Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ voices and engagement in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Advice to inform the Australian Government towards Assessment Report 7
An independent report to the Australian Government
“There is limited recognition regarding First Nation peoples other than relegating us to 'vulnerable communities' in the context of climate change. This disregards our over-65,000 years of sustainable practices and customary knowledge of the natural environment and thus our significant contribution to policy. First Nations need a voice”
Aboriginal respondent, IPCC Voices survey, 2023.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have lived in Australia for thousands of generations and through changes in the climate. Knowledges of how to manage Country (traditional estate) to ensure ecosystem health, food sources, and sustainability of Peoples through these changes have been passed down through Traditional methods. Much of these Indigenous Knowledges provide insights on how to adapt to the changes occurring now and projected into the future under the more rapid and human-induced climate change.
However, until the most recent IPCC Assessment Report (AR6; IPCC, 2022), minimal inclusion of Indigenous data had occurred.
In response, research was commissioned by the Australian Government ahead of the IPCC Assessment Report 7 planning discussions in August 2023, to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledges and perspectives are directly presented by First Nations scholars and Knowledge holders themselves.
To guide the approach, a research team was formed comprising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars, IPCC Lead Authors, and researchers with skills in cultural competency. Adjunct Professor Sandra Creamer AM (Waanyi Kalkadoon, The University of Queensland), Dr Vinnitta Mosby (Meriam Nation, Torres Strait, James Cook University), Associate Professor Brad Moggridge (Kamilaroi, University of Canberra) and Lillian Ireland (Melukerdee, legal scholar) are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars who bring cultural Knowledges and diverse Country representation to this group. Dr Nina Lansbury (non-Indigenous, The University of Queensland) and Professor Gretta Pecl (non-Indigenous, University of Tasmania) are AR6 Lead Authors who worked alongside the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team.
Read the Executive Summary (PDF, 329.7 KB)
Read the Appendix of ‘Summary for the People: IPCC Assessment Report 6- Australasia’ (PDF, 711 KB)
An animation of the research report was commissioned from Wiradjuri artist, Tom Munro-Harrison, to share with contributors and a wider audience. Watch the animations here:
Overview from our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lead researchers
Longer video prepared for conference presentations
Cite as: Lansbury, N., Moggridge, B., Creamer, S., Ireland, L., Buckley, L., Evans, G., Milsom, O., Pecl, G., and Mosby, V. (2023), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ voices and engagement in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Advice to inform the Australian Government towards IPCC Assessment Report 7, An independent report commissioned by the Australian Government (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water), Canberra.
For further details, contact Dr Nina Lansbury at the School of Public Health, The University of Queensland: n.lansbury@uq.edu.au