Loading...

Local And International Climate Policy Making, Advocacy And Law

/Local And International Climate Policy Making, Advocacy And Law

 

29 03, 2023

Un Adopts Landmark Resolution To Define Global Legal Obligations On Climate Change

2023-07-30T13:59:42-04:00Tags: |

After years of activism by Pacific Islander youth, a historic climate resolution was passed by the United Nations to be sent to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The resolution requests that the ICJ clarify legal consequences for states that have significantly damaged the climate system and environment, and  it requests that future local and global climate efforts center on human rights. The push for this resolution started with a campaign initiated by university students in Fiji in 2021, and has now been co-sponsored by over 130 member states. Although it is not mandatory for states to adhere to ICJ opinions, they carry significant legal and moral weight that supporters hope will cause states to focus on the climate crisis. Specifically, the youth who began this initiative request that countries consider their obligations to the Small Island and Developing states which are particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis and impacted by initiatives in the developed world. The adoption of this resolution is an important step in defining the future of global climate action, and an emotional and triumphant moment for the Pacific youth who spearheaded these efforts.

11 10, 2022

Young Women Push For Greater Representation In The Climate Debate

2023-04-16T16:44:40-04:00Tags: |

Looking toward the 27th global climate Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt, the gender imbalance persists in undermining women’s representation throughout climate negotiations. Women like Farhana Yamin, an environmental lawyer and climate activist, have spent years paving the way for equal representation; this work is the reason that gender is now part of the COP agenda. While reports show that the percentage of women occupying positions in UN climate bodies and national delegations has increased, it is still widely apparent that urgency is lacking in ensuring that their voices are being equally heard as well. This is why initiatives like She Changes Climate are being formed and gaining momentum as 500 leaders worldwide signed a letter calling for a 50-50 split of men and women in the COP27 leadership team. The campaign has long-term ambitions to see this become the norm for every climate summit that follows. Following their predecessors' footsteps, young women continue to set the mark in ensuring their voices are heard and accounted for as they expand the range of diversity and representation at these negotiations.

11 10, 2022

Young Women Push For Greater Representation In The Climate Debate

2023-02-20T13:29:47-05:00Tags: |

Over 500 leaders from around the world signed an open letter calling for the equitable representation of men and women at COP27, the 2022 UN Climate Conference in Egypt. This follows the low representation of women at prior climate conferences, with them making up only 37 percent of delegates and only receiving 29 percent of the speaking time. This article follows several of the leaders who supported the petition, including Farhana Yamin, an environmental lawyer who has been involved in international climate negotiations since 1991, and Bianca Pitt, the founder of the She Changes Climate Initiative. The article also highlights the contributions of young women and advocates from the Global South.

5 10, 2022

Women And Gender In Climate Diplomacy

2023-04-16T16:40:13-04:00Tags: |

The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University offers its commentary in light of the 27th global climate Conference of the Parties (COP27) by reinforcing the importance of women’s political leadership in global climate negotiations and the development of effective climate policy. Women’s contributions and participation have been shown to positively impact their respective countries during negotiations in favor of sustaining localized efforts to benefit the community. Considering the cultural and socioeconomic contexts in which women and girls are particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis is critical to examining the gendered experiences that women leaders can speak to when demanding climate action. Although significant improvements have been made toward the integration and overall involvement of women delegates in the climate space, the gender imbalance persists, showcasing the inconsistency of gender analysis. The Center proposes policy recommendations that prioritize including young women climate activists at these forums and allocating funds to develop training programs specifically designed for women delegates to participate at all levels of the decision-making process. Photo Credit: Gender Climate Tracker

5 10, 2022

Women and Gender in Climate Diplomacy

2023-03-29T11:12:27-04:00Tags: |

Women are integral to crafting climate action policies, especially given that they integrate a much-needed gender perspective that leads to greater equity and effectiveness. Their participation in global negotiations has been linked to longer-lasting agreements and more positive diplomatic outcomes. This report from the Center on Global Energy Policy reviews existing literature on feminist foreign policy, women’s participation in environmental decision-making, and how gender factors into climate change vulnerability. However, they remain significantly under-represented in negotiations, making up less than 20 percent of delegation heads for the majority of UN Climate Conferences. At COP26, only 35 percent of attending delegates were women. This report provides policy recommendations to further women’s participation and inclusion by elevating their voices, expanding training programs, and establishing gender-sensitive climate goals.

2 02, 2022

Permanently Organized Communities.

2023-02-02T16:25:03-05:00Tags: |

In this article Movement Generation founder, Michelle Mascarenhas, details why we need place-based permanently organized communities. Specifically now, the Covid-19 pandemic has offered opportunities to build the types of local systems our movements need, including but not limited to: shifting labor to mutuality and care, creating mutual aid networks, resourcing mutual aid funds, and working towards self-governance. Photo Credit: Brooke Anderson

14 01, 2022

Selina Leem, 18 year old from Marshall Islands, speaks at final COP21 plenary

2022-05-14T15:58:09-04:00Tags: |

Selina Leem, an 18-year-old woman from the Marshall Islands, gives a captivating speech about the impacts of climate change on her native coastal lands during the closing ceremony of the COP21 climate change talks in Paris in 2015. This young leader shares the symbolism of the coconut leaf in the tradition of her ancestors and how she hopes to be able to pass this down to her children and grandchildren in the future. Leem calls for this to be a global turning point where leaders take responsibility for climate change and strive to create a sustainable world. Video credit: 350.org

7 01, 2022

My People Have Lived In The Amazon For 6,000 Years: You Need To Listen To Us

2023-04-16T15:42:51-04:00Tags: |

Since President Jair Bolsonaro introduced policies that increased violence against Indigenous Peoples and the Amazon, Txai Suruí and her family, friends, and community have faced threats, harassment, bullying and death for protecting their territories. Suruí’s father, Chief Almir Suruí, together with Chief Raoni Metuktire of the Kayapo people, formally requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate events in the Brazilian Amazon, demanding perpetrators be held accountable for their crimes against humanity. Suruí is also calling on the international community and the ICC to recognize the crime of ecocide. Suruí stresses she was raised to listen to the Earth and to live in harmony with the planet. She urges others to do the same — there is no time to waste. Photo credit: Gabriel Uchida

28 11, 2021

To Combat Climate Change, Increase Women’s Participation

2022-05-14T17:02:42-04:00Tags: |

During the United Nations COP23 climate talks in Bonn, Germany, women leaders from around the world worked to make their voices heard by negotiators, as they demanded climate policies that are in line with dire climate realities, and built upon respect for women’s rights and the rights and needs of most-impacted communities.  Women at the conference, iincluding Verona Collante, Patricia Espinosa, Gotelind Alber, Lim Hwei Mian, Osprey Orielle Lake, Tali Layango Arista, and others, discuss the Gender Action Plan adopted at COP23, as well as the broad importance of ensuring equitable and meaningful participation of women at the forefront of all decision-making.  Photo credit: DW

27 10, 2021

Cath Wallace Protects The Arctic

2022-05-14T17:05:41-04:00Tags: |

Cath Wallace is a Lecturer at Victoria University in economics and public policy. She has also chaired Environment and Conservation Organizations of New Zealand (ECO), an alliance of NGOs concerned for the environment and the impacts of climate change. She along with several other activists led a strong resistant movement against a campaign by business interests to pare down the national Resource Management Act in 1990s. She has worked extensively to protect the Antarctica and repudiation of Antarctic Mineral Convention. Lastly, she pressed the Ministry of fisheries in New Zealand to stop violating under New Zealand Fisheries Act of 1996. Photo credit: Goldman Environmental Prize

27 10, 2021

Vera Mischenko Of Russia Wins Goldman Prize For Legal Efforts

2022-05-14T17:07:09-04:00Tags: |

Vera Mischenko, Co founder of Ecojuris, Russia’s first public interest law (PIL) organization, is supporting citizen’s rights on environmental issues. She was the first woman to initiate idea of a lawsuit in apex court to challenge a decree that allowed marine discharge of toxic wastes from a proposed Exxon drilling operation. She is also founder of Russian Network of Environmental Lawyers. Photo credit: Goldman Environmental Prize

