Cut Arctic-warming emissions, Inuit org urges world leaders

This is the logo for the United Nations climate change conference now underway in Durban, South Africa. It’s also called COP 17, that is, the 17th conference of the parties or nations which signed on to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The Inuit Circumpolar Council hopes leaders at the United Nations climate change summit meeting in Durban, South Africa will read “the Inuit Call to Global Leaders,” released Dec. 6.

The ICC document urges negotiators in Durban not to abandon the commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol to cut climate-warming and greenhouse gas emissions, ICC said in a Dec. 6 news release.

The Kyoto agreement, an update to the UN Convention on Climate Change, is the only legally-binding treaty in the world that requires countries to reduce those emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere.

“The Arctic is warming faster than any other inhabited region on earth, and Inuit are struggling to adapt to the changes we are seeing,” ICC president Aqqaluk Lynge said in a Dec. 6 ICC news release. “Without strong commitments from global leaders, Arctic warming will continue to accelerate. This is not the time to back away from Kyoto.”

The Durban talks need to produce “strong emission reduction commitments,” said Kirt Ejesiak, vice-president of ICC-Canada, in the same release.

“Since those initial Kyoto pledges, melting Arctic snow and ice have demonstrated that climate change is real, and it’s happening now. At the end of the day, the future of the Arctic depends on adopting an ambitious, binding agreement to limit global emissions and keep global temperature rise below two degrees.” he said.

“The Inuit Call to Action” also wants to see:

• recognition for the role of the Arctic in sustaining the world’s climate;

• support for the the integration of Inuit knowledge in global climate change assessments;

• assistance to Inuit and indigenous peoples with adaptation;

• recognition and respect for Inuit rights and sovereignty in all decision-making processes;

• acknowledgement of the Arctic Council as a model for co-operation between states and indigenous peoples.