Between October 31 and November 12, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), better known as COP26, was held in Glasgow, Scotland. The goals set were:
- reach zero carbon emissions and limit the rise in temperatures to 1.5°C;
- Protect natural habitats and the communities that live there;
- mobilize funding;
- strengthen collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society.
The Glasgow Climate Pact, the name given to the agreement reached by negotiators at the conference, left a bitter taste in the mouths of those who had expected more ambitious goals to be achieved.
The most controversial issue of COP26 was that of making operational Article 6 of the Paris Agreement signed during the COP21 held in 2015. This article allows states to make strategies, which must be reported to the United Nations through the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) plan, to reduce CO2 emissions, and if they fail to meet that goal, they can purchase the missing difference through carbon credits generated on international territory.
The exclusion of indigenous peoples’ delegations
Many criticisms have been made by indigenous activists, who have defined the Glasgow Pact as a death sentence because the above article benefits companies that increase their profits at the expense of local communities and the rights of indigenous peoples. During the Conference more than 500 members of the fossil fuel lobby who are affiliated with major oil and gas companies were allowed to attend, while delegations of indigenous peoples were excluded from COP26. Representatives of indigenous peoples have stated that little has changed since the Paris Agreements and that violations of their cultural and territorial rights through deforestation, land expropriation and lack of basic goods such as water continue, and climate change worsens the conditions of their habitats more and more. In addition to this, 1,005 environmental defenders have been killed in recent years, one in three was an indigenous person, including Honduran Berta Cáceres who was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for environmental defense for opposing the construction of a dam along a territory considered sacred by the Lenca community. It was noted that two-thirds of the organizations that usually attend the COP were unable to attend due to issues with visas, lack of access to Coronavirus vaccines, and changes in travel rules from one country to another. Among the biggest absentees were the countries of the global south that are suffering the worst damage from climate change.
Yet much can be learned from the traditions and lifestyle of indigenous peoples who live in symbiosis with nature and consider it an integral part of their being, if not the Mother from which everything is born. According to a report published this year by the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of FAO, indigenous communities are the best guardians of the world ecosystem. Indeed, the rate of deforestation is much lower in indigenous territories where the government has formally recognized the land rights of those populations. A significant example is Brazil: between 1982 and 2016 all indigenous territories whose inhabitants received collective property rights from the government, had a deforestation rate of less than 66%.
A great contribution from those who make up 6% of the world’s population but defend 80% of the planet’s biodiversity.
If you liked the article, share it.
SOURCES AND INSIGHTS:
- CHE COS’È LA COP – UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) at the SEC – Glasgow 2021 (ukcop26.org)
- GLI OBIETTIVI DELLA COP26 – UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) at the SEC – Glasgow 2021 (ukcop26.org)
- Forest governance by indigenous and tribal peoples: An opportunity for climate action in Latin America and the Caribbean | FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- ‘A death sentence’: Indigenous climate activists denounce Cop26 deal | Cop26 | The Guardian
- ‘A continuation of colonialism’: indigenous activists say their voices are missing at Cop26 | Cop26 | The Guardia
