Assembly of First Nations: Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Bulletin – AFN calls for Urgent and Transformative Climate Action Led by Indigenous Peoples following COP29: UN Climate Change Conference 202

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Bulletin – AFN calls for Urgent and Transformative Climate Action Led by Indigenous Peoples following COP29: UN Climate Change Conference 2024

Summary: 

• The AFN sent a delegation to the 29^th Conference of the Parties (COP 29) for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11-22, 2024.
• COP 29 was an opportunity to advance the leadership of First Nations in addressing the global climate crisis.
• In advance of COP 29, the AFN prepared a position paper, Embedding First Nations Climate Leadership at COP 29.
• In the position paper, The AFN calls on Canada to leverage the First Nations Climate Lens to create space for Indigenous Peoples' governance, rights, and knowledge systems within all areas of the UNFCCC, including the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG).
• The AFN participated in many discussions highlighting First Nations climate leadership, including at the Indigenous Peoples Pavilion and Canada's Pavilion, as well as mandated events such as the Annual Knowledge Holders Gathering, the Annual Indigenous Curricula, and the Annual Youth Roundtable.
• COP29 was framed as a finance COP, where Parties agreed on a new climate finance target between developed and developing countries. The goal tripled the earlier $100 billion annual target to $300 billion annually by 2035. Developing countries were deeply upset about the amount, citing estimates that would require around $1.3 trillion per year to address growing climate impacts.

In line with the First Nations-in-Assembly resolution – Resolution 36/2023, Urgent and Transformative Climate Action through the AFN National Climate Strategy, and Resolution 05/2019, Declaring a First Nations Climate Emergency, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) sent a delegation to the 29^th Conference of the Parties (COP 29) for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The session took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11-22, 2024. The AFN has been participating in international climate negotiations for several years, including all recent COP events.

Representing the AFN at COP 29 were Chief Wilton Littlechild of the Ermineskin First Nation, and  AFN National Youth Council (NYC) Quebec Representative Marie-Philippe Ménard. AFN staff members Nikita Kahpeaysewat and Graeme Reed provided technical support.

Issues

International reports continue to demonstrate that global greenhouse gas emissions are trending in a dangerous direction. The United Emissions Gap Report (2024) confirmed that it is highly unlikely the 2°C target of the Paris Agreement will be met with existing policy commitments. Failure to enhance ambition in the upcoming year is severe: the report projects, with current policies and conditional climate plans, a global annual temperature increase of 2.8°C by 2100.

In the face of this reality, a growing number of First Nations have declared climate emergencies, including First Nations-in-Assembly through resolutions passed in 2019 and 2023. The First Nations-in-Assembly also endorsed the AFN National Climate Strategy (Climate Strategy) in October 2023.

In October 2024, the AFN hosted its third National Climate Gathering, in Treaty No. 7 Territory in Calgary, Alberta. The National Climate Gathering, under the theme "Catalyzing First Nations Climate and Conservation Leadership for Transformative Change," was the largest climate gathering hosted by the AFN, with over 1,100 registered delegates. First Nations experts, leaders, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, youth, women, 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals, and professionals working on climate action, discussed the implementation of the Climate Strategy through a range of activities, including diverse panel presentations, workshops, and networking sessions, advocating for a First Nations and heart-centered approach.

COP 29 Priorities: 

Considering these urgent issues, the AFN drafted a position paper, "Embedding First Nations Climate Leadership at COP 29." The position paper outlines several priorities:

• Take urgent and transformative climate action in line with the AFN National Climate Strategy;
• Leverage the First Nations Climate Lens to create space for Indigenous Peoples' governance, rights, and knowledge systems within all areas of the UNFCCC, including the New Collective Quantified Goal, and;

Create concrete opportunities for the ethical and equitable engagement of First Nations, including First Nations youth, to demonstrate climate leadership.

Other Priorities:

• Climate Finance: Ensure that First Nations, and other Indigenous Peoples in the Global North, are provided direct access to funds through their representative institutions.
• Ending the Conflation: Cease combining Indigenous Peoples with the term 'local communities' and reaffirm the distinct status and rights of First Nations in all UNFCCC documents and decisions.

In addition to these substantive priorities, we identified a vital communication priority to amplify First Nations' voices and climate leadership on the international stage. First Nations are uniquely positioned to lead efforts to protect, conserve and sustainably manage the environment due to our reciprocal relationship with all of Creation.

Highlights

The AFN delegation played an important role in participating in and supporting the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), also known as the Indigenous Peoples Caucus.  

The AFN Delegation also participated in activities organized by the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), including the Annual Knowledge Holders Gathering, the Indigenous Youth Roundtable, and the Multi-Stakeholder Open Dialogue focused on Weaving Worldviews and Wisdoms to Holistically Address Climate Change.The discussions focused on key topics, including climate finance (the new finance goal), the terminology of "Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities," preservation and implementation of Indigenous knowledge in international forums, data sovereignty, the importance of youth involvement, Article 6 (principles for international cooperation on carbon markets), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration), Loss and Damage (with Parties pledging $725 million at COP 28), and the Global Goal on Adaptation.

At the Canadian Pavilion, the AFN worked with the Inuit Circumpolar Council and the Metis National Council to organize an Indigenous Climate Leadership Day (November 12), which included an opening session on First Nations Climate Leadership, a session dedicated to the AFN National Climate Strategy, and Just Transition, Youth Engagement, and Indigenous Solutions.

The AFN participated in other side events, including an Indigenous Women in Climate Change Panel Discussion, an event hosted at the Indigenous Peoples Pavilion on Climate Strategies by Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and a COP Presidency Dialogue between Indigenous Peoples and the COP 29 President.  The delegation held bilateral meetings with Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, and Canada's Climate Ambassador, Catherine Stewart.

Outcomes

COP 29 provided a significant opportunity to maintain the momentum following the hosting of the 3^rd National Climate Gathering and implementation of the National Climate Strategy

COP 29 also provided a significant opportunity to work with Canada on ensuring that First Nations' governance, laws, priorities, and worldviews breathe life into Canada's climate plans, a reality that is uncertain if federal elections shift the focus and working relationship with First Nations.

The COP 29 Summit presented a challenging environment for Indigenous Peoples and civil society members more broadly. Despite mandated events and sessions with the COP Presidency, references to Indigenous Peoples, including our rights, were reduced or omitted from the final decision texts.

Finally, Canada, along with nearly 200 other countries, agreed on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance. This agreement aims to support climate action in developing countries by increasing public funding from US$100 billion to US$300 billion annually by 2035.

The next conference, COP 30, is scheduled to convene in November 2025 in Belém, Brazil. Countries will be expected to bring updated climate targets, also known as nationally-determined contributions (NDCs).

For more information, please contact:

Ayman Hammamieh
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
ahammamieh@afn.ca

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