13 09, 2021

WWF-Canada’s Megan Leslie Wants To ‘Decolonize’ the Environmental Movement

2021-12-13T21:02:06-05:00Tags: |

Megan Leslie, the recently instated president of World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada), insists that, going forward, environmental conservation efforts should include the perspectives and desires of indigenous peoples. Towards that end, WWF-Canada has partnered with Gitga’at First Nation, at their behest, to preserve marine life in British Columbia. Additionally, WWF-Canada has been working with remote Arctic communities such as the Nunawat people to promote their use of renewable energy as opposed to diesel fuel. As for the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion plans, Leslie says her organization prefers not to engage in specific infrastructure battles, though they consider investment in fossil fuel infrastructure the wrong step. Photo Credit: Alex Tétreault

6 07, 2021

Don’t Ignore the One Group That Can Make Climate Action Happen

2021-07-06T18:30:57-04:00Tags: |

The El Niño cycle is a global climate cycle that occurs every three to seven years with varying intensity. During 2016, this cycle was especially strong and, in combination with climate change, led to widespread drought and hunger for many states in Southern Africa. Women were particularly impacted. This was because they were forced to spend more time gathering scarce water as well as eat less themselves in order to prioritize the nutritional needs of men and children. Increased sex work and child marriages were also a result. And while Southern Africa is now on its way to recovery, building future resilience to climate change means addressing the special vulnerabilities of women as well as prioritizing their leadership. Photo credit: Ish Mafundikwa/IRIN  

6 07, 2021

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Will Be The Leading Democrat On Climate Change

2021-07-06T18:27:01-04:00Tags: |

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, recently defeating 10-year incumbent, Joe Crowley, in the Democratic Party’s primary elections, has put forth an ambitious proposal to address climate change. The objective of her plan is to transition the United States economy into one that runs on 100% renewable energy by 2035. As a means to that end, Ocasio-Cortez is advocating for a “Green New Deal,” echoing President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1930s New Deal program. As part of this program, the U.S. government would be required to invest heavily in the development, deployment and distribution of green energy. Particularly, since Puerto Rico is still struggling to regain reliable electricity after a deadly hurricane in 2017, the new policy could be tested there, says Ocasio-Cortez. Photo credit: Xavier Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images

6 07, 2021

When Women Lead: Women’s Environmental Voting Records

2021-07-06T17:48:06-04:00Tags: |

Since 1972 to present day, women in Congress have more often supported environmental protection legislation as compared to their male counterparts. This includes legislation to provide clean air and clean water as well as legislation promoting conservation for future generations. Conversely, women in Congress have also voted more often against legislation that would undo those protections. This trend holds for both political parties, Democratic and Republican, and it also holds for both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Thus, the track record of women in Congress is a promising one. Still, women are significantly underrepresented in the legislature and so rectifying this situation is necessary. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

6 07, 2021

Women’s Voices Must Not Be Ignored in Business and Human Rights Talks

2021-07-06T17:22:42-04:00Tags: |

The article highlights the strong links between large corporations’ increasing hunger for land and resources in the global south and the violation of women’s rights. In recent years, there has been a surge in land-intensive transnational mining and agri-business projects. Oftentimes, they go hand in hand with forced evictions, loss of livelihoods and environmental degradation. Pre-existing gender discrimination exacerbates the impacts on women, as they are traditionally responsible for the provision of care, food and water and are oftentimes excluded from decision-making processes. Ambitious actions are needed from corporations, states and international bodies such as the UN in order to ensure human rights along global supply chains. Photo credit: Sarah Waiswa/Womankind Worldwide

6 07, 2021

Batting For Empowerment

2021-07-06T17:10:12-04:00Tags: |

The home textile conglomerate Welspun India has established a partnership with UN Women to empower women through skills-building initiatives in technical and entrepreneurial sectors. The collaboration aims to advocate for gender equality at the workplace, drive the agenda on equal pay, represent and leverage the role of women in leadership, as well as achieve a work environment free from harassment. CEO Dipali Goenka is hopeful that the partnership will enhance the quality of the workforce and provide skill development opportunities for women. The objective is to promote greater representation of women in leadership positions across corporate India. Evidence shows that introducing more women into the labour market would unlock trillions of dollars for developing economies. Photo credit: The Hans India

6 07, 2021

As Oil Plummets, Climate Activists Say Now Is the Time to Mobilize for a Green New Deal

2021-07-06T17:06:52-04:00Tags: |

Investigative reporter Christine Macdonald covers the 50th anniversary of Earth Day during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as record low oil demand. Macdonald points to this historic moment as an ideal time to topple Big Oil and invest in the green energy sector as cross-sector mobilization increases across interrelated social, economic, and environmental issues. Youth organizers Naina Agrawal-Hardin of the Sunrise Movement and Sarah Goody of Youth Vs. Apocalypse discuss the challenges of moving Earth Day events online but also the enhanced solidarity occurring via online organizing during the pandemic. The Earth Day to May Day Coalition expects a larger turnout this year as COVID-19 forces more workers to see overlaps in issues surrounding public health, human rights, and climate change in a new light. Macdonald champions a Green New Deal as the way forward in this critical time. Photo credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

6 07, 2021

Women in the Water Sector: Working Together for the Future

2021-07-06T14:57:10-04:00Tags: |

Studies show that there is a lack of women working in the water sector, which includes a lack of women leaders. Specifically, less than twenty percent of water workers are women in the United States. But the water organizations that include female leadership tend to benefit—whether women are included in sustainability, community engagement or economic development roles. Keisha Brown, one such leader, has had extensive experience working in community-based partnerships to improve water quality while remaining accountable to the local communities the work is enacted in. According to her, the lens of social justice must be applied to the infrastructure industry and the impacts of infrastructure on people’s well-being should be carefully assessed. Photo Credit: Storm Water Solutions

13 04, 2021

These Kids Are “On Fire” For The Earth!

2021-04-13T17:55:21-04:00Tags: |

Chrysula Winegar from the UN Foundation introduces the film series, Young Voices for the Planet produced by Lynne Cherry. Cherry lives in Frederick County, Maryland, and is the director of the non-profit Young Voices for the Planet. Her organization’s mission is to empower youth and children to inspire each other to take climate action as change agents in their communities. The broad stories showcased in documentaries by Young Voices for the Planet include the story of three nine-year-old girls in Massachusetts who changed an outdated law in their town forbidding solar panels on public buildings and the story of a young girl from Siberia who collected water samples as part of a scientist’s research showing the impacts of climate change in the Arctic. The documentaries are part of a curriculum available to teachers who want to inspire young people to take their own creative climate actions. Photo Credit: Global Moms Challenge

13 04, 2021

Women Environmental Defenders Condemn Systemic Abuses Before The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

2021-04-13T17:33:31-04:00Tags: |

This Earth Rights International (ERI) media release summarises the submission of a delegation of women environmental defenders from the Americas who testified before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The delegation condemned widespread and unjust criminalisation and repression against defenders of rights of land, territories, and environmental protection. The testimonies presented in this thematic hearing, which denounced instances of exceptional cases of attacks against environmental defenders, was led by Columbian human rights lawyer Julian Bravo Valencia, ERI’s Amazon Program Coordinator. Several women testified, including two women from Acción Ecológica, Esperanza Martinez Yanez and Ivonne Ramos, whose experiences highlight the sexism disproportionately affecting women defenders in the Americas. At a time when the interests of corporations and their impunity in committing rights violations is rife, the hearing aimed to produce a report which presents extreme examples of human rights abuses in Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil and the United States. Photo Credit: Earth Rights International

