Word from Susan Johnson, Karen Kuhnert & Kata Kuhnert on COP21  

 .pdf here

 more photos and details on Facebook #ArcticFuture here   

P21 call for brave action and bold decisions for the whole of nature God so loved (John 3:16)

Just before Canadian Thanksgiving this year, forty people from the global North gathered above the Arctic Circle in Storforsen, Sami Territory, Sweden, to raise-up stories of how climate change is currently impacting lives of people in the Arctic. Why? Because it is understood that climate change evidence from the Arctic reveals what is to come for the rest of the planet, and that the experiences of the people of the North will become experiences common to all people if climate change is not checked. The hope is that the stories of lived impacts of climate change today would move to action the 40,000 participants expected at the upcoming world conference called COP21 in Paris.

What is COP21? Most adults have heard of the Kyoto Protocol (2005) and the Copenhagen Agreement (2009). These are outcome documents from meetings of the 196 International State governments and other parties working together on sustainability for the world. The “Paris2015” meeting is the 21^stConference of the Parties (COP21). 

The Parties have recognized how far reaching the implications of this particular November-December Convention might be and have been mobilizing “business leaders and investors” to draft a succinct outcome document (a protocol or agreement) that aligns with their interests. Yet these industrialized-nation COP21 representatives are disproportionately urban delegates living daily with mere ripples of climate change. Alternately the Indigenous Peoples who live closer to the land and are already experiencing waves of climate change are under-represented at COP21.

The Arctic delegates told important stories in Storforsen that few COP21 attendees have access to. They described food-chain insecurity all across the Arctic: fish flesh turning from healthy pink to a sickly yellow, caribou and mammals changing migration routes due to rising air and water temperatures and shifting ice conditions, herds of reindeer starving in the pasture due to vegetation changes, deformed berries shriveling before ripening. And it’s not just that food is harder to find, but it is also more dangerous to seek out food as travelling on the land, water and ice has become dangerously unpredictable. Increasingly people are eating overly expensive, salty, pre-packaged foods that deplete physical, mental, cultural and spiritual vitality. Both traditional knowledge keepers and scientists have described the devastating changes that are occurring.

We saw the connection between the suffering of the land and its effects on traditional livelihoods, the mental health, identity and well-being of all who live there. We were moved by the concerns youth have for their future and their cultural way of life. We heard of the ongoing dispossession of the peoples of the land from the land and acknowledged the responsibility to include peoples of the land in decision-making that affects the future of all.

There was a request to ask faith communities and people everywhere to rededicate themselves to stand in solidarity and support the peoples in the North, who are now already survivors and leaders in responding to climate change. There was a call to take brave action and make bold decisions on promoting climate justice.

At Storforsen we Christians were reminded that John 3:16 reads in the Greek that God so loved the cosmos, the whole of nature, that God sent his only beloved Son…. We believe the spiritual roots of climate change point to a need for conversion, to repent from individual and collective patterns of consumption that put the creation and life at risk. This aligns strongly with testimonials from coast to coast in Canada throughout the 2015 Church Leaders Justice Tour, that climate change, Indigenous rights and poverty are inseparably intertwined and of concern to the Church today.  

Climate Justice for the Arctic is a spiritual issue. We heard that all the land, all the cosmos is sacred, a sacrament, infused with meaning. Each being has a purpose. The purpose of each human being then is to be a responsible caretaker. All human beings are called to this priestly vocation. 

The COP21 outcome document is already in pre-negotiation and will lead to international laws and policies that will affect us all. International Chief Wilton Littlechild pointed out in Storforsen that protections for the inclusion of the voices of women, intergenerational equity (youth and elders) and indigenous peoples may get dropped from the Paris outcome document in the effort to be succinct.

As such, Chief Littlechild, a TRC Commissioner, and member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with colleagues in the Arctic Caucus, the Pacific Caucus, and the Women’s Caucus, want the following paragraph made operative in the Paris COP21 outcome document:


All Parties shall, in all climate change related actions, respect, protect, and fulfil human rights for all, including the rights of indigenous peoples, gender equality and the full and equal participation of women, food security and intergenerational equity as well as a just transition of the work force that creates decent work and quality jobs and upholds the integrity and resilience of natural ecosystems

We are being asked to take action now with them to stand up for the voices of women, youth, seniors and Indigenous Peoples and realign COP21 for the sake of justice.

