10 November 2025— Travelling from the Arctic to the Amazon, Inuit delegates will bring their experience, knowledge and leadership to COP30, where they will urge Parties to maintain persistent and stable climate policies and actions, even as political landscapes shift.
The recent Global Stocktake (GST) was a warning that global climate action dangerously off course. Devastating effects of climate change have been seen around the world in 2025. 2024 was the first year that the global average temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures. With the Arctic warming 3-4 times faster than the global average, the future of Inuit, of the Arctic, of all Indigenous Peoples, and of our global community requires urgent action.
“20 years ago, at COP 11, our then-Chair announced a petition to the Interamerican Court on Human Rights, based on the knowledge of Inuit from Canada and the US. ICC supported this petition, which aimed to draw attention to the ways in which climate change violates the rights of Inuit. The climate is in greater crisis today than it was 20 years ago, largely due to the limited or slow action of States to seriously address the drivers of climate change. We are at COP30 because we must continue to advocate for the safety and survival of our people in the midst of the climate crisis, and for the rights and futures of generations to come, not least our self-determination,” ICC Chair Sara Olsvig.
Planetary crisis adversely affects Inuit
In the Arctic, Inuit are experiencing the impacts of climate change firsthand. The recent typhoon and flooding in Western Alaska, which affected at least 15 Indigenous coastal communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and displaced over 1000 people, is just one example of the serious impacts of a changing climate.
“The human safety and rights of Inuit are directly and adversely affected by extreme weather events and changes to our climate, environment, and thereby our livelihoods and communities. We are facing a planetary crisis, and Inuit are at the forefront. The rights of Indigenous Peoples must be fully recognized and upheld in the climate negotiations,” ICC Vice Chair Herb Nakimayak.
These climate change impacts in the Arctic – flooding, permafrost thaw, unstable freeze and melt of sea ice, rapidly melting glaciers, rainfall instead of snow, mudslides, erosion, changing ocean currents and temperatures – are an existential threat to Inuit safety and survival in Inuit homelands.
Indigenous Rights Must Be Upheld
ICC calls for states to lead this urgent climate action by upholding their commitments to keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees and while continuing to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“There can be no regression. The urgency of climate action cannot supersede the rights of Indigenous Peoples, who continue to be at the forefront of climate change impacts. Climate action – prevention, mitigation, and adaptation – must draw on Indigenous Knowledge and the leadership of Indigenous Peoples. Strategies to address climate change – from energy transition, to carbon markets, to geoengineering – must uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination, and must secure the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples”, ICC Chair, Sara Olsvig.
Inuit Leadership
Inuit are leading in climate action on the ground in their communities. From renewable energy strategies to relocation plans, to emergency preparedness training, to mapping sea ice thickness for communities, Inuit are demonstrating their resilience. States must further commit to enhancing the capacity of all Indigenous Peoples, including Indigenous Peoples in so-called developed countries, to respond to climate change. This includes through direct and equitable access to climate finance.
Speaking on behalf of Inuit across Inuit homelands, ICC delegates and leadership will advance negotiations positions and calls to action as outlined in their COP30 position paper:
- Inuit need direct, equitable and ongoing access to the workstreams and negotiations under the UNFCCC climate finance portfolio and special consideration in setting finance targets to effectively mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change;
- Inuit must have full and effective participation and meaningful engagement in all decisions that impact us, through processes that uphold the right to self-determination;
- Recognize that Inuit hold a unique role as an Indigenous People of the cryosphere and that all climate change work must be based on a strong human rights foundation, including the human rights affirmed through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
- Ensure that all decision-making that impacts Inuit includes the ethical and equitable engagement of our People and the utilization of Indigenous Knowledge1; and
- A just transition for Inuit must respect the inherent right of self- determination in decision-making processes in the Arctic. Inuit should not in any way bear the cost of transitioning to safe alternative fuel or energy sources and will determine their own political, social, and economic priorities.
The full position paper can be accessed here: https://www.inuitcircumpolar.com/news/from-the-arctic-to-the-amazon-inuit-call-on-states-to-accelerate-climate-commitments-at-unfccc-cop30/
