My name is Thomas Joseph Tsewenaldin from The Hoopa Valley Tribe of Indigenous Peoples. I’m with Indigenous Environmental Network, delivering this statement on behalf of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice, or DCJ. I voluntarily and readily disclose that I have no direct or financial ties to the fossil fuel industry or other polluting industries, and invite others to also disclose the same as they speak. We all know that this is a crucial COP since it is called “finance COP”. We hope to see ambitious public finance commitments from the parties, especially the developed countries who have the historical responsibility. We echo the demands of our comrades who have talked about the ongoing genocide in Palestine and shows the true priorities of the developed countries. These issues are deeply interlinked- there is no climate justice on occupied land, and these same actors are perpetuating both the climate crisis and the genocide and systemic violence happening around the world.

We also insist on more accountability from the rich countries to deliver on the commitments that they make here year after year. As you know Data compiled by the UNFCCC Secretariat shows that developed countries have fallen far short of their formal pledges to reduce deadly greenhouse gas emissions, fulfilling only about one-quarter of the cuts urged by scientists. There is also a strong attempt to bring in false solutions like carbon markets and speculative and untested technologies of geoengineering that are used as dangerous distractions from real emission cuts that need to happen urgently and immediately.

Access to the UNFCCC and global climate policy space is critical for civil society. Collectively we represent millions of people in the Global South who are at the frontline of this crisis and are increasingly being left behind within this process. We cannot ignore the contrast between shrinking of meaningful space for rightsholder constituencies on one hand, and the vastly increasing power and influence of the polluting interests like the fossil fuel lobbyists over this process on the other hand. For us, enhancing observer engagement requires ensuring that that engagement does not come at the cost of introducing conflicting interests that risk the integrity of the very UNFCCC objectives and process, and that displace the lived experience and expertise of rights holders. We call on your support to convene a public, formal way for observers to engage in dedicated, constructive, deep dialogue with parties on this topic, and to take all possible measures to safeguard against the undue influence of polluting interests. 

And we call on you to support strengthening the disclosure requirements instituted last year, in time for strengthened measures to come into place for COP29 registration. Specifically, we request that all observer participants be required to disclose who is funding their participation in talks before receiving their registration. The world is looking to you to give a strong signal that this hall of climate action is not overrun with the very actors that have caused the climate crisis.