Indigenous-led resistance to 21 fossil fuel projects in the U.S. and Canada has prevented or delayed the equivalent of one-quarter of those countries’ climate warming pollution, a recent report says.
The analysis from the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Oil Change International finds Indigenous efforts have staved off more pollution than all the cars on the road in the U.S. and Canada, and about equal to 400 new coal-fired power plants.
“From an Indigenous perspective, when we are confronting the climate crisis we are inherently confronting the systems of colonization and white supremacy as well,” Dallas Goldtooth, an IEN organizer, told Grist. “It’s more than just stopping fracking development and pipelines and it’s more than just developing clean energy, it’s about actually fundamentally changing how we see the world itself.”
As reported by Grist:
The report and data analysis by Goldtooth, Alberto Saldamando, and Tom Goldtooth of IEN and Kyle Gracey and Collin Rees of OCI, is meant to dispel the myth that land defenders and those on the frontlines of the struggles against fossil fuel projects are not making an impact. The work is cause to celebrate, Goldtooth says.
“When you take a step back and look at the work that Indigenous peoples have put in over the years and decades, it really goes to show that we collectively are making a tremendous impact for the benefit of this planet,” Goldtooth told Grist.
“It backs up what we’ve constantly been saying,” he added, “recognizing Indigenous Rights protects the water, protects the land, and protects our futures.”
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