What COP26 means for indigenous communities of Eastern Himalayas

The sixth edition of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report on climate trends globally rang the alarm on the urgent need to limit the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius – or else face irreversible climate change impacts on heating, weather systems and ecosystems.

Critical to combatting climate change, it reported, was the traditional ecological knowledge of indigenous people from around the world and indigenous-managed lands: home to rich biodiversity and ecosystems that form some of the world’s biggest carbon sinks today. 

Experts dubbed COP26 the best last chance to chart a pathway for global decarbonization and emissions reduction in line with the Paris Agreement to limit warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Assessments of its success at achieving these ambitious goals have been mixed. Developing nations and vulnerable island nations rue the lack of commitment on funding for loss and damage.