Nunavut, Greenland and ICC leaders deliver Arctic wish list for COP21 agreement

Leaders from Nunavut, Greenland and the Inuit Circumpolar Council have sent out their wishlist of what they want to see in a final agreement when theCOP21 climate change conferenceends this week in Paris.

Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna, Greenland Minister of Finance, Mineral Resources and Foreign Affairs Vittus Qujaukitsoq and ICC Chair Okalik Eegeesiak released a joint statement Tuesday. It coincides with Arctic Day at the Indigenous Peoples pavilion at the conference.

The leaders lay out nine points they are calling on all nations at COP21 to deliver to address the "acute impacts" the Arctic is experiencing from climate change, including stabilizingglobal greenhouse gas concentrations below 450 parts per million by volume to make certain global temperature increases will remain between 1.5 C and 2 C.

Their other recommendations include:

• recognizingand protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the values, interests, culture and traditions of the Peoples of the Arctic.
• ensuring equal access to the right to development, also for the Peoples of the Arctic.
• acknowledging the extremely high cost of living in the Arctic and notimposingfurther financial burden to Arctic regions.
• advocating the development and expansion of energy solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, also for areas like the Arctic.
• ensuring that Inuit food security is protected.
• promoting the need for adaptation action in areas that are disproportionately affected by climate change, such as the Arctic, and for sustainable funding to support such initiatives.
• recognizing the importance of Indigenous knowledge, its significant contribution to our understanding of climate change, and acknowledges its value being on par with scientific data.

"When it comes to climate change, Nunavut is one of the most vulnerable areas on Earth," said Taptuna in a news release.

Qujaukitsoq saidGreenland has an important responsibility in promoting international climate research.

"Our joint Inuit voice and our traditional know-how from across the Arctic should be heard and included in international policy-making," he said in the release.

In an interview with CBC, ICC ChairEegeesiakcalled on the Canadian government to provide more funding to help Inuit adapt to climate change.

"The Canadian government has invested quite a few million dollars to go to underdeveloped countries to help them with that and I hope that Inuit communities and Nunavut in this case will have access to those funds to help adapt and mitigate."