13 04, 2021

Panel Discusses Food Sovereignty, Justice

2021-04-13T17:22:41-04:00Tags: |

In Santa Barbara, California, the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network invited local environmental advocates to present a webinar on food sovereignty and food justice. The panel included Santa Barbara City Council faculty member Daniel Parra Hensel, environmental director for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Teresa Romero, executive director of Lideres Campesinas Suguet Lopez, Community Environmental Councilmember Alhan Diaz-Correa, former farmworker Andrea Cabrea Hubbard, and Ana Rosa Rizo-Centino, a senior organizer for Food and Water Watch. A majority female panel, the panelists discussed women’s roles in food justice initiatives and local agriculture movements. They expressed gratitude for grassroots efforts and their hope to create institutional change through community organizing. Photo Credit: Courtesy Photos   

9 04, 2021

4 Activists Explain Why Migrant Justice Is Climate Justice

2021-04-09T13:30:03-04:00Tags: |

With a surge in international migration in response to the climate crisis, it is imperative to recognize the intersection of Earth and migrant justice. Explore the links with young female activists Maya Menezes, Nayeli Jimenez, Niria Alicia, and Thanu Yakupitiyage. From COP25, to saving seeds, to taking on border imperialism, these activists are moving forward with solutions by acknowledging the relationship of climate and migration. Photo Credit: Getty Images

9 04, 2021

Over 75 Indigenous Women Urge Biden To Stop Climate-Wrecking Pipelines And Respect Treaty Rights

2021-04-09T13:17:36-04:00Tags: |

Prior to inauguration day, over 75 Indigenous women from First Nations across the country call on President-elect Joe Biden to end destructive pipeline projects including Line 3, Keystone XL, and Dakota Access Pipeline. Signatories include Casey Camp-Horinek of the Ponca Nation and the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Tara Houska, Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe and founder of Giniw Collective, and Joye Braun of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) among dozens of other Indigenous leaders. The collective letter shares personal stories as well as research on how these pipeline projects perpetuate violence against Indigenous peoples and lands and violate key treaty rights. Photo Credit: Tiny House Warriors/Facebook

1 10, 2020

‘Dramatic’ Global Rise In Laws Defending Rights Of Nature

2023-02-06T00:21:26-05:00Tags: |

Carey Biron overviews the recent global spike in legislation that has ruled in favor of the rights of nature. Rights of Nature laws – which provide citizens the opportunity to sue on behalf of damaged lands and waters – have become more common over the last decade, and ecosystems and waterways have won protection under the law in at least 14 countries. These cases set an important precedent for other nations that are in the process of establishing their own legal frameworks to accommodate rights of nature principles, especially following the United Nations’ first biodiversity summit, where more than 60 leaders signed a Pledge for Nature. The UN’s goal is to protect 30 percent of the planet’s lands and waters by 2030 by cracking down on major environmental issues like pollution and deforestation.

8 09, 2020

How Indigenous Land Rights Could Help Save The Brazilian Amazon From Deforestation

2023-02-06T00:37:15-05:00Tags: |

Anna Kusmer explains that although the Brazilian Amazon is incredibly vulnerable to destruction, the legal recognition of Indigenous land rights could offer it much-needed protection. In 2020, the Brazilian Amazon was hit hard by forest fires and illegal deforestation, mining, exploitation, and trafficking–- more than any other year in recent history. Sometimes, as many as 30,000 fires were burning at once, set intentionally, and illegally, by people who were trying to clear the forest to make room for “productive” industry like farming and livestock. This violence against the Brazilian Amazon not only leads to biodiversity loss but also raises climate change concerns. According to Kusmer, the best solution to this issue is homologation, the legal acknowledgement that the land belongs to Indigenous peoples. Indigenous stewardship of the land has been shown to preserve biodiversity, conserve natural resources, produce fewer carbon emissions, among other benefits. Although Indigenous peoples of the Brazilian Amazon still face political roadblocks and little governmental support, they continue to take care of the land the same way they have for generations. Photo credit: Andre Penner/AP

7 08, 2020

Strengthening Indigenous Rights And Leadership In The Face Of Global Challenges – COVID-19, Climate Change And Environmental Degradation

2020-09-18T18:00:21-04:00Tags: |

A global representation of indigenous peoples organizations along with the International Union for Conservation of Nature are working to address climate change through increased partnership and shared leadership. Ahead of the World Conservation Congress in January of 2021 the IUCN is making the decision to increase indigenous leadership positions and define key proposals around indigenous roles, rights and relationship to the environment. The IUCN is also calling for support from member states in indigenous stewardship of their lands, territories and seas especially by indigenous women. A new document produced through this collaboration aims to draw attention to solutions and challenges faced by indigenous peoples around Covid-19. Through increased sharing of proposals and techniques there is growing hope for indigenous resilience and the protection of their way of life under increasing threat from the pandemic along with the long-term challenges of climate change and environmental degradation. Photo credit: Asociacion Ak’Tenamit

9 06, 2020

For People On The Front Lines Of Climate Change And Conflict, COVID-19 Is A New Challenge

2020-09-18T18:05:46-04:00Tags: |

The United Nations (UN) is conducting a pilot project in Al Rahad, Sudan as part of the Joint Programme for Women Natural Resources, Climate, and Peace. The community in Al Rahad has been arduously facing climate change induced environmental degradation, such as severe droughts, that has given rise to natural resource conflicts. The Programme aims at tackling those issues through three main initiatives. Firstly, strengthening the role of women in local governance and decision making. Secondly, promoting the integration of women in the resolution of natural resource conflicts. Lastly, addressing women’s economic empowerment by ensuring climate resilient livelihoods. The UN led programme has had notable success. Since its introduction, the perception among the Al Rahad community of the importance of the role of women in decision-making has doubled, and women are significantly more involved in conflict resolution processes. Furthermore, nearly 90% of the women participants experienced an increase in their income.

10 03, 2020

Coronavirus delays global efforts for climate and biodiversity action

2020-03-22T22:14:45-04:00Tags: |

Measures to contain Covid19, or the coronavirus, have ramped up globally. Travel restrictions and social distancing are forcing meetings to be postponed later into the year. This includes two critical UN summits seeking to limit climate change and to halt extinctions of plants and wildlife. These delays are increasing the pressure on this years Climate Negotiations, COP26 in Glasgow, UK. Photo Credit: Chad Davis/ Flickr

23 11, 2019

Ocasio-Cortez Demands Solar Company Rehire Workers Fired After Unionizing With Green New Deal in Mind

2020-10-23T23:05:45-04:00Tags: |

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the lead sponsor of the Green New Deal, which includes pro-justice and worker provisions in its effort to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. The need for these provisions became evident when twelve workers were fired from Bright Power, a solar energy company, after stating their intent to unionize. Ocasio-Cortez demands that Bright Power be held accountable and re-hire these twelve workers. She recognizes the danger of oil barons becoming renewable energy barons and continuing to exploit workers, regardless of the seemingly progressive purpose of their company. The Sunrise Movement and Senator Bernie Sanders also voiced their agreement with Ocasio-Cortez. Photo Credit: Bill Clark

15 06, 2019

Thelma Cabrera: Indigenous, Female and Shaking Up Guatemala’s Election

2023-03-29T11:53:22-04:00Tags: |

Thelma Cabrera Pérez, an indigenous campesino woman campaigning for Guatemala’s presidency has unexpectedly risen in polls. Among twenty candidates, she is currently claiming the fifth spot, a difficult accomplishment for any rural candidate. Cabrera is only the second indigenous person to run for president in a country that is approximately 60% indigenous. The challenges indigenous people face in Guatemala, from poverty to landlessness, has driven many to emigrate. Cabrera pledges to uplift the indigenous population and the population in general by tackling oppression, stopping illegal land-grabs, nationalizing electricity among other policies. As a Maya Mam woman from meager beginnings, she represents hope to the voiceless and oppressed. Photo credit: Luis Echeverria/Reuters 

