“States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources…”
- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Article 32 paragraph 2
1. The only way to ensure achievement of the Paris Agreement Goal of 1.5 C global temperature rise, thereby limiting the adverse impacts on the ways of life, food and eco-systems of Indigenous Peoples around the world, is for all states to commit to an equitable and rights-based phase out of fossil fuels at COP 28, coupled with a commitment to a fair and just transition to sustainable, non-carbon-based energy sources.
2. Current discussions of “Just Transition” which began at SBSTA in June 2023 are solution-based and can make a substantive contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gasses, prevention of loss and damage, protection of the planet’s eco-systems, biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples ways of life.
3. The term “Just Transition” and the criteria that govern its implementation have not yet been fully defined. We are concerned that unless the definition and criteria are clarified and confirmed, and rights and environmental safeguards are firmly established, projects carried out in the name of “Just Transition” will lead to greenwashing of destructive practices that further violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples, similar to the way “Nature-based” and “net-zero” solutions are being promoted and implemented.
4. Indigenous Peoples’ rights, perspectives, knowledge systems and lived experiences must be considered and taken into account in the definitions, criteria and implementation of “Just Transition” projects and programs.
5. The rights affirmed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including inter alia Articles 12, 26, and 32, as well as the commitment in Preambular Paragraph 11 of the Paris Agreement, must provide a framework for defining what is “just” in this regard.
6. The mining of transition minerals such as lithium, copper, nickel, chromium and helium, constructing of mega-dams, establishing palm oil and other mono-crop plantations, and building industrial wind farms are several examples of “Just Transition” being carried out on Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories without their Free Prior and Informed Consent. This cannot be defined as a transition from “business as usual” and these activities certainly cannot be called “just”.
7. Recognizing that industrial agriculture also makes a substantial contribution to the creation of greenhouse gasses, including through soil degradation, mono-cultivation and deforestation, we call for the protection and restitution of agroecology based on Indigenous Peoples ancestral practices, knowledge and science, and a phase out of industrial agricultural practices as an essential component of “Just Transition.”
8. Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, science, and time-tested practices can make substantial contributions to ongoing and current policy discussions and decisions regarding “Just Transition” including integration of ancestral as well as new sustainable technologies implemented with the Free Prior and Informed consent of the impacted Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples must therefore be full participants in all such discussions at the national and international levels.