“Climate change again?” We often hear this reaction. Yet beyond headlines, the consequences of unchecked human activity are urgent. We are living in what Nobel Prize–winning chemist Paul J. Crutzen called the ‘Anthropocene Epoch,’ a chapter where human actions, more than natural cycles, are reshaping the planet’s climate and ecosystems.

The impacts of climate change fall hardest on regions facing poverty and marginalization, especially rural and Indigenous communities. Limited resources, dependence on local ecosystems, and historic exclusion from decision-making leave them highly vulnerable. Yet these same communities carry knowledge systems that have preserved ecological balance for generations. Scholars such as Fikret Berkes describe this body of insights, practices and beliefs as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). TEK is not only academic; it embodies lived experience, refined and transmitted across generations. Global policy discussions increasingly acknowledge Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) for its cultural roots and essential role in climate strategies.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Arctic, home to many Indigenous communities, particularly the Inuit. NASA notes the region is warming nearly four times faster than the global average. For Inuit and other Arctic Peoples, these are not distant projections but urgent realities, making their knowledge more vital than ever.

During my participation in the UArctic Academy for Sustainability in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2024, I saw how Inuit perspectives regard climate change not as abstract data but as lived experience. This knowledge, grounded in observation and adaptation, shows why TEK is among the most powerful tools to address climate change. A short ethnographic study at the Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark in British Columbia also showed how Indigenous Peoples shaped the land while sustaining ties with animals and ecosystems across generations. These connections, inscribed in the landscape, are reminders of resilience and interdependence, guiding meaningful engagement and shaping inclusive, sustainable climate policy today.

Climate policy and science gaps

Integrating Indigenous Knowledge is vital for sustainable climate strategies. The Conference of the Parties (COP), which operates under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), guides collective action. Yet COP29 revealed a gap: connecting climate policy meaningfully with Indigenous Knowledge. The Baku Workplan was an important step to amplify Indigenous and local voices, but leaders stress the hardest work lies ahead.

Scientific evidence reinforces this urgency. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) notes the Arctic’s central role in regulating the planet’s climate. As it warms, impacts extend far beyond the Arctic Circle, shaping global weather and ecosystems. Several studies, including an analysis in Communications Earth & Environment, show the Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the global average. Inuit hunters, as Canadian Geographic highlights, draw on nuanced observations of sea ice textures, colors and thickness to guide safe travel, knowledge that often anticipates scientific detection. The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) in its COP29 submission underscored that Inuit participation in United Nations forums must be more than consultation, it is a right affirmed under The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and Inuit knowledge is indispensable to global climate solutions.

Global insights echo the same reality. In the Pacific Islands, traditional holistic knowledge systems guide navigation and ocean understanding, helping communities adapt to rising seas and shifting currents, as highlighted in reports by UNESCO. In the Amazon, Indigenous stewardship safeguards carbon sinks vital for climate stability, a role documented by FAO and other UN agencies. These experiences underline that Indigenous Knowledge is not only heritage but an essential partner in climate action.

The Arctic Institute warned in 2020 that the world is approaching thresholds from which it may not recover, as extractive industries and thawing permafrost accelerate destabilization. Similarly, the Climate Overshoot Commission, in its 2023 report ahead of COP28, cautioned that the 1.5°C threshold is likely to be breached within the next decade. The consequences will fall most heavily on vulnerable populations, many of them Indigenous, despite their minimal contribution to global emissions.

Moreover, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores that limiting warming to below 1.5°C is essential to avoid the worst outcomes, but so too is preparing for the impacts already unfolding. Indigenous Traditional Knowledge supports both goals: advancing mitigation through sustainable land use and guiding adaptation through generations of lived experience.

Climate change vs global warming

To understand the urgency of the climate crisis, it is important to distinguish between climate change and global warming. Many use the terms interchangeably, but they are not the same. NASA’s Earth Observatory defines global warming as the long-term rise in Earth’s surface temperature, driven mainly by greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change refers to broader shifts in climate systems, including altered rainfall, stronger storms, droughts, and sea-level rise.

Inuit observations of bird migrations, caribou movements, sea ice conditions, and the health of seals serve as indicators of change, as Canadian Geographic has reported in its work on Inuit hunters. These insights often complement and sometimes anticipate modern science. 

For example, studies of Southern Beaufort polar bears found that shifts to onshore behaviour were transmitted through mother–offspring learning, mirroring how Inuit hunters pass down knowledge of sea ice and wildlife across generations. Addressing global warming is about reducing emissions, while climate change requires adapting to impacts already unfolding. ITK helps us do both.

Indigenous reconciliation and integration

Incorporating ITK into climate policy requires meaningful engagement. For many years, colonialism and economic development displaced Indigenous communities, overlooked their knowledge, and limited their voices in decisions affecting ancestral lands. Reconciliation, as expressed in UNDRIP, must go beyond words. What matters is not rhetoric but policies and resources that give Indigenous communities real decision-making power.

In the Arctic, UNDRIP has strengthened Inuit ability to shape adaptation planning, ensuring their rights and knowledge are central to responses to sea ice loss, shifting wildlife patterns and food security. The ICC has reiterated, especially in its COP29 submission, that Inuit participation in United Nations forums is more than consultation; it is a right grounded in UNDRIP, and Inuit knowledge is vital to global climate solutions.

This approach is also visible elsewhere. In Acre, Brazil, UNEP highlights that Indigenous Peoples are the best guardians of forests that serve as vital carbon sinks. Across the Pacific Islands, UNFCCC-backed platforms integrate Indigenous Knowledge into adaptation policy, enhancing resilience to sea-level rise and guiding climate-sensitive infrastructure development. These examples show that UNDRIP offers more than rights on paper; it lays the groundwork for Indigenous leadership in mitigation and adaptation.

Call to action

The responsibility now lies with us to act. Indigenous Traditional Knowledge is essential, and we must support and amplify Indigenous voices in climate policymaking. Indigenous Peoples carry knowledge that has sustained communities and ecosystems for millennia. Ensuring this knowledge guides global strategies is not only justice but survival, offering a pathway to a more resilient, equitable future.