31 05, 2019

Environmental Justice Activists Are Leading a Green New Deal Revolution

2023-03-29T11:18:42-04:00Tags: |

The Green New Deal is often considered ambitious, yet for Indigenous communities and people of color across the United States, it is an essential catalyst for organizing and advocacy. The resolution, which highlights the need for action grounded in “justice and equity,” centers around the need to consult and include frontline groups most gravely impacted by climate change. This article explains the significance of the Green New Deal by following activists who are implementing justice-based environmental initiatives across America. Jayeesha Dutta works with Another Gulf is Possible, an organization uplifting women of color’s voices on environmental issues in the Gulf South. She shares her perspective on how to help communities in regions dominated by oil companies, and how to implement a just transition to a regenerative economy. Colette Pichon Battle, the director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, discusses her vision for rebuilding infrastructure, creating inclusive green jobs, and leading grassroots change when progressive climate legislation is lacking. Photo Credit: Laura Borealis

15 05, 2019

‘It’s my homeland’: the trailblazing Native lawmaker fighting fossil fuels

2023-03-29T11:50:38-04:00Tags: |

Deb Halaand, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, became one of the first two Native American women to be elected to Congress when she won her campaign for representative of New Mexico’s 1stCongressional District. After her victory, Rep. Halaand focused her attentions on the controversy surrounding Utah’s Bears Ears national monument. The monument is home to many sites sacred to Native American peoples but in December 2017, the Trump Administration declared the boundaries would be reduced for the benefit of oil, gas and mining industries. In response, Halaand proposed various bills for the protection of national monuments but the future of these bills remains uncertain. Halaand’s effort are not solely concentrated on protecting native land but also combating climate change. Photo credit: Jason Andrew/The Guardian

1 04, 2019

Slovakia Welcomes its First Female President, Zuzana Čaputová

2023-03-29T11:55:49-04:00Tags: |

Zuzana Čaputová, a lawyer and environmental rights activist, was sworn in as Slovakia’s first female president in May 2019. Known for her decade-long crusade against a toxic landfill in her hometown of Pezinok, Čaputová is also a proponent of LGBTQ rights and reproductive healthcare. Her campaign for presidency focused on anti-corruption, in response to the country’s struggles with large-scale political corruption and loss of public trust. Though the president’s role in Slovakia is mostly ceremonial, Čaputová still has many important powers at her disposal such as appointing head judges and acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Photo credit:Vladimir Simicek/AFP/Getty Images

18 10, 2018

Why A Farmworker’s Daughter Interrupted Governor Brown At The Global Climate Action Summit

2019-04-13T16:39:10-04:00Tags: |

At the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco California, Niria Alicia stood up and sang out in protest to Governor Jerry Brown’s refusal to take action against oil and gas companies. In this piece, Niria describes why she joined eight other young people in singing the Women’s Warrior Song as an act of resistance at the summit. Niria sites her own identity as an Indigenous woman, and daughter of a farmworker to poignantly explain the consequences of fossil fuel divestment. Photo credit: Niria Alicia

15 10, 2018

Women Authors Missing In IPCC Report

2020-10-13T20:32:35-04:00Tags: |

A new assessment report released last week (8 October) by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted the importance of raising the capacity of least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS) in climate management and the special role of women as a group vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. According to a February 2018 study published in the PNAS, the proportion of female IPCC authors increased from less than five per cent in 1990, when the first report was published, to slightly more than 20 per cent in the more recent assessment reports. For instance, 75% perceived weak command of the English language as a barrier to participation, while 30% saw race as an obstacle. Chandni Singh, a climate change researcher from India and a lead author for the IPCC’s, has seen women face barriers to their participation, including overt discrimination and insufficient childcare facilities at meetings. Acknowledging the barriers women face, the scientific body decided in March to establish a gender task group, now being co-chaired by Patricia Nying'uro from Kenya and Markku Rummukainen from Sweden. Joy Pereira, a professor at the Southeast Asia Disaster Prevention Research Initiative of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (SEADPRI-UKM) and a vice-chair of the IPCC’s Working Group 2, tells SciDev.Net that the scientific body should ask their hosts to ensure greater participation of women. Photo Credit: Chris Stowers/Panos

18 09, 2018

Ecofeminism: Fueling the Journey to Energy Democracy

2023-02-02T16:15:39-05:00Tags: |

In 2018, hundreds of women gathered for a strike in Bilbao, Spain to advocate for an ecofeminist energy transition: one that has both the planet’s survival and women’s rights in mind. Their calls to action highlighted the sexism, classism, and racism behind profit-driven energy industries. Worldwide, women are more at risk of experiencing energy poverty, yet they also take on a disproportionate amount of unpaid household responsibilities that rely on electricity and heating. At the same time, most energy corporations and policymaking organizations have men at the helm. This gendered division of labor means that the use of electricity often perpetuates both capitalism and the patriarchy. This article examines inequalities in energy policy, analyzes gendered usage of electricity, and proposes a new energy model that centers the needs and labor of women so we can achieve a just transition to renewables. Photo Credit: Adolfo Lujan

12 09, 2018

Ecofeminism: Spanish Women Fueling The Journey To Energy Democracy

2020-10-10T19:38:21-04:00Tags: |

Women in Spain are striking and petitioning for a new energy model that contrasts the current patriarchal, capitalist model. In recognizing that women are most adversely affected by the current climate model, they are calling for a just transition which overhauls the systematic sexism, racism, and classism to achieve a truly fair energy policy. Part of the solution they say, is changing the male dominated environments where energy policies are written and discussed. Across the country women are tightening the conversation and successfully making gains such as Law 24/2-15 which indicate a future for more progressive ecofeminists policies in the future. Photo Credit: Adolfo Lujan

22 08, 2018

As Climate Scientists Speak Out, Sexist Attacks Are On The Rise

2020-04-24T16:45:46-04:00Tags: |

Female climate scientists face a disproportionate amount of gender-based abuse in comparison to their male counterparts. Through social media, email, and direct telephone calls, women climate scientists report numerous violent threats including rape and death threats from disproportionately male attackers. Although the threats remain written or verbal, many women fear for their physical safety and have taken precautions to reduce their exposure in the media. This form of gender discrimination is one of many on the rise since the 2016 election of Donald Trump, which effectively institutionalized climate denial as well as misogyny. The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund was founded in 2011 to combat harassment against climate researchers, seeing a need to update current laws to protect women in science and academia in particular. Photo Credit: Mandel Ngan

2 08, 2018

‘You’re The Naive One’: Youth Activist’s Open Letter To A Candidate For Governor

2020-10-13T20:14:56-04:00Tags: |

In this article, young environmentalist Vic Barrett responds to gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner who dismissed a fellow activist as “young and naïve” when asked about his campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry. Barrett cites the urgency of a climate crisis that is already impacting the lives of many, and the fact that youth will have to pay for the apathy and greed of individuals like Wagner. While Wagner and others choose to demean and undermine the youth’s vision for a healthy and sustainable earth, she argues that youth will continue to hold politicians accountable and build a better future. Photo credit: Handout

24 07, 2018

Mary Robinson Launches New Feminist Fight Against Climate Change

2020-11-20T17:18:39-05:00Tags: |

This Guardian article highlights former Irish president Mary Robinson’s effort to create a global movement called Mothers of Invention that promotes a ‘feminist solution for climate change, which is a manmade problem’.  Former UN commissioner for human rights and member of the Elders group, Mary understands how global warming adversely affects women and has focused on climate justice for over 15 years with the Mary Robinson Foundation Climate Justice. The Mothers of Invention initiative presents positive stories of both local and global grassroots climate activists, through a podcast series featuring women scientists, politicians, farmers and indigenous community leaders from Europe, the Americas, Africa and beyond. Reaching women around the world, the podcast is co-presented by Irish-born and New-York based comedian Maeve Higgins. Together, they broach such topics as colonialism, racism, poverty, migration and social justice, all bound up to feminism, through a light-hearted and optimistic approach intended to be fun. Photo Credit: Ruth Medjber

12 07, 2018

Recognising The Contributions Of Women And Local Communities Is Required To Achieve The SDGs In Nepal