Readers are asked to please go to your email and send #MakeItOperative toMakeItOperative@aol.com.  Or tweet, post, send out #MakeItOperative through your Twitter, Facebook or Instagram along with Chief Littlechild, Bishop Susan, Karen and Kata. Readers are encouraged to ask their contacts to take the action as well.

A Word from Henrik Grape on Climate Change from COP21

English Translation by Karen Kuhnert of Blog Post by Rev. Henrik Grape, Church of Sweden, posted Dec. 6, 2015.  See more at https://www.councilofchurches.ca/arctic-future/

http://blogg.svenskakyrkan.se/hallbar/2015/12/06/urfolk-och-klimat/

Two months ago nearly 40 of us gathered from the Arctic to think together and share experiences of what it means to be church and indigenous people living with climate change. The resulting document from the gathering is called the Future of Life in the Arctic - The Impact of Climate Change. Indigenous and Religious Perspectives. The document gathered our thoughts, fears and hopes about what is happening in a changed climate Arctic.

For it is no longer about visions of the future, we have testimony of those who live there. Before, one could be a little skeptical and say it's just hype, the climate has always shifted. But now it is not so. After having been on the Arctic seminar, and with the EU accounts of the context of climate negotiations, it was almost eerily similar. One of the climate scientists said exactly what Pat Tam, a Inuit from Alaska said. Ice forms later and break-up is earlier and earlier. (see the video opposite). This is real and a temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius is an average for what’s needed across all the earth. The Arctic is in more peril.

There is a tendency to describe the Arctic as glaciers and polar bears. Which it also is. But it is also home to Indigenous Peoples who live all around the Arctic. They have the right as Indigenous People to continue to live as they have traditionally done for millennia. But not only that. They also have a very important message to the rest of the world: - We are heading in the wrong direction and we are already seeing the effects. Indigenous Peoples the world over often live close to the land and they have important teachings for us.  They have insight and understanding of how we depend on the ecosystem to sustain us. This is knowledge that the whole world, the global community, needs.  

So  it is sad to see that the rights of Indigenous Peoples encounter resistance in the climate agreement currently being negotiated. Some countries do not want to include anything at all about Human Rights and some think it may well be in the preface, or preamble, because it is not something that one needs to take into account under the Articles of Agreement. But we need to eagerly argue that the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights should be included in what is called the “Operative” part of the agreement, this is a key learning from our conference in Stroforson two months ago. 

Sheila Watt Cloutier, one of this year's Right Livelihood laureates, also gave us this view during her award acceptance speech.  The protection of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is not a trivial matter in the big picture on Climate Change (which Norway appeared to argue in Paris), it is not a trivial matter at all. Indigenous Peoples have been run over in most contexts and they should not be run over again, and furthermore, their contribution to understanding how we are linked in one ecosystem is crucial for the transformation that the world needs to achieve climate balance for the future.

Our Letter to the UN on Climate Change

Future of Life in the Arctic Videos 

1. Climate Change Video begins with Wilton Littlechild

2. Climate Change includes Bishop Susan 

3. More Voices from Future of Life in the Arctic

4. Climate Change Video Storforsen

5. Chief Littlechild to #MakeItOperative

6. Karen to #MakeItOperative

 Here is the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) position paper:

http://www.ccmin.aippnet.org/attachments/article/1345/IP%20Political_statement.pdf

Peter Pavlovic "EU on the way to the UN climate change conference in Paris"  

Climate Change Powerpoint

Follow Up 

World Council of Churches and Canadian Council of Churches Posted Documents with Church of Sweden

Storforsen Appeal at: https://www.councilofchurches.ca/arctic-future/

Storforsen Appeal Signatories .pdf

-#MakeItOperative Appeal Letter: .pdf

#MakeItOperative Signatories .pdf

 ArcticFuture Presentation Support Materials

Peter Pavlovic "EU on the way to the UN climate change conference in Paris"

 Climate Change Powerpoint

Some of the Stories from Storforsen

Evidence from Deborah Tagorank (KAIROS Canada)

- Inuvik Settlement Region

- Nunavik

- Nunavut

- Labrador North Coast

Evidence Colleen Swan from Kivalina, Alaska

http://www.polarsea360.com/episodes/10/

Evidence Lorraine Netro Old Crow, Yukon

http://aptn.ca/news/2015/11/02/you-have-to-live-off-the-land-while-living-here/

Evidence Pat Tam & Michael Oleksa Southern Alaska

http://kyuk.org/akiak-man-loses-about-50-ft-of-land-in-two-hours/

Evidence Church of Sweden

Sami Territory

Arctic Theology

Marion Grau Text 1: Of Divine Economy

Marion Grau Text 2: Rethinking Mission in the Poscolony

Marion Grau website: https://mf.academia.edu/MarionGrau

Marion Grau article: Caribou and Carbon Colonialism: Toward a Theology of Arctic Place

 Published Friday, Nov. 27, 2015 10:00PM EST

Follow Campbell Clark on Twitter: @camrclark

Last updated Friday, Nov. 27, 2015 10:19PM EST 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads to global climate talks in Paris with a new pledge of billions for the cause and a call for a strong international agreement, promising to follow up with a domestic plan with the provinces – and a new poll suggests that is probably in line with what Canadians want.

