Last month in Glasgow, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference — also known as COP26 — was held. COP26 was an international conference where representatives from various countries and stakeholder parties congregated to reflect on progress made since the creation of the Paris Agreement five years prior, and to discuss their updated plans and commitments for addressing the climate crisis in the coming years. The discussions were partly successful in spurring the creation of new pledges. However, those who are most affected by climate change and should be represented in the fight against climate change — including Indigenous populations — were once again sidelined in the “whitest COP ever”.
Tangible Outcomes
This year’s negotiations led to a number of key agreements and pledges, including the Glasgow Climate Pact, a Deforestation Pledge, a Global Methane Pledge, and an agreement to end the overseas financing of oil and gas projects.
The Glasgow Climate Pact is the most notable agreement of all. It emphasizes scaling up capacity building — or the establishment of climate-friendly patterns of sustainable development — and technology transfer to increase adaptive capacity to climate change while considering the needs of developing country Parties. The Pact also hones in on adaptation finance, calling upon developed countries to at least double their collective provision of climate finance to developing country Parties, as well as to increase their provision of technology transfers. It urges developed country Parties to contribute to the USD $100 billion goal for developing countries to fulfill the commitments of the Paris Agreement. On emissions cuts, the Pact reaffirms the goal of the Paris Agreement to keep the global average temperature increase within 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and pressures Parties to accelerate efforts that ensure a just transition to a low emission energy system through approaches like phasing out coal power. And when it comes to loss and damage, the Pact acknowledges the need to work closely with Indigenous peoples and local communities in minimizing the loss and damage associated with climate change.
The Deforestation Pledge is another landmark outcome of COP26. It has brought more than 100 countries together to pledge to reverse deforestation by 2030, and has so far raised around $19.2 billion dollars in public and private funds. The funds will go to restore damaged land and support Indigenous communities. Brazil was a particularly eyebrow-raising signatory since Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has greenlighted the deforestation of vast swaths of the Amazon. Whether signing the pledge means more than a public relations exercise to Bolsonaro and others will remain to be seen.
The Global Methane Pledge brought 100 countries together to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030. Philanthropic groups and others have pledged over $325 million to help fulfill these efforts. Another notable outcome of COP26 was an agreement to end overseas financing of fossil fuel projects — including oil and gas projects — and steer spending towards clean energy through public and private finance instead. Parties including the US, UK, Canada, and the European Investment Bank were all signatories. Intriguing as it may sound, this agreement allows for participants to set their own exemptions, and so in practice is entirely voluntary.
Countries and donors also raised $356 million during the COP26 flurry of activity for an Adaptation Fund to finance adaptation projects in developing countries during the event, and 151 countries established new nationally-determined contributions to slash their emissions by 2030. However, global actors should by now be well aware that more is needed. Developing countries need $70 billion per year for adaptation, and this number is expected to double by 2030, according to The UN Environment Program’s own research.
Additionally, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero — a coalition of investors, banks, and insurers representing $130 trillion in global assets — committed to aligning their portfolios with net zero emissions by 2050. While these promises set the bar low and generate media buzz, more impactful actions also emerged from the negotiations including the UK, the US, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands signing a pledge of $1.7 billion to be given to Indigenous peoples and local communities in recognition of their role in protecting forests. The fund will support their ability to govern themselves collectively, back national land reform, assist with mapping and registration work, and help resolve territorial conflicts.
Indigenous Voices Sidelined, Again
Amidst the pledge frenzy, there were still significant shortcomings to the conference. Those who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change were inadequately represented, and many left the conference with feelings of discontent. These vulnerable communities include Indigenous peoples, who were partially but not equitably represented by platforms like the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform Facilitative Working Group, and the Indigenous People’s Pavilion.
Indigenous peoples must be present and centered as leaders in climate decision-making. Many Indigenous nations are knowledgeable about long lasting nature-based solutions and have firsthand experiences with the consequences of anthropogenic climate change. They have historically experienced high barriers to entry to the climate conferences — and COP26 was no exception. More than two-thirds of those who were given observer status for the conference were from Western Europe, and Indigenous peoples from Africa, Asia, Russia, and the Pacific were underrepresented, as were small island states and territories in the Pacific region. Language access, logistical and financial barriers, and coronavirus restrictions made it difficult for them to even attend the conferences. Some leaders also felt they were there for symbolic reasons or good photo ops rather than for their substantive contributions to the negotiations.
Indigenous leaders were failed by the pledge-funding mechanisms. Funding from the pledges and agreements will flow directly to them, but the amounts and timelines are not guaranteed, leaving uncertainty about if the money pledged to them will arrive. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Director of the Tebtebba Foundation and former UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights, alongside others, pressured for Article 6 of the Paris Agreement — which addresses market and non-market mechanisms for emissions trading and offsets — to center Indigenous peoples when carbon trading and offsetting policies are designed and implemented. Article 6 currently mentions the need to respect Indigenous peoples’ rights, but does not mention the need to obtain their free, prior, and informed consent. Tauli-Corpuz states that a grievance mechanism should be established to use in case their rights are violated in the implementation of the Article.
Polluters Present at COP26
A very public sense of discontent with the presence of polluters permeated COP26; over 100 fossil fuel companies were represented at the conference. If the fossil fuel lobby was a country delegation at COP, it would be the largest with 503 delegates — two dozen more than the largest country delegation. One in eight delegates from Russia’s 300 member delegation were from the fossil fuel industry. Canada’s and Brazil’s official delegations also had lobbyists. In total, 27 official country delegations included fossil fuel lobbyists. Shell’s Chief Climate Change Advisor David Hone attended as part of the 100 member delegation of the International Emissions Trading Association, while BP’s Senior Vice President Nigel Dunn and Gazprom Neft’s Head of Strategy and Innovations Sergey Vakulenko were present in public discussions with Russia.
That is not particularly unusual. COP conferences have a dirty little secret; the conferences are partially funded by major polluters, including Unilever, National Grid, and Scottish gas giants SSE and Scottish Power. To note, Unilever’s pollution footprint amounts to 70,000 tonnes per year, covering more than 11 football fields a day. SSE, a multinational energy company from Scotland, produces more than 1.6 million tons of carbon dioxide from their Peterhead power station each year, and they were the second largest polluter in Scotland in 2019. Until such funders and lobbyists’ interests are barred from these conversations, no COP will be able to realize its full potential as a convening space for international agreement on aggressive carbon reduction and climate reparations to developing countries and Indigenous peoples.
Expectations for COP27: Cairo, Egypt
Given these shortcomings, it is imperative that the international community organize around the outcomes that are necessary in preparation for COP27, which will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The location of the conference rotates amongst regions every year, and Africa is next up on the list to host the conference. Egypt’s authoritarian regime is known for suppressing protest, meaning the voices of climate activists and civilians may be monitored and unduly curtailed in the lead up and during COP27. This stems from a 2013 Egyptian law which outlaws any public gathering without consent of the Interior Ministry, and has led to the detainment of around 65,000 political prisoners. Rather than a more equitable venue, Egypt may prove to be as exclusive as Glasgow. Protests and the participation of civil society in COP conferences represent the voices of populations especially vulnerable to climate change, and are a primary source of pressure on decision makers. We have yet to see what 2022 holds in store, but regardless, the international climate justice movement must keep uplifting Indigenous voices, holding polluters accountable, and making their voices heard inside and outside the halls of international conferences.