2018-07-12T17:06:05-04:00Tags: |

This report uplifts the contributions, concerns, and needs of rural women’s collectives and local community groups in achieving Nepal’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were excluded from the national activities and progress reports on the SDGs. Women’s leadership has been essential in cultivating inclusive and participatory systems for natural resource management.  Specifically, women are playing a critical role in community forest user groups—which include both on-the-land work and strategic discussions of women entrepreneurship and gender mainstreaming- to help protect forests, watersheds, wetlands, and cultural resources across rural Nepal. The report thus concludes that women’s groups play a critical role, now more than ever, in achieving the SDGs and strengthening social welfare systems. Photo Credit: FECOFUN

3 07, 2018

Mom Confronts EPA Head Scott Pruitt At DC Restaurant: I Want You To Resign

2020-12-15T21:35:05-05:00Tags: |

Kristin Mink, a mother and a teacher at Sidwell Friends School, confronted Scott Pruitt, head of Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, at a restaurant both were dining at. During the confrontation, Mink urged Pruitt to resign, saying that his scandals are numerous and that his environmental policies are inadequate. She referenced her son, who she was holding at the time, implying that Pruitt was directly threatening his future by attempting to remove many environmental regulations that were implemented to protect water and air quality. According to Mink, Pruitt did not respond, and left the restaurant shortly afterwards. Photo credit: AFP/Getty images

3 06, 2018

Margaret Atwood: ‘If The Ocean Dies, So Do We’

2020-10-10T19:10:36-04:00Tags: |

In this BBC News report, we are introduced to the Under the Eye conference, held in London in March 2018. Guest speakers addressed environmental issues from a female perspective and included policy makers, scientists and artists, such as author Margaret Atwood, former Morocco's minister Hakima El Haité, and Green MP Caroline Lucas. They highlighted the close link between ocean pollution, climate change, poverty and women, and confirmed the disproportionate impact and adverse effects of natural disasters on women globally. Notwithstanding, they deplored the lack of female voices in high level decision making discussions on environmental and climate policy, despite women organising and resisting in the front line of natural disasters. Former UN diplomat Christiana Figures described the Paris agreement 2015 as a women-led collaborative venture and advocated that more women should be included in climate policy making negotiations, for they are the drivers and part of the solution. Photo Credit: Invisible Dust

25 05, 2018

Women and Gender Constituency Joint Statement on 2018 Climate Negotiations

2023-03-29T12:02:18-04:00Tags: |

During the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, the members of the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) met to address climate change. Through the course of their work, they called for the operationalization of eight human rights principles, such as rights of indigenous peoples, that would be then incorporated into the Paris Agreement. There was also work done on translating the Gender Action Plan into different national contexts as well as creating strategies to ensure equal gender participation in national delegations. WGC also expressed disappointment in the proposed solution to address losses related to climate change. The solution advanced was insurance but WGC considers that inadequate and inappropriate for the many poor communities affected. Lastly, WGC spoke out against tackling climate change without being specific for the sake of making certain parties comfortable. Transparency and accountability will always be more important than inclusivity.

23 05, 2018

Our Laws Make Slaves Of Nature. It’s Not Just Humans Who Need Rights

2023-02-06T00:07:25-05:00Tags: |

Mari Margil discusses the necessary steps that some nations are taking to create and implement legal frameworks to enforce Rights of Nature principles. Ongoing environmental destruction continues to have catastrophic consequences worldwide, and Margil explains that conditions will not begin to improve unless nature is recognized as having a legal right to protection. Because the law currently draws a line between persons (who have rights) and property (which cannot have rights), the Rights of Nature movement has hit some major roadblocks in trying to create effective frameworks within existing legal structures. Margil argues that these legal structures – as they are currently written and understood — were not built to include nature as a rights-bearing entity. She proposes “legal naturehood” as a more useful category in cases where legal personhood is limited or does not apply. This new category would allow Rights of Nature principles to be legally enforced, granting nature its basic rights and needs and limiting further environmental destruction by holding major polluters responsible for the devastation they cause. Illustration by Sébastien Thibault

18 05, 2018

Women Leaders Come Together To Fight Climate Change

2019-04-13T16:10:40-04:00Tags: |

Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna hosted the Climate Leaders’ Summit, gathering fearless women from all over the world, including representatives from the public, private, academic, and civil society sectors working to create  solutions to the climate crisis. The summit’s main focus was on women’s leadership, working to ensure female participation in climate policymaking, environmental science, and engineering, and technological innovation. Photo Credit: UN Environment

25 04, 2018

‘Climate Change Is Making Us Stronger’ — Resilient Bolivian Women Adapt To Global Warming

2023-03-29T11:32:21-04:00Tags: |

Climate change is affecting the lives and livelihoods of Bolivian indigenous women. One such affected community, located in Cochabamba Valley, has traditionally grown potatoes for sustenance. Rising temperatures, shortening of the rainy season, drought, decreasing predictability of the weather and more extreme weather events have led to a dwindling potato crop of lesser quality. The women have responded to this problem by diversifying the crops planted. Some peasant women are also joining labor unions, which provides greater economic independence, mutual aid and a means of voicing their concerns. The Bolivian Institute for Empowerment of Farmer Communities is also a key player, providing education concerning ecological fertilizers and leadership training for women. Photo credit: Sanne Derks

13 04, 2018

Taking Our Power Back: Women and Girls Are Key To Food Security During Conflict

2020-12-02T21:58:31-05:00Tags: |

Saiyara Khan writes about the fundamental role that women and girls play in ensuring food security during times of conflict. Often, gender inequalities and societal norms restrict their participation in the management and decision-making processes over key resources such as land or livestock. However, given that they are involved in key processes such as food production and water collection for the household, women’s empowerment is a fundamental determinant in whether communities have access to food. Photo credit: UN Women

10 04, 2018

Empowering Women Could Reduce Climate Change

2023-03-29T11:40:33-04:00Tags: |

The members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) finalized the Gender Action Plan (GAP) during its annual conference in 2017. UNFCCC’s long-standing objective has been to comprehensively address climate change, and the GAP was enacted in order to highlight the role that women play in this battle. Specifically, the GAP acknowledges that while climate change particularly harms women, women are also a very suitable group to confront it. Since local women possess intimate knowledge of their environment and the climate, their input can only lead to more effective climate solutions. Moreover, their input is absolutely necessary at the local level and international level in order for policymakers to remain accountable to the people they impact. Thus, every effort needs to be made to increase female leadership, despite the tendency of governments to prioritize men’s perspectives. Photo credit: Pixabay

23 03, 2018

Impunity For Violence Against Women Defenders Of Territory, Common Goods, And Nature In Latin America

2020-10-23T23:16:06-04:00Tags: |

This report by Urgent Action Fund of Latin America and the Caribbean (UAF-LAC) analyzes the condition of women who defend environmental rights in Latin American countries. By analyzing the case studies of thirteen women defenders, a clear continuum of structural violence against the women emerges. On the one end, women defenders are subject to the criminalization of their activities and to harassment from various actors such as companies, the police, and the media. At the most extreme end of this violence continuum, women defenders are assassinated or “disappeared.” In cases such as these, the state, if it is not actively colluding with the perpetrators, often remains silent. UAF-LAC, then, calls for the state to protect women defenders by eliminating the impunity perpetrators currently enjoy, by eliminating the criminalization of defenders’ work and by creating a safe environment for them to work in. Specifically, the state must financially, politically, legally and psycho-socially support women defenders. Photo credit: UAF-LAC

8 03, 2018

Climate Change ‘Impacts Women More Than Men’

2020-09-03T02:30:20-04:00Tags: |

This article demonstrates the overarching ways women are more affected by climate change than men. For example, after Hurricane Katrina black women were the most affected by flooding in Louisiana. Women are reliant on interdependent community networks for their everyday survival and resources. Displacement erodes these networks and increases the changes of violence and sexual assault against women. According to UN Data, 80 percent of people displaced due to climate change are women. Despite this women are seldom at the decision making table, says Diana Liverman, an environmental scientist at the University of Arizona. As an author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) she is internally paving the way for women to participate in major decisions. Photo Credit: Getty Images 

