Can capitalism really fix a problem when it is the root cause?

The first week of COP27 kicked off with colonial nations debating the mechanics of Climate Finance that included Loss & Damage, climate reparations, and “overall mitigation in global emissions” under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Despite being referenced in the original text, Indigenous peoples and our knowledge systems were largely excluded from these discussions, while oil and gas lobbyists continued to push their agendas and advance false solutions. Their goal? Maintaining the status quo which will continue human and Indigenous rights abuses and centre “solutions'' that see the earth as nothing more than resources and profit margins. 

Holding Economy at our Core

It feels clear that COP27 was set to hold the economy at the centre and side step any previous commitments to upholding human and Indigenous rights.  

It feels unfathomable that we continue to allow the very culprits of the crisis - colonialism, capitalism, extractivism and white supremacy - to be uplifted as the saviours of the crisis. Oil and gas lobbyists were once again the largest delegation at COP. They continue to hold heavy influence in these spaces because most nation states can’t imagine the end of capitalism. As though saving the economy equates to saving the planet. 

Carbon market mechanisms and technologies that are being promoted as part of climate action do little to nothing to reduce emissions, or stop the harms to people and the environment. 

Tom Goldtooth, a member of the Navaho Nation and environmental, climate, and economic justice activist, has called attention to the continued commodification of nature through carbon trading:

“Carbon trading, offsets and other market-based systems…turn the sacredness of our Mother Earth’s carbon-cycling capacity into property to be bought or sold in a global market…. Carbon trading will not contribute to achieving protection of the Earth’s climate. It is a false solution with many risks, including the dangers of entrenching and magnifying social inequalities and human rights abuses. From the Indigenous mindset, it is a violation of the sacred, plain and simple”

Capitalism to the rescue?

Putting a price on nature or investing in ideological technologies doesn’t solve the climate crisis, it further traps us into accepting that capitalism is here to stay even if it means the end of the world. 

So profit-driven businesses fill the hallways of climate gatherings like COP27 and schedule meetings with nations to set the standards, set the policies, and convince the world this is what is needed. All the while, communities continue to bear the brunt of extractivism and confront oil and gas projects that are invested in rebranding themselves as our saviours as opposed to the culprits. 

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, ICA’s executive director, has seen experienced this rebranding of capitalism and extractive economies first hand:

“My own community, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, sits downstream from the largest industrial project on planet earth in the Alberta tar sands. We have witnessed these false solutions drive business as usual despite pleas from our communities that we need to ‘stop the destruction, start the healing’... a motto utilised by the Tar Sands Healing Walk. Just like we’ve witnessed in the international climate spaces, instead of stopping tar sands expansion, governments and industry push monetary compensation agreements, or what is better known in our territory as Impact Benefit Agreements. These agreements put a price tag on ecosystem and cultural losses created by their projects and also offer other so-called benefits to sweeten the deal. These are closed contracts that often require our silence on issues that come up regarding their projects… ostensibly becoming gag orders on our people.”

Presently, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) has exhausted the judicial, regulatory and public pressure avenues with little success in halting expansion of the tar sands. As of right now, expansion approvals are at an all time high with the operators making record breaking profits. 

“For us, this has meant that our leadership has felt there is no other choice but to sign monetary compensation agreements. Sure, we have a beautiful Elders and youth centre, recreation centre, water filtration system, and community programs, all bought and paid for by oil and gas. But we are still experiencing major impacts of the continued expansion and growing climate crisis… species decline, shorter and warmer winters that impact our ability to travel on our winter roads and other changing weather patterns that impact our waterways and ultimately our food and cultural securities connected to the land. Money can’t fix these problems, only stopping the destruction of oil and gas projects can.” 

Indigenous nations like the ACFN were hopeful that the calls to action laid out in the IPCC report would be integrated into the negotiations and outcomes of COP27. The report calls for an end to oil and gas expansion, phase out of existing oil and gas projects, and to take into consideration the role colonialism and capitalism play in the climate crisis. However, instead of coming to a global agreement on the phase out of oil and gas, and addressing the legacy of colonialism, Nation states focused on market mechanisms and financial systems that allow for business as usual and out of control climate chaos.

Funding Loss and Damage

The story of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation feels a lot like the global Loss & Damage climate finance pacts where nations are once again relying on money to address harms rather than removing the harms themselves. 

Many groups have applauded the development of a Loss & Damage fund as a victory. While it is clear that there is a need for climate financing as there are nations that have contributed more to the climate crisis with large emissions profiles and major human rights abuses. We continue to side step some of the broader systemic issues and root causes of the climate crisis.

The current financial mechanisms that came out of COP27 lack clear processes and safeguards for human and Indigenous rights, and there are no assurances these financial resources will ever make it to those most impacted by the climate crisis. In many instances these resources end up in the hands of corporations that make promises of technological fixes. While climate financing sounds good at the onset, we must look deeper and not be swayed by empty promises. 

Monetary compensation is a deflection and distraction from the ongoing violence against the land and our rights, and is just another tactic in the colonial expansion plan. 

So, What now?

Over the last three UNFCCC COP’s (2019-2022), there has been a growing chorus of Indigenous peoples relaying the motto “Colonialism causes climate change, Indigenous rights are the solution.” Understanding the origins of that statement is just as important as supporting the advancement of Indigenous voice, rights and ways of being in these negotiations. 

As Indigenous peoples, we have always lived in relationship with the land and waters, but colonialism tells us we are wrong to think we are part of any system outside of capitalism. Capitalism then tells us land is only meant to be used, owned, and sold. Land is not something to be owned or controlled or bought and sold. Land is a relative to be in relationship and reciprocity with. So we say ‘Land Back,’ but we see it not as a means to control, but as a first step in breaking free from the grips of these extractive systems of oppression. A first step towards a life of balance that is built on reciprocity with the land, waters, and our other non-human relatives.

Our communities have set the stage and the standards for low carbon lifestyles, economies, and systems. We not only need access to financial mechanisms, but we need to be empowered to be driving solutions forward. We need to be decision makers. We need our Land Back. We need to demand an end to the harms to our lands, waterways, and communities. We need an end to fossil fuel expansion and we need a just transition strategy that is driven by our relationship with our ecosystems, not the economy. 

So we will continue to hold the line, speak for our lands, waterways, relatives and future generations. We will continue to show up, continue to take up space, and demonstrate our resilience and strength as Indigenous peoples. 

Speak your languages, practise your cultures, promote your community governance, education and economic models. Show the world that the future is Indigenous.