MEDIA ADVISORY
November 30, 2023

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Climate leaders from North American Indigenous groups will come together tomorrow, December 1, 2023 for a thought-provoking panel event that delves into the heart of climate justice and a just transition.

WHO: Indigenous Climate Action
Sacred Earth Solar
NDN Collective
Indigenous Environmental Network

WHAT: Just Transition: Indigenous-led Pathways Toward Equitable Climate Solutions
and Resiliency in the Climate Crisis

WHEN: December 1, 2023 13:30-14:30 (GMT+4)

WHERE: COP28, Blue Zone, Climate Justice Civil Society Hub Room 1

The one hour event will bring together Indigenous leaders and activists to explore how Indigenous wisdom can guide us toward a more sustainable and resilient future in the face of the climate crisis. This event will highlight the recently launched Just Transition Guide and foster a deeper understanding of the vital role Indigenous communities play in addressing the climate crisis. 

Speakers

Serena Mendizabal (SES) is a Cayuga Wolf Clan Panamanian woman from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Serena is the Just Transition Lead at Sacred Earth Solar, Co-Chair of the SevenGen National Indigenous Youth Energy Council, a Subject Matter Expert on Connecting for Climate Change Action, a Youth Action & Environment Fellow with the Lawson Foundation, a Board of Director with Student Energy and also works with Protect the Tract, a Haudenosaunee-led group in her community, Six Nations, focused on enforcing the traditional governance (the Haudenosaunee Confederacy)’s moratorium on development along the Grand River (Haldimand Tract).

Jade Begay (NDN Collective) is a citizen of Tesuque Pueblo and is also Dine and Southern Ute. Jade is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at NDN Collecting, working at the intersections of storytelling, narrative strategy, climate and environmental justice, and Indigenous rights policy both at the domestic and international level. She has served as the Creative Director and Climate Justice Campaign Director at NDN Collective. Now, Jade directs the Policy and Advocacy work leading programs and projects that elevate policy and advocacy issues that are important to the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples and Tribal Nations.

Thomas Joseph (IEN) is a member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and a descendant of the Lone Pine Shoshone Paiute Tribe from the occupied and unceded lands of California. He has spent the last decade defending his peoples' lands from carbon brokers, hydro dams and other false solutions. As California's largest land-based tribe on their ancestral lands of Hoopa Valley, they are targeted by carbon brokers with shady tactics. As IEN’s Carbon Pricing Educator, he follows current trends and policies regarding carbon markets and travels the country to educate communities about false solutions.

Jayce Chiblow (ICA) is Anishinaabe from Garden River First Nation, Ontario, Canada. She has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology and a Masters of Environmental Studies where she conducted research in her community focused on climate change and food sovereignty. Jayce currently works with Indigenous Climate Action as the Education and Training Manager.