How do we center Indigenous people in the conversations about climate change?
Eru and K’Lee are joined by Kera Sherwood-O’Regan and Haylee Koroi on TV3’s R&R Māori Current Affairs Show.
Watch on Three Now: https://www.threenow.co.nz/shows/r%26r-with-eru-%26-k’lee/season-4-ep-12/S2098-345/M36512-250
Joint closing Statement on behalf of Indigenous Peoples’ Organisations – this piece was co-written by members of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, particularly Lindsey Bacigal, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Graeme Reed, and Freddy Sébastian.
EXCERPT: As scores of adult reporters crowded around Danish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, a group of indigenous leaders were shoved to the side by security as they tried to get into their office. At that moment, at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 25 climate-change summit in Madrid, the hypocrisy and privilege of it all hit home for Kera Sherwood-O’Regan, of Kāi Tahu.
“Since we’ve been here, our indigenous women have been harassed, pushed off stage from speaking opportunities, and been shoved around,” she said.
“Where is the security support for our indigenous people?”
NGO delegates at the UN’s COP25 conference express their anger at the lack of progress by world governments to act on climate change. ‘Stop taking up space with your false solutions and get out of our way,’ demands New Zealand indigenous rights activist Kera Sherwood-O’Regan. Representatives from environmental, workers, indigenous peoples and youth NGOs read out closing statements to the conference attendees. Francis Stuart from the Scottish Trade Union Congress says the conference is nothing less than parties trying to dismantle the Paris agreement. ‘They are much more interested in trading emissions and making money from it than actually reducing them,’ he says.
Full video at The Guardian here.
EXCERPT: She was recently named by Time as one of the 15 women leading the fight against climate change. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim tells Kera Sherwood-O’Regan about the effects of the changing climate on the village she grew up in in Chad, especially on women and girls, and what spurred her to action.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is an indigenous climate activist and geographer from the Mbororo pastoralist community in Chad, and is deeply passionate about the rights of indigenous women and girls. Having set up a community organisation at age 15, and realising the connection between women’s rights and environmental rights, she has been involved in climate action ever since, and is now one of the most recognised and respected climate activists in the African region and abroad.
She says, “I got involved in climate change because of my community. We have a lake called Lake Chad which was, when I was younger, around 10,000 kilometres square. When I was growing up the lake was shrinking. Now the lake has lost about 90% of its water, so growing up and seeing, with my own eyes, nature shrinking and seeing my community struggling, for me it was normal to fight against climate change.”
– Full story on The Spinoff here.
Kera Sherwood-O’Regan (Kāi Tahu) is an Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute delegate to COP23, the United Nations Climate Talks in Bonn, Germany, reporting over the three-week conference. This week: she’s tired and no one’s listening to indigenous people.
“If you were looking for a nice and neat overview of the COP23 UN Climate Talks, I’ll save you the bother now. I can’t even pretend to have a handle on the full breadth of the negotiations. While we’re all trying our best to keep whānau at home abreast of our mahi in Germany, the reality is that it’s a giant clusterfuck we’re all struggling to make sense of.
For November, Bonn is the city that does not sleep. We’re gradually becoming immune to the cacophony of dings, rings, and whistles, that sound minute by minute into the wee hours as if all our devices have been issued a directive specifically to fray our nerves to the point of delusion. I’ve never felt exhaustion so deep in my bones.
It’s impossible to keep up to date with everything in these negotiations.
Hell, even following one topic (like the Indigenous Peoples’ Platform) you find yourself drowning in a rising sea of pedantic yet necessary text edits; circular arguments; action proposals; action invitations; press conferences; mailing lists; informal informals; and “bilaterals”… If I’m being honest, it feels like you need a law degree just to order a coffee here, never mind follow the negotiations…”
Kera Sherwood-O’Regan (Kāi Tahu) is an Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute delegate to COP23, the United Nations Climate Conference in Bonn, Germany. Over the next three weeks, she’ll be reporting on the conference’s outcomes for indigenous peoples.
“Talk to any climate nerd about this year’s UN Climate Negotiations, and you’ll likely be met with excited proclamations about ‘the first Pacific COP’. After all the hot air (pun intended) of Trump’s apparent exit from the Paris Agreement, I’ll admit it’s nice to have something to celebrate. Certainly, throughout the first day of the conference, it’s been impossible to escape the air of optimism and hope among attendees.
Whether in the queue for extortionately priced organic pretzels (justifiable only due to the palaver that is getting through UN security to get in or out of the centres); in the various briefings; or amongst the international displays and pavilions, everyone is revelling in the unique ‘flavour’ brought by Fiji’s presidency this year. Phrases like the ‘Talanoa dialogue’, ‘bula spirit’ and ‘Fijian flavour’ melt on people’s tongues like a buttery croissant, and mentioning that you’re indigenous is met with unanimous good cheer, support and interest.
On the surface, it all seems quite delightful. Dig a little deeper though, and I feel like the so-called Fijian flavor has got a slightly bitter aftertaste… and it tastes a lot like tokenism…”
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