The emission reductions that the Kyoto Protocol established for industrialized countries were only 5.2% below 1990 levels­which most scientists agree is completely inadequate to effectively address global warming. Even these inadequate targets are being evaded through schemes such as carbon trading including the establishment of carbon “sinks” like monoculture tree plantations­mainly in the Global South. Some of these carbon sink projects are within Indigenous territories. These schemes are being embraced by the very entities that are destroying the Mother Earth. Meanwhile destruction of true carbon reservoirs like native forests continues unabated, leading to yet more releases of greenhouse gases. Communities disproportionately impacted by climate change and the false “solutions” put forward by the emissions trading regimes and international instruments such as the Kyoto Protocol (including carbon sink projects and continued fossil fuel exploration, extraction and burning) include Small Island States, whose very existence is threatened, as well as Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic - Polar Regions, whose homelands are literally melting before their eyes.

Many Indigenous communities globally and Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs) are beginning to denounce delays in ending fossil fuel extraction that are being caused by corporate, financial institutions, government and United Nations’ attempts to construct a “carbon market”, including a market trading in “carbon sinks”. Indigenous Peoples history throughout the world has witnessed attempts to commodify land, food, labour, forests, water, genes and ideas. Carbon trading follows in the footsteps of this colonial history and turns the earth’s carbon-cycling capacity into property to be bought or sold in a global market. Through this process of creating a new commodity – carbon - the Earth’s ability and capacity to support a climate conducive to life and human societies is now passing into the same corporate hands that are destroying the climate. Carbon trading will not contribute to achieving this protection of the Earth’s climate. It is a false solution which entrenches and magnifies social inequalities in many ways.

The Indigenous Environmental Network, taking direction from our traditional and spiritual people, will continue to question and be cautious of these economic market-based solutions being pushed nationally and internationally. Even some of our "progressive" Indigenous Nations and communities (North and South) are embracing the potential economic "benefits" of taking part in these carbon trading and sinks projects. IEN also recognizes many people feel these carbon trading regimes will happen anyway with people stating, "We might as well get a part of the money and benefits". Other environmental organizations nationally and globally support these carbon trading regimes as solutions with some statements that "At least its a first step". Many of the negotiations setting into place these carbon trading regimes, including the Kyoto Protocol, were done at the exclusion of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and the grassroots people of the world.  We will do what we can to inform our Indigenous Peoples and local communities about the flaws of emissions-carbon trading regimes. The Indigenous Environmental Network will continue to work with allies to monitor the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, and projects under the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) and other carbon trading and sinks projects.