The summit, supported by the United Nations, was aimed at stating the position of the indigenous peoples on the UN conference on climate change which will be held in Copenhagen in December, in order to agree on a new international protocol following Kyoto.

During the meeting, the native peoples affirmed that they are the worst affected by climate change, and called for support to develop adaptation plans based on their own traditional practices and knowledge.

“While the arctic is melting, Africa is suffering from drought and many Pacific Islands are in danger of disappearing. Indigenous Peoples are locked out of national and international negotiations,” said Jihan Gearon, energy and climate campaigner of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

They also stated that a moratorium on the development of new fossil fuels should be established, and demanded the implementation of mechanisms in the developed countries to reduce the emissions causing global warming.

In addition, they opposed to the “false solutions” to climate change, known as “carbon neutral mechanisms”.

Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director with the Indigenous Environmental Network, stated that what the native peoples want are real solutions instead of answers that will benefit only those who are profiting from them.

He added that “one of the solutions to mitigate climate change is an initiative by the World Bank to protect forests in developing countries through a carbon market regime called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation or REDD." But he stated that REDD does not face real problems such as deforestation, so he considers it among the “false solutions” to climate change issues. “Don´t be fooled” by this mechanism, the indigenous representative concluded.