The 29th Conference of Parties (COP) was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, the world’s first oil town. This year’s COP has fuelled the doubt over the impact of such annual COP conferences, questioning the credibility of the host countries, and the exclusion of Indigenous peoples in climate decision making process.
Disappointment from COP29
According to several human rights groups, the Azerbaijani government was using COP29 to crack down on environmental activists and other political opponents. Speaking to the delegates, Azerbaijani President said that oil and gas are a “gift of God” while a senior official was alleged to have used his role in cracking fossil fuel deals in a side event. The end of the COP29 was marked by a finance deal that was not welcomed by developing countries.
Lyla Mehta, Research fellow at IDS commented on the $300bn finance deal from the developed countries:
‘The outcomes of COP 29 are an insult to poor and marginalised people in developing countries who are at the frontline of climate change but have done little to contribute to it.
“Oil rich nations like Saudi Arabia succeeded in undermining transition away from fossil fuels at the last minute; there is no mention of biodiversity at all in the agreement which is crucial for the lives and livelihoods of farmers, pastoralists, fishers’ forest and coastal dwellers and Indigenous peoples.
“The lack of ambition and commitment towards climate finance also highlights that rich countries are happy to fiddle while the planet burns and overheats.”
In the lead up to COP29, Papua New Guinea, home to world’s third largest expanse of rainforest and one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations withdrew from attending this year’s COP over the frustration of “empty promises and inaction” and a lack of “quick support to victims of climate change”.
Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tckatchenko said that previous COPs have produced no tangible results for small island states and “shown a total lack of respect for countries like ours that play a crucial role in mitigating climate change. We are tired of being sidelined.” Echoing this decision, some climate advocates withdrew from attending COP because of its inability to “address the needs of small island states and Indigenous communities”
Indigenous peoples can help in combating climate change
However, there remains a consensus on the impact of climate change on Indigenous peoples and the importance of their inclusion in climate negotiations. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that convenes COP summits, and its sister UN processes such as the Biodiversity Convention (CBD) have long faced demands for participation of the communities in the most critical regions to tackle global climate and sustainability challenges. These peoples are often most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and their traditional knowledge of the nature and land, such as the knowledge of pastoralists, can be vital in combating global warming.
Following the progress achieved at COP16 of the CBD in Colombia last month, networks like the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC) have intensified their call for the inclusion of voices from traditional communities who do not identify as Indigenous in the UNFCCC processes such as COP.
Ian Scoones, Research Fellow at IDS commented:
“Areas occupied by Indigenous peoples and other so-called traditional communities are often targets for large-scale carbon projects. Approaches to carbon offsetting through the UNFCC have been approved at COP29 and now join the growing voluntary carbon market in driving new carbon investments. Unless land rights and benefit-sharing are assured, these efforts may result in large-scale ‘green grabbing’, while offering false promises in global efforts at climate mitigation and letting the real polluters off the hook.”
In the jargon of UN negotiations these communities are collectively known by the acronym ‘IPLC’, for ‘Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’. COP29 celebrated the IPLC day on November 21 to underscore the role of IPLCs in safeguarding biodiversity and forest landscapes. The COP adopted the Baku Workplan, to be implemented beginning 2025, that focuses on three priority areas: promoting knowledge exchange, building capacity for engagement, and incorporating diverse values and knowledge systems into climate policies and actions.
The GATC convened a side event in the first week of COP29 at which a Brazilian government representative committed the country to include stronger provisions for the participation of ‘traditional communities’ in the UNFCCC process, beginning with COP30.
The inclusion of ‘traditional peoples’
Alex Shankland, Research Fellow at IDS said:
“This provision for the participation of traditional communities in COP30 is a significant move, but the challenge is to ensure that it is followed through, in order to guarantee that not only indigenous peoples but also other holders of the territories and traditional knowledges without which the climate crisis cannot be solved, are able to take their rightful place at the negotiating table.”
“In recent years Indigenous peoples have secured significantly greater voice and visibility in international climate and biodiversity negotiations, but not all of the communities included under the ‘IPLC’ label identify as ‘Indigenous’ – a term which is particularly contested in Africa. This has led to a neglect of the voices of key groups such as pastoralists, as well as the traditional communities of African descent (known as quilombolas in Brazil) whose lands include some of the most biodiverse and climate-critical parts of the Americas.
“In Brazil, which will host COP30 in 2025, the government has adopted the term ‘traditional peoples’ to reflect the importance of customary collective management practices in shaping these communities’ stewardship of their lands, which are important not only in the Amazon rainforest but also in the biodiverse and carbon-dense but increasingly threatened savannah region known as the Cerrado. Across the world’s different regions traditional territories cover a significant proportion of other critically important biomes in rainforest, tundra and mountain areas as well as rangelands.”
As Brazil moves from leading the G20 in 2024 to the presidencies of BRICS and COP30 in 2025, the IDS Brazil Initiative will continue to work with partners in Brazil and beyond to ensure that multiple, diverse voices can inform policy decision making and the generation of actionable solutions.
