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Sunday 05.02.2012

Hear us and act, Inuit leaders say

Inuit leaders from around the Arctic want world leaders at the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen next month to produce a "meaningful" climate treaty that wil protect the future of the region.

Inuit have sent a message to world leaders that action must be taken at next month's United Nations climate summit.

Inuit leaders from around the Arctic are asking world leaders gathering for the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen next month to pledge to agree to a "meaningful" climate treaty that will protect the future of the region.

The Arctic has been identified as one of areas at highest risk of being affected by climate change, and in their plea, sent through the Inuit Circumpolar Council, the leaders underscore the widespread effects of climate change on the region's cultures.

Aqqaluk Lynge, president of ICC Greenland, said it was important that the Inuit use their status as the only native peoples of the summit's host country make an effort to reach the world's decision makers.

"World leaders attending the summit need to protect our Arctic by any means necessary. We need resources and new technologies that can help us adapt to the new conditions."

ICC Chair, Jim Stotts, said, “the Arctic is at the epicentre of climate change. Inuit traditions and subsistence practices have already been assaulted.” The December Conference of the Parties (CoP) will be its 15th. “CoP 15 is the most critical climate meeting thus far”, added Stotts. “Our message to global leaders is simple: there is no more time to waste.”

The Inuit Call to Global Leaders outlines six elements that a successful CoP 15 agreement must contain. Inuit leaders from across the Arctic made public these elements yesterday.

Commenting on the call to action, Edward Itta, ICC Vice Chair for Alaska, noted that adaptation assistance will be a key benchmark for success in Copenhagen.

“We Inuit live in so-called developed countries. Yet we are getting ready to relocate entire communities and rebuild our infrastructure as our permafrost melts and our shorelines erode," said Itta, who is also the mayor of the North Slope Borough.

Inuit leaders also offered their help to the global leaders. Tatiana Achirgina, ICC Vice Chair for Chukotka, said in Anadyr, Russia, “we offer our traditional knowledge, which is based on living closely with the land and sea over many generations, and is passed down from grandmother to granddaughter, grandfather to grandson."

Because traditional knowledge has contributed to groundbreaking research on climate change, Achirgina said that UN member states and their scientists should “draw upon this knowledge as they tackle climate change impacts and adaptation challenges”.

Duane Smith, ICC Vice Chair for Canada, said in Inuvik, Canada that the development and transfer of small-scale, appropriate technologies to Inuit communities is essential for moving forward.

“Many Arctic communities want green technology to help offset the high cost of living. But access to green energy is still expensive here.”

A successful climate change agreement would “incorporate mechanisms to assist local communities with green technology," he said.

Inuit leaders will also be present in Copenhagen in December to remind UN member states of the elements of ICC’s global call for action.

Stotts concluded, “we hope that the world’s political leaders will listen.”

The Call to Global Leaders is available on ICC’s website: www.inuitcircumpolar.com.