7 03, 2018

Guardians of the Amazon Rainforest – Women Rising Radio

2019-04-13T15:59:20-04:00Tags: |

Indigenous land and rights defenders, Gloria Ushigua of Ecuador and Aura Tegria of Colombia, share the heart moving victories and struggles of their people against mega extraction projects on their land, weaving in significant moments from their personal stories. Gloria Ushigua is President of Sapara Women’s Association in Ecuador. She was publicly mocked on television by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa after protests in 2001 and violently persecuted after organizing significant mobilizations against oil drilling in 2015. Aura Tegria is an indigenous U’wa lawyer on the Legal Counsel to the U’wa people of Colombia. The childhood memories of her people organizing to protect their land inspired to become the U’Wa defender she is today. After intense protests, campaigns and legal action in 2014 and 2015, they successfully kicked out Occidental Petroleum followed by the successful dismantling of the large Magallanes gas well from their land. Part of the U’Wa resistance has also been against the Catholic and Evangelical church that historically promoted cultural extermination through their boarding schools for indigenous children and other oppressive practices. Both women share the history of their people’s resistance since colonization, their personal stories linked to that resistance, the recent struggles of their people and the inspiring victories.Photo Credit: Amazon Watch

1 03, 2018

The Formal Economy as Patriarchy: Vandana Shiva’s Radical Vision

2020-11-07T18:03:44-05:00Tags: |

At the Bond conference in London on international development, Vandana Shiva is a voice out of the chorus. Anti-“empowerment,” anti-“jobs,” and anti-“formal economy,” she rejects many of the mainstream women advancement narratives. According to her, the biggest challenge is getting to the point where women’s power, knowledge and production are being recognized. This is not possible within the framework of the formal economy because it is defined on the terms of the patriarchy by those in control of nature and society. Women living under principles of autonomy and dignity are called an informal economy, but they are simply living in a different system where the power of men over women is not the organizing principle. Photo credit: Stefano Guidi/Corbis via Getty Image 

27 02, 2018

Climate for women in climate science: Women scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

2023-03-29T11:59:26-04:00Tags: |

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an organization responsible for providing comprehensive reports about the state of climate change. Though diversity in IPCC authorship has been increasing over the years, authors are still most often male, white, and from Global North countries. Thus, many female IPCC authors report often feeling ignored or marginalized, with their gender, age, race, stature, and English fluency acting as strong barriers to their full participation. Childcare concerns and lack of financial support also hinder their participation. As such, they recommend IPCC organizers to consider virtual participation, financial support, gender training, and many other solutions to improve the experience of women. 

26 02, 2018

Women are an ‘unstoppable’ force for climate action

2023-03-29T11:44:42-04:00Tags: |

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a network of 97 cities around the world whose goal is to confront climate change. Since 2017, the C40 group has been holding an annual Women4Climate conference to focus on women empowerment within the climate field. Among the conference participants are female mayors of C40 cities who are committed to a sustainable future. Moreover, these mayors insist that women are on the forefront of finding climate solutions and should be recognized as such. This requires mentoring and supporting young women who are already addressing climate change and removing any barriers they may face in their work. Photo credit: Thomson Reuters Foundation

22 02, 2018

Indigenous Women Cope With Climate Change

2020-11-07T17:51:11-05:00Tags: |

Bolivian women are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as it is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and suffers from one of the worst patterns of gender inequality.  Women in indigenous farmer communities are one of the hardest hit from climate change as agricultural production is put under peril leading to lower food security and higher food prices. As food supply becomes volatile, women, who are responsible for the provision of food to their family, are challenged to prepare enough nutritious food. Furthermore, men are pushed to migrate to find work in rural areas or coca plantations leaving women behind to raise children.  The government and NGOs, such as INCCA, have been taking initiative in empowering women and teaching communities how to mitigate the effects of climate change. These initiatives started ten years ago with NGOs such as INCCA and Solidagro who implement conservation and food security programs. Photo Credit: Sanne Derks/Al Jazeera  

15 02, 2018

Gender Equality Crucial to Tackling Climate Change – UN

2020-10-23T23:42:17-04:00Tags: |

Women are disproportionately more susceptible to the impacts of climate change due to the hindrances caused by gender inequality that they must also face. The report written by UN Women on “Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, draws attention to the need to place gender equality front and centre throughout the implementation of the SDGs Agenda. The report highlights that, globally, more than one quarter of women work in agriculture. As the impacts of climate change on agriculture are already being severely felt, this is one of the areas that needs urgent action. Women face many restraints in accessing land, agricultural inputs and credit which increase their vulnerability reducing their resilience against climate change. However, women are an important representation of strength for combating climate change, they are not just victims. The report emphasizes that diverse women must be present in decision-making environments to ensure inclusive mitigation and adaptation to climate change at local, national and international levels. The UNFCCC has been increasingly recognizing the importance of equal gender representation in the development of gender responsive climate policies. In fact, the Gender Action Plan (GAP) was adopted at the COP23 to guide this goal.

14 02, 2018

Kenya’s ‘Erin Brockovich’ Defies Harassment To Bring Anti-Pollution Case To Courts

2018-03-02T14:04:12-05:00Tags: |

Anti-pollution activist Phyllis Omido is finally receiving her day in court, after years at the forefront of a landmark class action suit demanding compensation and clean-up from a lead-smelting factory accused of poisoning residents of Owino Uhuru. The founder of the Centre for Justice, Governance, and Environmental Action, Omido has already successfully forced the closure of the factory and is now seeking reparations for community members. A co-winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015, Omido is paving the way for other environmental litigations – even in the face of constant intimidation and threats. However, for Omido, this is just the start, as there are 17 other communities fighting for compensation for lead poisoning with whom she plans to organize. Picture Credit: Jonathan Watts

12 02, 2018

Women on the Margins of UN Climate Panel

2023-03-29T11:15:25-04:00Tags: |

Miriam Gay-Antaki, an assistant professor at Colorado College, has been researching the barriers faced by women climate scientists worldwide. This article includes Gay-Antaki’s findings alongside interviews with women in climate science, and it emphasizes the importance of including women’s perspectives in global forums and scientific spaces. On the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), only 20% of members are women. Many report instances of exclusion within the organization, from difficulty participating given a lack of childcare access to experiencing additional discrimination due to intersecting marginalized identities. Women not only face the difficulties of being in a male-dominated field, but also must deal with the unique challenges of climate science in particular: countering misinformation, propaganda, denial, and hostility. Gay-Antaki’s research shows the need to create safer, more inclusive environments where women in science can have their contributions valued. Photo credit: Anne Christianson

2 02, 2018

Why Climate Deniers Target Women

2021-01-27T20:53:24-05:00Tags: |

In this thoughtful piece, journalist Jeremy Deaton highlights the link between sexism, climate denial and social hierarchy. He exposes the harassment endured by women involved in the field of climate change, particularly female reporters, policy-makers and researchers who are often targeted by right-wing political blogs. These women, such as former Canadian environment and climate change minister Catherine McKenna; atmospheric scientist Kait Parker; environmental reporter Emily Atkin; and climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe, face sexist attacks in response to their climate change public engagement and expertise. Deaton relates that, following social scientist views and empirical findings, it may be argued that men who value a hierarchical social system, from which they largely benefit, tend to downplay the risk of climate change and hold sexist views. The author further states that the climate crisis, rife with pervasive sexism, is therefore bound with other urgent societal issues such as racism, xenophobia and economic inequality. Photo Credit: Katharine Hayhoe

15 01, 2018

Rights Eroded: A Briefing On The Effects Of Closing Space On Women Human Rights Defenders

2018-03-06T18:10:24-05:00Tags: |

A new era of intensified government controls and restricted freedoms is hindering Human Rights Defenders from voicing their opinions. Constraints have been placed on feminist human rights and gender justice activists through government laws and restrictions. Berkeley Law and the Urgent Action Sister Fund adopt a human rights framework and gender approach to analyze the phenomenon of “closing space” and the challenges it poses for women human rights defenders and their innovative resistance strategies.

