The Arctic Must Be Included

As surprising as you may find it (and I know I did) the draft UN Framework on Climate Change that forms the basis of discussion at the COP15 climate change discussions in Copenhagen does not include the Arctic.

The document focuses on the obligations of developed and industrialized nations towards developing nations. However it ignores the simple fact that the Arctic has already been impacted by climate change. Somehow a place, and a people, who are already experiencing profound effects from climate change are simply not there.

Next week I will be in Copenhagen as part of the Canadian delegation being led by Environment Minister Jim Prentice. First and foremost I am there representing the concerns of Canadian Inuit, secondly I am there in an advisory capacity to Minister Prentice concerning what needs to be done to climate change in the Canadian Arctic.

In fulfilling both functions I have called on the Canadian government to ensure that the interests of Canadian Inuit are included in what I hope will be a strong and politically binding agreement, that specifically includes the Arctic, at the conclusion of the conference.

It is also critical, as I called for in October at the European Development Days conference, that international leaders agree to funding climate change adaptation programs not only for populations at risk in developing and third world countries, but for all populations at risk - and that includes the Canadian Arctic.

The $10 billion fund recently announced by Commonwealth countries is insufficient to adequately address the changes that are already upon many vulnerable world populations. G20 countries should commit to a $20 billion start-up fund on the understanding that this fund will require negotiation upwards by 2020.

The science is clear and it tells us that our climate has changed, and will continue to change with negative consequences for millions if we do not act. The time for the divisive and political rhetoric that has, unfortunately, been all too prevalent within the climate change discussion is passed, and it is now time for the world to focus not on who has done what individually, but upon what must be done collectively.

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