Indigenous peoples carry burden of climate change

Representatives of indigenous peoples from all over the world gathered in Paris to make their collective voice heard during the UN Climate Change convention, calling on political world leaders to do more for the climate and to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. “If our leaders were really committed to ending the climate crisis, they will put more pressure on corporations to stop oil drilling, to stop coal mining, to stop making emissions,” said Sina Brown–Davis, a Maori speaking for the COP21 delegation of Pacific indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples, who own, occupy or manage about 65% the world’s land surface, “have been largely excluded” from national climate change mitigation and adaptation plans, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

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