10 01, 2018

How Rebecca Solnit Became ‘The Voice Of The Resistance’

2020-10-23T23:21:38-04:00Tags: |

Feminist writer and activist Rebecca Solnit has earned another title amidst the political turmoil of 2017: “the Voice of the Resistance.” Often reflecting on unjust and inept systems that target communities of color, the working class, and women from all walks of life, her writing has served as a beacon of hope and roadmap for action for many people confronting a Trump administration that continues to collude with Russia, dismantle environmental protections, and violate human rights. She is both energizer of and energized by the fervent wave of community organizing that has taken the streets and sounded the alarm. Photo credit: Shawn Calhoun

8 01, 2018

Meet the 23-Year-Old Who’s Helping Lead the Indigenous Resistance Against Pipelines

2018-02-22T20:29:09-05:00Tags: |

In June 2017, 23 year-old indigenous activist Jackie Fielder quit her job to join Mazaska Talks, an organization that promotes community divestment from banks that fund fossil fuel projects and companies. Inspired by the Seattle City Council’s commitment to divestment, Jackie has since been at the forefront of community-based divestment efforts, traveling around the country and the world to mobilize citizens towards similar local-level, legislative action. She has continued to mobilize her own community with the creation of the San Francisco Defund DAPL Chapter, in which she actively shatters negative stereotypes placed upon indigenous women and holds fossil fuel companies accountable for their contribution to climate change and cultural genocide. She has also traveled with other Indigenous women to meet with major banks in Europe to advocate for fossil fuel divestment. Photo Credit: Jackie Fielder

1 01, 2018

Our Movement Needs Radical Change: A Conversation With May Boeve

2018-03-02T13:59:37-05:00Tags: |

May Boeve, co-founder of the international climate action organisation 350.org and winner of the 2006 Brower Youth Award, talks to the Earth Island Journal about the direction of the climate movement. Boeve represents one of the few young women among top leaders in big environmental groups in the United States. She highlights the need for the climate movement to engage with diverse communities, bridge political divides, and construct a strong narrative that doesn’t reinforce fear and hopelessness around climate change, but instead engages people based on their everyday lived reality. The interview concludes with a vital question; how broad can we grow the global climate movement, and more importantly, can we do it fast enough? Photo credit: Zoe Loftus-Farren

1 01, 2018

Anne Lappe: Big Food And Public Health Don’t Mix

2018-02-15T12:57:27-05:00Tags: |

Equitable food systems advocate Anna Lappe addresses the hypocrisy that exists in the presence of the biggest multinational food and beverage corporations within the United Nations public health decision making process. As these corporations are the direct perpetrators and beneficiaries of childhood obesity and other health epidemics worldwide, Lappe highlights the global call for the creation of policies to bar the influence of “vested interests” of big food and beverage companies, similar to Article 5.3, which halted the tobacco industry from similar influence. Photo Credit: Leonardo Sa

15 12, 2017

Interview With Verona Collantes: UN Women

2020-12-15T22:07:32-05:00Tags: |

In a short video interview with Verona Collantes of UN Women during the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, in May 2017, Collantes discusses her work in gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment. In her work, she aims for equal opportunities, responsibilities, and consideration of perceptions, needs, and contributions of both men and women when addressing climate change. Collantes uses gender mainstreaming as a strategy to create greater equality. UN women do gender mainstreaming at both a national and global level in their climate education, training, and awareness building. In advocating for gender equality in intergovernmental decision-making processes, UN Women mainstream gender by looking at roles, responsibilities, needs, and unique impacts of climate change on women through themes, such as adaptation. In this way, an analysis of the situation is gained through a gender perspective, which allows for greater recognition of gender imbalances. Photo Credit: Screenshot

14 12, 2017

The Radical Movement To Make Environmental Protections A Constitutional Right

2018-02-14T22:13:42-05:00Tags: |

Maya van Rossum is leading the Green Amendment Movement to establish the constitutional right to a healthy environment at both the state and federal level. Currently, only two states—Pennsylvania and Montana—have similar provisions, but momentum for “environmental constitutionalism” is growing among policymakers and stakeholders, with the goal of mending the gaps in current environmental protection laws, and addressing increasing U.S. environmental degradation. In Pennsylvania, van Rossum and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network successfully invoked the constitutional provision against pro-drilling and fracking legislation in the state, despite a conservative Supreme Court, signaling a jumpstart to expanding this inalienable right across the nation and demanding government accountability.

14 12, 2017

Seattle, 1999: Diverse Women For Diversity Declaration To WTO

2018-02-14T22:08:45-05:00Tags: |

In response to events at the 2017 World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting, Indian seed-saving organization, Navdanya, released this article, which honors and calls to attention the Diverse Women For Diversity Declaration, which was issued during the 1999 Seattle WTO meeting. The full declaration shares women’s analysis and responses to how genetically modified seeds, intellectual property rights, and patents are impacting food, medicine and agriculture systems; Indigenous peoples rights and lands; and the health of the Earth. The declaration calls out the WTO and its unchecked support of free markets and unjust economies, presenting a collective voice of women standing for life and diversity - and against the interconnected dangers of the global war system, corporate free market economy, and agribusiness industry.

6 12, 2017

Front Line Defenders Profiles Lottie Cunningham Wren

2018-03-06T17:28:27-05:00Tags: |

Lottie Cunningham Wren is a human rights defender and Founder of the Centre for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. Working with 124 remote communities, she helps Indigenous people exercise their legal rights and protect natural resources, and speaks out against the invasion of lands by private companies. Her role in the landmark Awas Tingni vs. Nicaragua case resulted in huge land rights victories for Indigenous peoples through the Americas. However, Cunningham Wren works in a precarious context. She received threatening letters in March 2017, was subjected to a kidnapping attempt in May 2015, and her colleagues now face intimidation. Photo credit: Front Line Defenders

28 11, 2017

Patricia Gualinga Of Sarayaku Ecuador Delivers High Level Intervention At COP23 Bonn

2017-12-28T14:51:29-05:00Tags: |

Patricia Gualinga of the Kichwa Pueblo of Sarayaku, Ecuador delivers a powerful high-level intervention on one of the closing evenings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP23 climate talks in Bonn, Germany. In this video of her speech (Spanish and English language), Patricia explains how grassroots movements are continuing to implement innovative and effective solutions, while governments and corporations continue to make policies and deals meant to enhance material wealth at the expense of the climate and global communities and land-based and Indigenous peoples. She calls for a just transition to renewable energy, and respect for Mother Earth, women and youth. Photo credit: UNFCCC livestream

27 11, 2017

1st Female President Of The Marshall Islands And Her Poet Daughter: We Need Climate And Nuclear Justice

2017-12-27T18:07:28-05:00Tags: |

During COP23, held in Germany under the leadership of Fiji, women of Pacific Island Nations took action at the forefront of advocacy efforts as a voice for women and most-vulnerable island communities impacted by climate change. In this Democracy Now! interview, first woman president of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, and her daughter, world-renown climate justice activist and poet, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, share poignant analysis on the fight against nuclear contamination in the Marshall Islands, about the need to expose the dangerous policies of the Trump Administration at COP23, about women's leadership, and about the global struggle to keep fossil fuels in the ground. Photo credit: Democracy Now!

27 11, 2017

What Was The Outcome Of The UN Climate Talks For Indigenous Peoples?

