Indigenous communities bear heavy climate impacts but receive almost no global funding to fight them, advocates say. At the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, leaders highlighted barriers in major climate funds. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres praised them as guardians of nature, yet billions pledged have largely bypassed them.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City last week, calling Indigenous peoples from the Amazon to the Arctic 'great guardians of nature' and 'champions of climate action.' Despite this recognition, advocates at the forum described how their communities suffer from flooding and wildfires without financial support. They demanded direct access to climate finance as a right under the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, citing historical injustices. Joan Carling, executive director of Indigenous Peoples Rights International, stated, 'We are not asking for charity... This is a matter of social justice.' An analysis by Rainforest Foundation Norway found that between 2011 and 2020, Indigenous peoples and local communities received less than 1 percent of global climate mitigation and adaptation funding. The Green Climate Fund, with a $20 billion portfolio, has accredited no Indigenous organizations, according to Helen Magata of its Indigenous advisory committee. Stringent accreditation criteria, a $10 million minimum grant, and lack of tracking mechanisms hinder access, a 2025 fund report noted. Janene Yazzie of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change said, 'We have to jump through hoop after hoop.' The Global Environment Facility has provided $50 million to Indigenous and local communities over eight years and plans to double that, offering smaller grants and aiming for 20 percent of funding to them. Both funds struggle to verify money reaching communities and exclude Global North Indigenous groups due to official development aid rules. Deborah Sanchez of the Community Land Rights and Conservation Finance Initiative emphasized securing land rights for sustainability.