This November, global leaders will gather at the UN COP26 to renew Paris agreement commitments to ensure countries act together to reduce emissions and limit global temperature rises. COP discussion will focus on ways to 1) achieve global net zero with country targets to reduce emissions, 2) protect communities and natural habitats, 3) and mobilize finance to achieve goals. Leading up to COP26, practitioners, policy makers, and private sector actors have mobilized with various campaigns, commitments, and an unprecedented $5B donor climate pledge to support climate solutions.

We were thrilled to join our Andean region network partner, Impaqto, for the annual CLIIQ Summit, which explored some of these themes. Claire Wathen, Skoll Foundation’s Director, Network & Partnerships, chatted with Michelle Arévelo-Carpenter, CEO of Impaqto, about the Summit that explored regional connections to COP26 focus on indigenous communities and forests and innovative investment vehicles.

Claire Wathen: Help ground us in your perspective connecting and serving communities across South America impacted by changing climates. 

Michelle Arévelo-Carpenter: South America is at a climate crossroads: as the region’s population increases and macro-economic trends show growth in its markets, two key ecosystems that are extremely vulnerable to climate change are facing the biggest challenges yet. Estimates expect that the coldest years on record in the Tropical Andes will be warmer than the warmest years to which animals and humans have adapted to so far. Changing weather patterns are affecting the livelihoods of millions of people, directly affected by extreme droughts, hail storms and frost in the highlands of the Andes mountains.

Meanwhile, the neighboring Amazon rainforest macro-ecosystem plays a key role in absorbing and storing carbon for the entire continent. However, research published in 2021 now shows that forest degradation is taking a toll on this crucial CO2 sponge, now that some regions of the Amazon emit more carbon dioxide than it absorbs. Amazon fires have directly affected Amazonic cities and indigenous communities that have for centuries acted as stewards of the ecosystem’s conservation.

Read the full article about Indigenous innovation by Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter and Claire Wathen at Skoll Foundation.