2017-12-27T18:05:36-05:00Tags: |

Gal-Dem, a magazine and creative collective comprised of over 70 women and non-binary people of color - interviews Jade Begay, a powerful Dine and Tewa multimedia artist, digital storyteller, media strategist, and filmmaker and producer with Indigenous Rising Media. Jade Begay attended the United Nations COP23 climate talks in Bonn, Germany in 2017 as a member of the #ItTakesRoots and Indigenous Environmental Network Delegations, to document and share their work, directly through the eyes of an Indigenous media-maker. Jade speaks on the importance of POC-centered media, and of Indigenous and frontline communities voices being present to stand for their rights and the climate at government negotiations. Photo credit: Indigenous Environmental Network

26 11, 2017

IM-Defensoras Statement During International Day of Women Human Rights

2017-12-26T15:57:00-05:00Tags: |

On the International Day of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD), over 1,000 diverse members of Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IM -Defensoras) raised a collective voice to protect WHRDs and secure a dignified life for all. Between 2012 to 2016, at least 53 women defenders have been documented as killed, mostly by state actors, for their activism and voice. Violence and discrimination is used as a mechanism for social control, and women are standing to challenge the patriarchal mandate and demand from the state the protection they deserve. Photo credit: IM-Defensoras

24 11, 2017

Here’s How The All-Woman Chief And Council Of The Saik’uz First Nation Is Changing The Way Leadership Works

2020-09-03T01:21:41-04:00Tags: |

Early 2017 was marked as an auspicious year for Saik'uz First Nation which selected five women – Priscilla Mueller, Jasmine Thomas, Marlene Quaw, Allison Johnny and Chief Jackie Thomas to lead the tribe. The council of five women identified four key areas to work – governance + finance, environmental stewardship, socio-cultural issues, and education + employment. Jasmine Thomas, the youngest member of council was inspired to lead after Chief Thomas's success against the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. Her work helped lead to the Tsilhqot'in Land Ruling, which now requires the government and companies to work with First Nations in order to develop natural resources, rather than going around them. Photo Credit: Andrew Kurjata/CBC

17 11, 2017

Challenging Canada’s Climate And Feminist Credentials

2018-10-11T18:25:11-04:00Tags: |

In this article, Canadian youth delegates Tina Yeonju Oh and Jennifer Deol confront the Canadian government’s hypocritical stance on gender parity in international climate change negotiations. Despite public-facing support for women’s empowerment, Canadian leadership failed to stand in solidarity with Indigenous and grassroots women behind closed doors at COP 23. Canada was unwilling to embed binding language on just transition in the Gender Action Plan, along with other countries with deep ties to the fossil fuel industry, including the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. International leaders’ empty rhetoric on gender equity obstructs pathways to community resilience and self-determination for marginalized and vulnerable populations. Photo credit: National Observer

16 11, 2017

Why I Disrupted Trump’s Fossil Fuel Agenda at COP23: A Young Person’s First-Hand Account

2018-10-11T18:59:08-04:00Tags: |

Michaela Mujica-Steiner, a SustainUS delegate at the United Nations and a youth from Colorado helped organize a singing disruption at the Trump Administration's fossil fuel panel. At the 2017 UN Climate Talks, the Trump Administration held a panel to promote the use of fossil fuels. With the intention to set the terms of the debate on fossil fuels, disrupt the Trump administration's lies, inspire people back home, and most importantly, stand on the right side of history, Mujica-Steiner’s delegation disrupted the Trump Panel by silencing their lies with song. She is advocate and change maker working to educate people about environmental justice issues.  Back home, she is ready to ensure that governor of Colorado, Hickenlooper, doesn’t harm the rights of environment by increasing the hydraulic fracking. Photo Credit: Unknown

16 11, 2017

Mind The Gap

2019-04-13T16:06:44-04:00Tags: |

Women are more vulnerable to climate change but are less represented at the U.N. Climate Negotiations.  The establishment of the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) at the Climate Negotiations has formalized the voice of women and gender equality. At COP23, in Bonn, Germany, the WGC pushed for a new gender action plan, to help increase female participation at the U.N, increase funding for women, and ensure climate solutions uphold the rights of women and indigenous peoples. Photo Credit:  Patrik Stollarz / Getty Images

15 11, 2017

On Gender Day At Climate Meet, Some Progress, Many Hurdles

2018-10-29T17:00:38-04:00Tags: |

The UNFCCC’s Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) was established in 2009 by 27 non-profit organizations at the Conference of the Parties (COP), also known as the Climate Negotiations. This year at COP23, the UNFCCC accepted the Gender Action Plan (GAP), a roadmap to integrate gender equality and women's empowerment in all its discussions and actions.  For Kalyani Raj, the focal point of the WGC and other female leaders attending the COP, this is a clear indication of progress. Unfortunately, the adopted GAP omitted several of the original demands, including those related to indigenous women and women human rights defenders. Photo Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

15 11, 2017

Gender Plan Seeks To Put Women In Driving Seat Of Climate Fight

2017-12-28T14:49:29-05:00Tags: |

Reuters reports from the United Nations COP23 climate talks in Bonn, Germany on the important Gender Action Plan (GAP) adopted at the 2017 conference, which aims to boost the number of women decision-makers; train policymakers on how to bring gender equity into climate funding programs; create better mechanisms for collecting gender-climate data; and involve more women grassroots and Indigenous women in policy leadership. Women leaders including Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland), Thilmeeza Hussain (Voice of Women), Osprey Orielle Lake (Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network) speak on the progress and challenges in work to achieve a gender balance in climate leadership in the United Nations, where women delegates represent at maximum 31-38% of the global representatives.

13 11, 2017

Rights of Nature: Time to Shift the Paradigm in the EU?

2017-12-13T13:07:22-05:00Tags: |

In this article, Nikoletta Pikramenou highlights the need for the European Union (EU) to recognize Nature’s rights. She explains that current EU legal frameworks treat Nature as an object and not as a subject of law. Consequently, environmental damage is only regulated instead of being eradicated and this leads to the acceleration of climate change in the EU and globally. She proposes the drafting of a new EU Directive which will grant rights to Mother Earth. Photo credit: Earth Law Center

6 11, 2017

Pocket Guide To Gender Equality Under The UNFCCC

2017-12-06T14:33:51-05:00Tags: |

The Women’s Environment & Development Organization and collaborators provide a ‘pocket guide’ overview of the history of the United Nations Framework COnvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations on the topic of gender, as well as a reference guide to the key gender decisions adopted by the UNFCCC; and a brief analysis of current issues, demands and points of advocacy. Photo credit: WEDO

2 11, 2017

WECAN Speaks With Mirian Cisneros, Woman President Of The Pueblo Of Sarayaku, Ecuador During The UN COP23 Climate Talks

2017-12-28T14:52:58-05:00Tags: |

Mirian Cisneros, woman President of the Kichwa Pueblo of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon, speaks with the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN International) while in Bonn, Germany for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP23 climate negotiations. Mirian shares thoughts on the significance of being a woman leader of her community, and about her people’s message to the world during COP23. Photo credit: Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network

26 10, 2017

Congresswomen And Environmental Groups Urge Congress To Pass The OFF Act To Combat Climate Change

2018-08-14T14:03:22-04:00Tags: |

Representatives Tulsi Gabbard, Barbara Lee, and Nanette Diaz Barragán held a press conference urging Congress to pass the OFF Fossil Fuels for a Better Future Act (OFF Act). The Act prioritizes the safety of the Earth and protects vulnerable populations from the negative impacts of toxic emissions. Furthermore, the new legislation aims to turn the U.S. to a 100% clean energy economy by 2035. It will also contribute to the well-being of American people and increase the country’s competitiveness in the global scene. With climate change threatening the welfare of the planet, urgent action is needed, and this Act is a step forward. Photo-credit: Flickr

25 10, 2017

This 18-Year-Old From New York Is Suing The Trump Administration Over Climate Change

2018-10-11T18:42:31-04:00Tags: |

Vic (Victoria) Barrett is among the 21 youth who have filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the U.S. government for violating their constitutional rights by supporting fossil fuel production and its resulting CO2 pollution. The lawsuit, Juliana v. the United States, argues that the federal government’s actions have driven climate change impacts that violate the youth’s rights under the Fifth Amendment to not be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” and that the judiciary should require the government to reduce CO2 pollution. Vic’s fight for justice is inspired by their mother’s roots in Honduras, which is severely impacted by sea level rise despite not being a major contributor to climate change, and their mission to make sure youth’s voices are heard at the decision-making table. Photo credit: Vic Barrett

24 10, 2017