In the United States, along with the Thanksgiving holiday, November is also Native American Heritage Month. This is a bit ironic to have in the same month, as we know from history that the first Thanksgiving celebrated by the white settlers was not for or with the Indigenous communities whose ways of living on their land were already being permanently disrupted and threatened.

I am grateful for the designation of the month, however, as an official recognition of the huge debt of gratitude we owe to the more than 500 Native American Indian nations who lived and thrived on this land that was claimed (stolen, some would say) for sustaining the diversity of ecosystems that made this land so desirable. Ecosystems that, after 300-plus years of “progress,” have been badly damaged and will become inhabitable for all human beings if the decline in species and soil is not restored and regenerated.

This is not intended to depress you on Thanksgiving Eve in the US, but to suggest that this is a good time to stop and reflect on how interconnected our lives and livelihoods are to our environment, and how important it is now to listen and learn from the experiences of our Native Indian neighbors, and Indigenous communities around the world on every continent.  

While some debate the number, scientists estimate that Indigenous communities protect 80% of the world’s biodiversity that is essential for healthy ecosystems that  feed us, shelter us, and generate the oxygen we breathe.

So as the world grapples with the climate crisis, the knowledge and sustainable practices that Indigenous communities possess are crucial for protecting biodiversity and the fragile ecosystems necessary for sustaining life on earth. “We need to deeply listen to Indigenous People's solutions and implement them at every level,” Osprey Orielle Lake, the founder and executive director of Women's Earth & Climate Action, International said in reflecting on the outcomes of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan — outcomes that were clearly disappointing in terms of forward movement towards a habitable future.

COP29 was supposed to end on Friday last week, but it went into overtime, with negotiators finally reaching a deal in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday. The fact that a deal was reached at all was cause for celebration after talks nearly broke down.

“COP29 in Baku has been one of the most difficult COPs I can remember,” Mary Robinson, chair of The Elders, said in a statement following the publication of the final COP29 agreement. “It came very close to failure and it has ended with a disappointing deal. But it is a deal the world can build on in 2025. The Paris Agreement is alive, and we are making progress – just not fast enough.”

As I mentioned in last week's newsletter, the biggest item on the agenda this year was climate finance. Developing and vulnerable countries, those experiencing the worst climate impacts despite bearing little responsibility for climate change, came into the talks demanding $1.3 trillion a year from wealthy countries. The funds are needed to help them transition away from fossil fuels, grow their economies with clean energy sources, and implement projects to mitigate the impacts of climate change and protect their citizens from future severe weather events, rising seas and other climate-related threats.

As The Guardian's environment editor Fiona Harvey told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, while a trillion dollars might seem like a large sum, “it's actually not a great deal of money when you put it in context. It's about one percent of the global economy and it's really a sum of money that is eminently findable.”

In the end, wealthy countries offered $300 billion a year and a promise to “mobilize” the additional funds needed from private investors, banks and other sources. Developing and vulnerable countries were bitterly disappointed with the outcome and the lack of transparency and back-room negotiating that dominated the process.

“COP29 was a dumpster fire. Except it’s not trash that’s burning — it's our planet. And developed countries are holding both the matches and the firehose. Their refusal to pay up for climate action and harm, or to phase out fossil fuels, in line with their legal obligations, denies Global South countries their due and puts a livable future at risk,” said Nikki Reisch, CIEL’s Director of Climate & Energy Program, in a statement.

What's needed now is action and due diligence to ensure that the money goes to those who most need it. As Mary Robinson noted, “The poorest and most vulnerable countries are not getting enough, and we need better access for women, indigenous peoples and local communities.”

On that front, there was some good news. COP29 achieved a significant milestone by adopting the Baku Workplan, which prioritizes the integration of Indigenous knowledge systems with modern science, amplifies Indigenous participation in climate discussions, and incorporates Indigenous values in climate policies. A high-level roundtable discussion further emphasized the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities' (IPLCs) traditional knowledge in understanding and addressing the complex challenges presented by climate change and its effects on nature.

I am encouraged by this progress and pleased that Indigenous leaders will have seats at tables where high level decisions are being made. But I also believe that in order to avoid the worst climate impacts and ultimately to solve the climate crisis, we all need to listen to, learn from, and amplify Indigenous voices.

For more information and perspectives on what happened and what didn’t at COP29, I recommend subscribing to the Dandelion Digest, which Project Dandelion publishes every Wednesday. This week’s issue contains more updates and perspectives on the outcomes of COP29 as well as good news about the solutions and innovations that will keep the momentum moving forward towards a clean energy future that is supported and sustained by healthy ecosystems and a thriving natural environment.

Tomorrow on Thanksgiving day, I will be expressing gratitude for all those on the frontlines and at the policy tables shaping that future, and for the world’s Indigenous communities whose knowledge will sustain us.

Lastly, a friend shared a beautiful song that reminds us why we gather at our tables. I want to share it with you in closing, along with my gratitude for your readership, your friendship, and for all you are doing to move forward towards the future we know is possible and is on our watch to secure for those generations to come to gather together and express gratitude for the work we did to ensure that future.

Onward!

- Pat