Practical pathways to climate justice for First Nations Australians and Pacific Islanders

The TNQ Drought Hub – Sustainable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Enterprise (SATSIE) was pleased to be ale to support the Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning & Human Settlements (EAROPH) Australian chapter to hold the Yidinji Declaration 1st anniversary Workshop on Climate Justice - June 21, 2024 at the Cairns Institute. The theme of the workshop was “Practical pathways to climate justice for First Nations Australians and Pacific Islanders” and built on last years' Yidinji Declaration.

The Yidinji Declaration recognizes that indigenous peoples worldwide have cultural sovereignty and must be empowered to sustain and regenerate the land, waterways, the sea, the air and all their biodiversity drawing on their cultural knowledge and authority. The workshop explored how a Climate Justice Charter could support indigenous communities worldwide in protecting themselves and assisting others in addressing the adverse impacts of climate change, drawing on their cultural knowledge and experience.

Australian main organiser Sandi Taylor said “Workshop aims to be impactful and collaborative for all participants as we build a mindset legacy to tackle current and impending devastation of Land and Sea Country through a First Nations grassroots lens.”
Cairns Regional Councillor Trevor Timm was the MC and guest speakers included

• Professor Ngaire Brown (Chancellor of James Cook University),
• Sandi Taylor (EAROPH Australia),
• Rufino Varea (Pacific Island Climate Action Network),
• James Reynolds (Mirabou Energy),
• Betty Alupian (President EAROPH Pacific), and
• Dominic McGann (McCullough Robertson Legal).

Key findings from the workshop included;
• Any Climate Justice initiatives should be based on localised solutions derived from traditional knowledge and an understanding of the whole ecology of each area, rather than promoting single issue proposal and one-size-fits all solutions.
• The binding mechanisms for product stewardship of plastics being developed through the UN Plastics Treaty Negotiations should be supported, with parallel principles then being applied to product stewardship of fossil fuels. This means producers have to include the management of the waste and damage they generate in their business model.
• Cost benefit analysis of major projects, public and private, can include risk assessments of the adverse impacts of the project on climate change, in addition to the risk assessment of climate change on the project itself.

• While there is often government resistance to the concept of homeland housing on traditional country, the benefits need to be promoted where this can achieve more reliant outcomes: appropriate housing design, housing on land that is not at risk from climate impacts, and relief from overcrowding.
• The Annex 1 countries identified in the Paris Agreement (wealthy counties causing emissions), which include Australia, should use the same principle and models that are being developed for international application, and apply these to the environmental and cultural loss of Australian First Nations communities. These loss and damages will be funded by the national government, rather than the international fund.

At the workshop there was enthusiastic consensus for developing practical proposals that could be promoted by EAROPH within Australia, within the Asia-Pacific Region and globally, with possible collaboration and pooling of resources with CANA and PiCAN. It is proposed that EAROPH Australia and EAROPH Pacific members establish an Australia/Pacific Working Group on Loss and Damages.
The final draft of the Yidinji Proposition to be presented to the Australian Government, the Pacific Islands Forum, the World Urban Forum and COP29.
For more information, visit EAROPH Australia events