Indigenous environmental knowledge continues to be sidelined in mainstream climate science around the world despite First Nations communities being among the first to experience the impacts of climate change, according to new research.
A major review published this month in the international journal Frontiers in Climate found Western climate science "largely fails to value, engage with and apply Indigenous Knowledges in a meaningful way", even as governments rely on that science to shape climate policy.
The study was co-authored by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers, including Torres Strait Islander scholar Vinnitta Mosby, and examined more than a decade of academic and policy literature on climate change and Indigenous participation.
The authors argue that Indigenous peoples' observations of environmental change are routinely excluded from formal climate research.
"Climate change research is not capturing all relevant knowledge and data," the authors wrote, warning that the near-exclusive reliance on Western science has created major blind spots in how climate impacts are understood.
The reality of the climate crisis is already here
For Torres Strait Islander communities, where rising seas, coastal erosion and extreme weather are already threatening homes, culture and food systems, the exclusion has direct consequences.
The paper notes that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make up just three per cent of Australia's population but formally care for at least 57 per cent of the continent's landmass.
This includes large areas of sea Country, places already experiencing rapid climate change.
Despite this, Indigenous peoples are rarely involved in decision-making roles within climate science institutions or global processes such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
"Until the most recent assessment cycle, Indigenous Knowledges were almost invisible in IPCC reports," the authors wrote, adding that where Indigenous perspectives are included, they are often "general in scope, limited in length and potentially reductionist".
The researchers argue this exclusion is not simply an oversight, but a structural problem that affects policy, funding and climate responses on the ground.
"This invisibility in western-focused documentation leads to Indigenous exclusion more broadly," the paper states, because international climate assessments guide government priorities and determine which communities are recognised as being at risk.
Indigenous rights marginalised
The study also challenges the way Indigenous peoples are commonly described in climate policy — not as rights-holders, but as "stakeholders".
"By recognising Indigenous Peoples only as stakeholders, climate discourse mis-describes their connection to, obligation for, and rights over their traditional lands," the authors wrote, calling for Indigenous peoples to be recognised instead as leaders and decision-makers in climate action.
For Torres Strait Islander researchers involved in the review, the stakes are not abstract.
The paper links climate impacts on Country directly to health and wellbeing, stating that environmental degradation threatens not only ecosystems, but culture and physical health.
"Sick Country leads to sick Peoples," the authors wrote, arguing that climate action which fails to centre Indigenous stewardship risks compounding both environmental and health crises.
Self-determination vital to viable solutions
The researchers are calling for a rights-based approach to climate action, including free, prior and informed consent for climate-related projects, stronger protection of Indigenous knowledge, and guaranteed Indigenous authorship within global climate assessments.
They warn that without meaningful reform, climate solutions risk repeating colonial patterns under a new name.
"Climate action without Indigenous engagement leads to Indigenous dispossession and disempowerment," the paper states, describing the risk of "carbon colonialism" where solutions imposed without consent further erode self-determination.
The authors say the next global climate assessment cycle presents a critical opportunity for Australia to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership at every level of climate research and decision-making.
