Amplifying Indigenous and Critically Engaged Voices at COP27

October 21, 2022

PWIAS Student Fellow, Charlotte Taylor (she/her) is heading up a new project called Collective Climate Knowledges: Amplifying Indigenous and Critically Engaged Voices at COP27.

Through the UBC Climate Hub, in partnership with PWIAS, Charlotte will be developing resource materials and helping to organize a series of events leading up to COP27. She will also join PWIAS Interim Director Vanessa Andreotti in supporting Pasang Sherpa and Chief Ninawa Huni Kui, both Indigenous scholars at PWIAS, in their efforts to place Indigenous voices and rights at the centre of the climate agenda.

Q: How did the idea for Collective Climate Knowledges emerge?

I initially connected with Dr. Andreotti through a discussion about her plans to attend COP27 as a delegate this fall. In this conversation, we identified common themes of interest in raising awareness about Indigenous voices and critically engaged voices at COP27, including voices drawing attention to colonialism as a cause and driver of climate collapse and also as the origin of injustices in climate change mitigation.

As part of the Wall Catalyst cohort, I’ve been immersed in the Facing Human Wrongs course this term. The course addresses the ethical and practical complexities and paradoxes of mainstream approaches to global challenges, which, of course, relates to the kinds of voices given priority at COP27.

My work as Student Engagement Lead at the UBC Climate Hub organizing and leading climate-oriented events and discussion groups (eg: Climate Community Chats, Climate Creative Collectives, Climate Cafes, and Sustainability Career Night) – as well as my experience facilitating KAIROS Blanket Exercise sessions and communications Indigenous Knowledge Keepers’ initiatives at Wildwood Ecoforest – will inform my efforts to help amplify voices of Indigenous scholars sharing critically-engaged perspectives on COP27.

Q: Can you tell us a little more about the events and interviews you’re planning?

Sure! I’m planning a couple of events around Collective Climate Knowledges: Amplifying Indigenous and Critically Engaged Voices at COP27. – an outdoor teach-in and a collective forest walk. I’m also producing 3 separate resource guides for students. Each guide represents a different level of critical engagement with source materials (eg: climate-based political frameworks/governing bodies ,and climate solutions proposed by scientific research institutions). More information about all this, along with interviews with Indigenous scholars will be available online soon.

Q: Who are you hoping to interview for this project?

Initially I’m interviewing Dr. Pasang Sherpa and Chief Ninawa. Hopefully I will be able to interview other Indigenous scholars as well.

Dr. Sherpa’s critical reflections on the IPCC and institutional frameworks for climate research are integral to understanding the inherent biases which shape supreme decision-making bodies and research institutions on climate. Her research work has largely centered around Indigeneity, human dimensions of climate change and the Sherpa diaspora. Dr. Sherpa will also be attending COP27 as a delegate this fall.

Chief Ninawa Huni Kui’s work in founding the “Forest University” in the Brazilian Amazon and launching the “Last Warning” campaign speaks directly to the vital role of climate reparations in combating climate injustice. I hope to highlight Chief Ninawa Huni Kui’s exploration of decolonial social innovations.

Q: Where can people find more information?

For now, the best place to get the latest information is to follow @ubcclimatehub on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. PWIAS will also be sharing my interviews and resources on their website and through their social media.

UBC Climate Hub Facebook

Climate Hub @ UBC Twitter

Climate Hub Instagram