The Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change has been challenged for its exclusion of indigenous and local knowledges (ILK). Responding to such critiques the IPCC in its most recent report (AR 6) has attempted to be more inclusive. However, is that enough? Are the steps taken by the IPCC addressing the aspirations of a variety of indigenous communities and local knowledge practitioners or are they merely tokenistic?
To explore this issue, members of Tohu, have been working on an international collaborative project which includes Dr. Pasang Sherpa from the University of British Columbia and the United Nations Foundation.
In the coming months this ‘ILK inclusion in IPCC’ collective has a variety of research and outreach events planned.
First, we are hoping to organize a panel discussion in collaboration with the United States pavilion at the Conference of Parties – 27 (COP 27) to be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022. This panel will focus on the question of Knowledge Justice within the IPCC reports and will feature a variety of speakers including IPCC administrators.
Second, we are working on scientific and popular reports which analyse more than 20000 pages of the IPCC report material to identify areas of change in terms of knowledge inclusion and places of future intervention.
Third, we are organizing an international workshop (hybrid format), on the University of British Columbia campus, funded partly through the Canadian research council, with certain identified ILK practitioners who will meet to discuss our findings analysing the IPCC reports and also to come up with a best practices document for knowledge justice to be presented to the IPCC in COP 28.
Finally, we are working on a virtual reality/augmented reality experience to be unveiled at the next COP (28) which would incorporate findings of the ongoing research and also address issues of accessibility and representation at the COP.
To learn more about the IPCC and ILK inclusion please watch this video
