Climate justice means having Indigenous peoples at the table
Date of Publication
1-1-2023 12:00 AM
Security Theme
Human Rights
Keywords
Climate change, Agriculture expansion, Indigenous communities, human rights
Description
Indigenous peoples and their territories are under threat in Latin America. Climate change and climate action are jeopardizing their capacities to safeguard fundamental rights, traditional territories and ways of life, livelihoods and personal security. Communities from the Mexican rainforest to icy passages in the south of Chile face encroachment on territories by well-known sources. These include the expansion of agriculture and extractive industries, and the loudly touted global transition to low-carbon energy, which is putting pressure on lives and livelihoods. Indigenous peoples, allied organizations and universities are responding to the challenges, not only with adaptation and mitigation plans, but also by vying for a seat at the table to demand climate justice as the world attempts to meet the goal of keeping the global temperature increase at or below 1.5 degrees by 2050. “Climate governance tends to be exclusive and often fails to consider the agency of Indigenous peoples. There is a push for the energy transition, but the local consequences for Indigenous peoples are not being considered well enough,” said Markus Gottsbacher, a senior program officer at IDRC. IDRC is supporting research led by South American institutions to promote climate justice through Indigenous knowledge and participation in policy formulation as part of the response to the threats at hand.
Climate justice means having Indigenous peoples at the table
Indigenous peoples and their territories are under threat in Latin America. Climate change and climate action are jeopardizing their capacities to safeguard fundamental rights, traditional territories and ways of life, livelihoods and personal security. Communities from the Mexican rainforest to icy passages in the south of Chile face encroachment on territories by well-known sources. These include the expansion of agriculture and extractive industries, and the loudly touted global transition to low-carbon energy, which is putting pressure on lives and livelihoods. Indigenous peoples, allied organizations and universities are responding to the challenges, not only with adaptation and mitigation plans, but also by vying for a seat at the table to demand climate justice as the world attempts to meet the goal of keeping the global temperature increase at or below 1.5 degrees by 2050. “Climate governance tends to be exclusive and often fails to consider the agency of Indigenous peoples. There is a push for the energy transition, but the local consequences for Indigenous peoples are not being considered well enough,” said Markus Gottsbacher, a senior program officer at IDRC. IDRC is supporting research led by South American institutions to promote climate justice through Indigenous knowledge and participation in policy formulation as part of the response to the threats at hand.
