Food for Thought Podcast: The Egg Crisis
28 July 2025
Telling the Climate Change bedtime story: Empowering Children with Critical Thinking on Climate Change
28 July 2025
By Laura CHEVROT
I argue for connecting the IPCC’s climate science with indigenous knowledge. There is a common belief that we need to ‘find solutions’ to climate change, but I believe that some solutions already exist in indigenous teachings, which compliment, rather than contradict, climate science.
The IPCC’s impartiality has led it to focus on academia, silencing indigenous voices. Authors are selected by governments based on their citations in academic publications. This excludes those identifying as members of an indigenous nation or having restricted access to academic resources (Carmona et al., 2023). Consequently, indigenous peoples are largely under-represented in the sixth assessment report (AR6) and entirely absent from certain sections, like the Australasian one (Moggridge et al., 2022).
This has consequences. AR6 parochially considers indigenous peoples as a homogenous group, which they are not, and sees them first and foremost as victims of climate change (Carmona et al., 2023). WGI does not mention indigenous knowledge or peoples (IPCC, 2021). WGII states that it “recognises the value of diverse forms of knowledge such as scientific, as well as Indigenous knowledge”, but does not detail how to include indigenous knowledge and peoples (IPCC 2022a: 7). The IPCC fails to lead the way, since its selection system disadvantages indigenous contributors. WGIII mentions indigenous knowledge, but almost exclusively in relation to the local management of land and forests (IPCC, 2022b). It thus regards it as having a local, rather than global, value.
Yet indigenous knowledge is legitimate, and based in observations of nature, as are academic disciplines like physics and ecology (Moggridge et al., 2022). For example, the notion of reciprocity, which is central to several indigenous groups, suggests that the land provides for people, whose duty in return is to care for the land (Kimmerer, 2011). This is observed in nature: it is only through taking care of plants that they offer us food (Kimmerer, 2013).
I argue that the same idea is present in AR6. WGI’s statement that “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land” shows that we have not taken care of the Earth (IPCC, 2021: 4). WGII’s statement that “climate change has already had diverse adverse impacts on human systems” shows that we are suffering the consequences of this neglect (IPCC, 2022a: 11). When we stop caring for the Earth, the Earth stops providing for us. I therefore argue that Indigenous knowledge is not incompatible with the climate science of the IPCC.
Moreover, indigenous communities safeguard 80% of the world’s biodiversity while making up only 5% of the global population (Fleck, 2019). Indigenous knowledge is surely a legitimate addition.
How can we connect indigenous knowledge with climate science? I argue we must listen to, follow, and amplify the voices of indigenous authors already doing so (e.g.: Kimmerer, 2013; McGregor, 2004; Edwards et al., 2013; Bang et al., 2018; Alexander et al., 2011). The IPCC must include more indigenous authors and non-academic contributions. Through this, we will become more aware of which solutions can help us address overshoot.
References
Alexander, C., Bynum, N., Johnson, E., King, U., Mustonen, T., Neofotis, P., Oettlé, N., Rosenzweig, C., Sakakibara, C., Shadrin, V., Vicarelli, M., Waterhouse, J., Weeks, B. (2011). Linking Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge of Climate Change. BioScience. 61(6): 477-484.
Bang, M., Marin, A., Medin, D. (2018). If indigenous peoples stand with the sciences, will the sciences stand with us? Daedalus.147(2): 148-159.
Carmona, R.; Reed, G., Thorsell, S., Petrasek MacDonald, J., Dorough, D.S., Badhra Rai, T., Sanago, G. (2023). Research Square. [online] Available from: https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-2471382/v1 (Accessed 07/04/23).
Edwards, M., Biloslavo, R., Kwaymullina, B., Kwaymullina, A. (2013). Big picture wisdom: Metatheorising ancient, scientific and indigenous wisdom perspectives for global environment leadership. Journal of Spirituality, Leadership and Management. 7(1): 13-32. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15183/slm2013.07.1113
Fleck, A. (2022). Indigenous Communities Protect 80% Of All Biodiversity. Statista. [online] Available from: https://www.statista.com/chart/27805/indigenous-communities-protect-biodiversity/ (Accessed 07/04/23).
IPCC (2021). Summary for Policymakers.In: IPCC (2021). Climate Change 2021. The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. In Press.
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IPCC (2022). Summary for Policymakers. [H.-O.Pörtner, D.C.Roberts, E.S.Poloczanska, K.Mintenbeck, M.Tignor, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem (eds.)]. In: IPCC (2022). Climate Change 2022. Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Slade, A. Al Khourdajie, R. van Diemen, D. McCollum, M. Pathak, S. Some, P. Vyas, R. Fradera, M. Belkacemi, A. Hasija, G. Lisboa, S. Luz, J. Malley, (eds.)]. Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781009157926.001
Kimmerer, R.W. (2011). Restoration and reciprocity: the contributions of traditional ecological knowledge. Chapter 18 in: Egand, D. (eds). (2011). Human dimensions of ecological restoration: Integrating science, nature and culture. Washington, Covelo, London: Island Press: 257-276.
Kimmerer, R.W. (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Penguin Books Ltd.
Mc Gregor, D. (2004). Traditional ecological knowledge and sustainable development: Towards coexistence. Chapter 5 in: Blaser, M. (eds.) (2004). In the way of sustainable development: Indigenous peoples, life projects and globalization. London, New York: Zed Books: 72-91.
Moggridge, B., IPCC reports still exclude Indigenous voices. Join us at our sacred fires to find answers to climate change. (2022). The Conversation. [online] Available from: https://theconversation.com/ipcc-reports-still-exclude-indigenous-voices-come-join-us-at-our-sacred-fires-to-find-answers-to-climate-change-178045 (Accessed 07/04/23).