At the Commonwealth summit in Malta on Thursday, Mr. Trudeau grabbed a little attention by announcing that Canada will put $2.65-billion over five years into climate-change funds for developing countries – a doubling of previous funding. He announced it behind closed doors to fellow leaders with some flourish, according to aides: “I’m here today not just to say Canada’s back but to show it,” they quoted him as saying.

On Saturday, Mr. Trudeau heads to Paris, promising a new level of Canadian ambition in fighting climate change – which he has said will be followed by a deal with provincial premiers, five of whom are joining him in Paris, on the nitty-gritty measures to cut greenhouse-gas emissions.

It’s a dramatic shift, and intended to be. But a new poll suggests it’s not likely to be deeply controversial: Large majorities of Canadians believe climate change is a threat to the country’s economic future.

The Nanos Research Group poll of 1,000 Canadians – conducted for The Globe and Mail and CTV News – found that 73 per cent agree or somewhat agree that “climate change presents a significant threat to our economic future,” while only 16 per cent disagree or somewhat disagree. The telephone survey, conducted between Nov. 21 and 24, carries a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The poll finds a clear view among Canadians: 72 per cent think the science of climate change is irrefutable, 79 per cent believe Canada’s international reputation has been hurt by its previous efforts, and 63 per cent indicate they would pay more for certain products so Canada could meet its climate commitments.

That suggests Mr. Trudeau has a lot of support to promise action in Paris – where 150 leaders are gathering this weekend as the talks open officially on Monday.

In some ways, his commitments will not ratchet up ambition. The new Prime Minister has not changed the emissions-reduction target submitted by former prime minister Stephen Harper’s government, a cut of 30 per cent from the 2005 level by 2030. He has insisted he won’t set targets until he’s reached a plan with premiers.

And so far, the policies already put forward by provinces will not reduce emissions enough to reach the existing targets – suggesting that further actions, which could have a real effect on ordinary Canadians’ pocketbooks, and their lives, will follow.

But Mr. Trudeau and his ministers have stepped up diplomacy on the deal, urging countries to commit to a universal agreement – and now have promised money, a key element for many developing countries at the talks.

Wealthier nations promised at the 2009 climate summit in Copenhagen to increase funding for developing countries to tackle climate change to $100-billion by 2020.

The $2.65-billion over five years that Canada promised on Friday is double the $1.2-billion over five years the former Conservative government laid out after Copenhagen, though it is far less than some, such as Britain, which pledged $11.5-billion over five years.

Canada’s annual contribution will reach $800-million in 2020, to be used for projects in developing countries, notably in Africa and Pacific islands, said Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion. Climate activists insist Canada’s fair share of the $100-billion supposed to come from developed countries should be $4-billion per year by 2020, not $800-million, but Mr. Dion noted that is a total to come from both government sources and the private sector; he argued the public money would attract private “partners” but did not specify how.

The Canadian financial commitment brought a mention from France’s President François Hollande after he spoke to Commonwealth leaders to urge them to commit to a deal.

He told reporters he is hopeful for an agreement because of the progress made, but fears just a few countries will block it if they feel “there are not enough guarantees or they believe some of the obligations will slow down their development.”

Mr. Hollande, who travelled from a Paris memorial for victims of the Nov. 13 attacks in the morning to the Commonwealth summit in the afternoon, said he felt it was important not to miss the occasion, despite the seriousness of the events his country suffered.

“Man is man’s worst enemy. We see it with terrorism. But we can also say the same when it comes to climate,” he told reporters. “It is man who is degrading the planet. It is man who destroys nature. So it is man who once again must rise to the standard demanded by his dignity, and future generations.”

