Virginia Marshall on COP26

RegNet’s Inaugural Indigenous Postdoctoral Fellow Virginia Marshall attended COP26 as a delegate of the Indigenous Peoples’ Organisation Australia and the UN Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples’ Platform. Virginia’s involvement in the important climate talks are highlighted below:

Push for Indigenous voices to be heard at COP26 negotiations
With only four Pacific Islands represented by their leaders in Glasgow, there are fears that the very voices who are directly impacted by climate change may not be heard at the UN talks. Virginia speaks to Fran Kelly on RN Breakfast.

Australia was named the “colossal fossil” of the COP26 climate talks
In this interview with UK Sky News Breakfast, Virginia says all countries must banish fossil fuels together, not just her own.

“If everybody does their part and pays the debt, it will be a much better trajectory to work towards net zero emissions and that’s what we need to accomplish.” Watch the interview here.

COP26: we got this podcast
In episode 3 of COP26 We Got This, Virginia joins hosts Dr Megan Bowman (King’s College London) and Dr Will J Grant (Australian National University) to talk about the role of non-state actors, Indigenous Australian knowledge & effective adaptation strategies in tackling climate change. Listen to the podcast.

Transforming Australia: from laggard to leader
In this event, speakers examined the diverse climate action being taken by individuals and organisations that are lowering costs and catalysing greater ambition across society and the economy, highlighting opportunities to transform Australia from a climate laggard to a leader.

Dr Virginia Marshall was a panellist on the Transforming Australia: from laggard to leader event on 5 November 2022. She spoke about water security, indigenous science and knowledge and the need for a change in our law and legislation, amongst other climate issues. Watch the panel discussion.

Resilience Lab at COP 26: Shifting Mindsets, Shaping the Future
Panellists Dr Virginia Marshall, Tania Martinez Cruz and Richard Bramley discussed concepts and remedies from their indigenous communities at the Resilience Lab at COP26 on 10 November 2021. Virginia described her community’s relationship with nature and their desire to protect their traditional remedies from being appropriated and exploited. Learn more about the event.

Indigenous delegates at COP26 urge Australian Government to prioritise their communities
Dr Virginia Marshall highlights the lack of government engagement with “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the conceptual stages of climate change policy” despite the creation of a report “over a decade ago” that demonstrated the importance of consultation with Indigenous communities. Read the full article from National Indigenous Times here.

Image credit: COP26 Logo from Wiki Commons