funding sources and move to redirect funding directly to those who are the most impacted. Further, Parties need to engage with Indigenous Peoples on how the success of adaptation and mitigation efforts are measured. Indigenous Peoples’ rights and the ethical and equitable use of our Knowledge needs to be taken into consideration when reporting nationally and internationally.
We as ICC further call on the Transitional Committee directly to ensure all recommendations moving forward at COP 28 ensure the rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples are respected and advocate for our continued engagement as the fund progresses and undergoes reviews. Indigenous Peoples should be a priority and need a seat at the table ensuring this funding is going directly to those who need it most. 6
5. Governments must recognize the link between climate change and other environmental threats and support the advocacy and positions of Indigenous Peoples in other global processes
Indigenous Peoples are engaged in many international fora that influence the outcomes for climate, biodiversity, and other environmental issues. We have long issued guidance to these fora, and there is an increasing need to recognize the unity in advocacy positions that Indigenous Peoples have taken.
As the ICC, this includes a recognition for how our work in the UNFCCC is intrinsically related to our work in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement (CAOFA), the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ), the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Inuit have made our positions known in each of these fora and are often left to engage with different areas of government with different policies that do not have a unified approach. There is a need to ensure that climate and related issues are moving forward in a cohesive, whole-of-government manner, so Inuit needs, perspectives, and worldviews are clearly advanced and adequately supported in decision making at the international level as well as at the United Nations institutions and specialized agencies.
Conclusion
Inuit presence in UNFCCC negotiations has spanned decades. It is marked by unwavering commitment despite the reality of climate change in Inuit Nunaat. Our shared Knowledge and holistic understanding of our Arctic environment is underutilized and the action we are seeing is met with little urgency. Today, we stand firm, not only for Inuit, but in unity with Indigenous Peoples worldwide, to amplify our call for decisive action that aligns with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change and the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples’ Platform are established arenas where Inuit leaders, representatives, and Indigenous experts can work to actively shape and inform policy, advocating for the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge in climate action. ICC will continue to participate actively in these spaces to advocate for Inuit.
As the Inuit Circumpolar Council, we will intensify our advocacy and build stronger partnerships to ensure the rights and visions of future generations. The time for incremental steps has passed. We urge you to match our commitment with concrete actions that honor our Knowledge, uphold our rights, and safeguard our collective future.