Canadians back bold climate-change action, poll finds

Just before Canadian Thanksgiving this year, forty people from the global North gathered above the Arctic Circle in Storforsen, Sami Territory, Sweden, to raise-up stories of how climate change is currently impacting lives of people in the Arctic. Why? Because it is understood that climate change evidence from the Arctic reveals what is to come for the rest of the planet, and that the experiences of the people of the North will become experiences common to all people if climate change is not checked. The hope is that the stories of lived impacts of climate change today would move to action the 40,000 participants expected at the upcoming world conference called COP21 in Paris.

What is COP21? Most adults have heard of the Kyoto Protocol (2005) and the Copenhagen Agreement (2009). These are outcome documents from meetings of the 196 International State governments and other parties working together on sustainability for the world. The “Paris2015” meeting is the 21^stConference of the Parties (COP21). 

The Parties have recognized how far reaching the implications of this particular November-December Convention might be and have been mobilizing “business leaders and investors” to draft a succinct outcome document (a protocol or agreement) that aligns with their interests. Yet these industrialized-nation COP21 representatives are disproportionately urban delegates living daily with mere ripples of climate change. Alternately the Indigenous Peoples who live closer to the land and are already experiencing waves of climate change are under-represented at COP21.

The Arctic delegates told important stories in Storforsen that few COP21 attendees have access to. They described food-chain insecurity all across the Arctic: fish flesh turning from healthy pink to a sickly yellow, caribou and mammals changing migration routes due to rising air and water temperatures and shifting ice conditions, herds of reindeer starving in the pasture due to vegetation changes, deformed berries shriveling before ripening. And it’s not just that food is harder to find, but it is also more dangerous to seek out food as travelling on the land, water and ice has become dangerously unpredictable. Increasingly people are eating overly expensive, salty, pre-packaged foods that deplete physical, mental, cultural and spiritual vitality. Both traditional knowledge keepers and scientists have described the devastating changes that are occurring.

We saw the connection between the suffering of the land and its effects on traditional livelihoods, the mental health, identity and well-being of all who live there. We were moved by the concerns youth have for their future and their cultural way of life. We heard of the ongoing dispossession of the peoples of the land from the land and acknowledged the responsibility to include peoples of the land in decision-making that affects the future of all.

There was a request to ask faith communities and people everywhere to rededicate themselves to stand in solidarity and support the peoples in the North, who are now already survivors and leaders in responding to climate change. There was a call to take brave action and make bold decisions on promoting climate justice.

At Storforsen we Christians were reminded that John 3:16 reads in the Greek that God so loved the cosmos, the whole of nature, that God sent his only beloved Son…. We believe the spiritual roots of climate change point to a need for conversion, to repent from individual and collective patterns of consumption that put the creation and life at risk. This aligns strongly with testimonials from coast to coast in Canada throughout the 2015 Church Leaders Justice Tour, that climate change, Indigenous rights and poverty are inseparably intertwined and of concern to the Church today.   

Climate Justice for the Arctic is a spiritual issue. We heard that all the land, all the cosmos is sacred, a sacrament, infused with meaning. Each being has a purpose. The purpose of each human being then is to be a responsible caretaker. All human beings are called to this priestly vocation. 

The COP21 outcome document is already in pre-negotiation and will lead to international laws and policies that will affect us all. International Chief Wilton Littlechild pointed out in Storforsen that protections for the inclusion of the voices of women, intergenerational equity (youth and elders) and indigenous peoples may get dropped from the Paris outcome document in the effort to be succinct.

As such, Chief Littlechild, a TRC Commissioner, and member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with colleagues in the Arctic Caucus, the Pacific Caucus, and the Women’s Caucus, want the following paragraph made operative in the Paris COP21 outcome document:

All Parties shall, in all climate change related actions, respect, protect, and fulfil human rights for all, including the rights of indigenous peoples, gender equality and the full and equal participation of women, food security and intergenerational equity as well as a just transition of the work force that creates decent work and quality jobs and upholds the integrity and resilience of natural ecosystems

We are being asked to take action now with them to stand up for the voices of women, youth, seniors and Indigenous Peoples and realign COP21 for the sake of justice. 

As such, Chief Littlechild, a TRC Commissioner, and member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with colleagues in the Arctic Caucus, the Pacific Caucus, and the Women’s Caucus, want the following paragraph made operative in the Paris COP21 outcome document:

All Parties shall, in all climate change related actions, respect, protect, and fulfil human rights for all, including the rights of indigenous peoples, gender equality and the full and equal participation of women, food security and intergenerational equity as well as a just transition of the work force that creates decent work and quality jobs and upholds the integrity and resilience of natural ecosystems

COP21 call for brave action and bold decisions

for the whole of nature God so loved (John 3:16)