Inuit and Arctic Indigenous Peoples Day

Thank you Jimmy and Aqqaluk for organizing this event. Thank you also to the Inuit of Greenland, who are the indigenous hosts of this international conference on climate change. Their wisdom has guided us well over these stressful days.

I am the National Leader of Inuit in Canada and I am here this week in two capacities: the first is as a special advisor to Canada’s Environment Minister, Jim Prentice. More importantly, I am here on behalf of the Inuit of Canada, to ensure that we have a voice in the discussions taking place here and to communicate the measures needed to combat climate change in the Canadian Arctic.
The effects of global warming are being felt on a day-to-day basis across the North. The scientific predictions for what we can expect in the not-so-distant future are alarming.

Environmental changes are coming at a rate that may exceed our capacity to respond. The Arctic is melting. We fear for our future as Inuit and we fear for the planet.

Yet Inuit are not content to be portrayed as the victims of climate variability. We want the opportunity to be part of the solution.

There are approximately 55,000 Inuit living in Canada, spread throughout 53 communities in the Arctic – a region larger than Europe. The Arctic is one third of Canada’s land mass, with 50% of Canada’s shoreline. Inuit are the vast majority of the permanent population in Arctic communities.

The Arctic and its people are at the center of this climate crisis. The rate of warming in the Arctic in recent years is unprecedented and will continue. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified the Arctic as one of the most vulnerable regions of the world.

The recent Arctic Council Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Report predicts accelerating changes in coming decades with marked impacts on the northern ecology and significant social, economic, human health and cultural impacts.

The Arctic ice is melting. The Arctic will continue to melt under current conditions. This will contribute significantly to a rise in sea levels. Sea-level rise may be one of the most destructive effects of climate change worldwide.

Successful adaptation to change in large part defines who we are as Inuit. But we cannot do it alone.

Our strategy here in Copenhagen is threefold:

• First, we will continue to support and lobby for regional, national and international efforts to curb carbon emissions, understanding that ultimately this is a planetary crisis.
• Second, we are urging world leaders to make international adaptation programs and funding available to populations at risk in both developing and developed countries, including Inuit population. I have advised Minister Prentice that binding international agreements must acknowledge the needs of the most vulnerable.
• Thirdly, we are advocating for the political agreement produced by these meetings to address both mitigation and adaptation in the Arctic regions and acknowledge the vulnerability of areas dependent on ice and snow. In particular, I am calling on the Canadian government to ensure that Inuit interests are represented.

Previous efforts to deal with climate change in the past have not done the job

Public policy so far falls short of achieving any sort of workable consensus on climate change. Careful and creative planning and analysis, and genuine and fair consultation, particularly in the Arctic, will always be essential. But we can no longer delay action.
A massive deployment of political and capital investment toward mitigation is required to reduce carbon emissions and implement green technologies.

We need a robust and integrated approach to climate change

We need to rethink, retool and re-engineer the way we do things. We need a suite of inter-related polices, including an energy policy, an industrial policy and a transportation policy to make us all less dependent on fossil fuels.

We also need reliable international reporting, monitoring and enforcement arrangements. Progress can be made regionally as well as globally, and coalitions across jurisdictions and boundaries should be welcomed.
Hard targets are essential

The ultimate goal must be to achieve a substantial and absolute reduction in global emissions of greenhouse gases.
Hard emission reduction targets applied to industry must recognize competitive realities – including the significant cost of doing business in the Arctic – and be set within an overall policy framework that allows profitable firms to increase their investment in new technologies.

Meaningful reduction of greenhouse gas emissions requires massive investments in next-generation clean technologies
Canada, as an example, clearly has the natural resources and the technical and financial skills to become a leader in new energy technologies. All such technologies – clean coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, biofuels and others – should be open for consideration, at least at the outset, as part of a sustainable or transitional energy mix.

Environmental security and economic security are mutually dependent

If we are to prosper, we must sacrifice neither environmental protection nor sustainable economic growth. Countries of the world – and Inuit especially – must stand united on this. In fact, we must pursue green technologies with the same determination we apply to resource development.

Leadership is crucial

The scope and severity of the challenge should transcend short-term partisanship and narrow regional self interest.
In conclusion, our message to the world is this: We are not bystanders in this complex crisis. As Arctic peoples, we are at the epicentre of climate change.

As human beings, we are charged with the responsibility of ensuring a safe and healthy world for our children and future generations. Let us act now in partnership to save ourselves and our planet.

Nakurmiik.