“Indigenous rights and climate justice go hand in hand.”
Greta Thunberg spoke in defense of Indigenous peoples protecting the Amazon in Brazil. Here’s why.
Greta Thunberg spoke in defense of Indigenous peoples protecting the Amazon in Brazil. Here’s why.
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00:00Right now as we speak, indigenous people all over the world are being threatened and even killed
00:05for protecting the land, and very much so in Brazil. Again, on your watch. And this is outrageous.
00:22The things Brazil's leaders are doing now are completely shameful, especially in the light of
00:28the way it's treating and has been treating the indigenous peoples and nature. Brazil sure did
00:34not start this crisis, but your leaders are adding a lot of the fuel to the fire. And just because
00:41the leaders of the global north have failed, and yes, failing they are, there is no excuse for
00:47Brazil not to take a different path. The Amazon, the lungs of the earth, is now close to a tipping
00:54point, and several studies suggest that parts of it are now emitting more carbon than it is
01:00absorbing because of human-initiated forest fires and legal as well as illegal logging.
01:07And this is happening on your watch. Indeed, it is being directly fueled by your government.
01:15But the world cannot afford to lose the Amazon, because if we lose the Amazon, we will most
01:20likely lose all possibilities of reaching the Paris Agreement, and that will be a death sentence
01:26to countless people in countless parts of the world, not the least in Brazil. You have a historic
01:32responsibility, but also an unprecedented opportunity to lead the way. But in order to do so,
01:39you must unite behind the science and give stewardship of the land back to indigenous
01:44peoples of the Amazon. Globally, indigenous people make up less than 5% of the population,
01:52but they are protecting 80% of the biodiversity. They are the guardians of the land, and indigenous
01:58rights and climate justice go hand in hand. It is time to come to terms with our history and
02:05for colonialism to end. Conservation cannot be entrusted only to governments, companies,
02:11Western NGOs, but to those who have been taking care of the land for millennia. The recent proposed
02:17bills in Brazil are yet another death sentence to indigenous rights, to biodiversity, and to future
02:24living conditions on planet Earth, as it would rapidly speed up the already disastrous conditions
02:30in and of the Amazon rainforest. And again, I am in no position to tell you what to do,
02:37but I can tell you this. People all around the world are watching you right now. And will you
02:44take action to help prevent the worst impacts of the climate and ecological crisis? Will you
02:50support the indigenous peoples who live in the Amazon to care for the lungs of the Earth? And
02:55will you be on the right side of history? It is time for people like me to pass the
03:00mic to the most affected people in the most affected areas.