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Local And International Climate Policy Making, Advocacy And Law

/Local And International Climate Policy Making, Advocacy And Law

 

3 05, 2024

Women and young workers in Nepal want inclusive union structures

2025-02-27T14:24:02-05:00Tags: |

IndustriALL’s workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal, organized as part of the Building Inclusive Unions in South Asia project, highlighted the critical intersection of gender and climate change for women workers. Women trade unionists discussed how climate-induced migration is exacerbating precarious employment, leading to low wages and job insecurity, particularly for women. In response, women leaders formed a committee and a core group to increase women's and young people’s representation in unions, trade groups, and policy and to address these challenges. They are committed to gathering data on women workers and promoting union-building initiatives to ensure greater inclusion and protection for women in the workforce, particularly in the face of climate-related vulnerabilities.

6 03, 2024

Indigenous women discuss their contribution to climate action in Nepal

2025-04-09T18:29:47-04:00Tags: |

With the support of UN Women, the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Research and Development (CIPRED) in Banke, Nepal, organized a workshop that brought together more than 60 participants from across various districts. The event centered on the findings of a study exploring Indigenous women’s knowledge and contributions to climate action in Nepal. Discussions covered a range of themes, including climate change, traditional food practices, herbal medicine, handicrafts, small enterprises, and the intergenerational transfer of knowledge. While the workshop aimed to share insights from the study, it also invited feedback from key stakeholders, including government representatives, Indigenous organizations, and community members. A young Tharu woman emphasized the workshop’s importance, noting that many young women in her community are unaware of the significance of traditional knowledge, cultural values, rites, and festivals. She viewed the gathering as an important opportunity to bridge generational gaps. Another woman from the Sauka community pointed out that women are often excluded from information about funding and local initiatives, resulting in limited representation. Initiatives like this are crucial in expanding women’s participation in climate action and advancing climate justice.

9 02, 2024

Envisioning Resilience: Women’s frontline experiences in shaping climate change adaptation planning

2025-03-06T17:16:16-05:00Tags: |

This video by the National Adaptation Plan Global Network highlights the involvement of Jamaican women in the Envisioning Resilience photography and storytelling initiative. Participants attended a workshop to learn photography and communication skills, enabling them to share their local realities and frame their experiences in terms of climate science. The initiative also facilitated dialogue among stakeholders from governmental, academic, civil service, and private sectors, providing a platform for the participants to share their insights and concerns. By amplifying diverse voices and engaging with local communities, the initiative contributes to the development of a robust National Action Plan for Jamaica's climate adaptation efforts. The photography helps collective storytelling and broadens the discussion to include local communities, sharing visions for practices of resilience. The climate photographs made by the trainee women also identified new details and issues for policy makers to pay attention to when designing climate safe societies. By centering the discussion around local experiences, the initiative ensures that adaptation policies are grounded in the realities of those most affected by climate change. Ultimately, the Envisioning Resilience initiative serves as a powerful example of grassroots engagement driving meaningful action towards a more resilient and sustainable future.

12 01, 2024

Colorado Town Appoints Legal Guardians to Implement the Rights of a Creek and a Watershed

2024-08-26T12:31:55-04:00Tags: , |

Katie Surma, a journalist with Inside Climate News, reports on a recent win in the Rights of Nature movement. Nederland, a small town west of Denver, Colorado, has just appointed two legal guardians to represent Boulder Creek and the Nederland watershed, a monumental step forward in legally enacting the Rights of Nature. The guardians will work to report on the ecosystem’s health and make recommendations for policy and actions to improve the water quality, ecosystem health, and natural protection of the region. Advocates believe that nature, like other non-human entities protected by law, such as corporations, should have legal standing to assert its rights and request representation. In 2021, Nederland did this by recognizing Boulder Creek and its watershed as living entities with innate rights to be restored and protected. Despite previous attempts to debase Rights of Nature in 2017, three other towns have gone on to enact nonbinding resolutions, following the leadership of Nederland.

1 01, 2024

Ireland Could Become the Next Nation to Recognize the Rights of Nature and a Human Right to a Clean Environment

2025-02-14T13:33:33-05:00Tags: |

Katie Surma, a reporter for Inside Climate News focusing on environmental law and justice, writes about global shifts to embrace the Rights of Nature movement. In 2023, six of Earth’s nine planetary boundaries were breached, placing the planet on brink of a sixth extinction. The design of our political, economic, legal, and environmental processes that put humans first are the same systems that have brought us to the verge of collapse. As a result, Ireland declared a national biodiversity emergency in 2019, as over 70% of petlands and 50% of freshwater sources are damaged or deteriorating. In December of 2023, a legislative committee proposed that the Irish government add Rights of Nature to the constitution through an amendment that would recognize nature as having a right to exist, thrive, and be restored, and that humans have a right to a clean environment. The shift would prevent unsuitable human behaviors to create more ecosystem balance, and restore an Indigenous principle that humans are not separate from the rest of the land. Ireland is not alone in this feat—Aruba, Panama, Ecuador, and even some cities in the United States have passed laws recognizing the inherent Rights of Nature. For centuries, Indigenous peoples have lived in their environments without damaging or endangering it. Implementing Rights of Nature is a first step in returning to that.

10 10, 2023

Climate crisis is ‘not gender neutral’: UN calls for more policy focus on women

2025-03-27T13:30:36-04:00Tags: |

Despite its importance, only one-third of nations have included sexual and reproductive health as part of their plans to combat climate change. Of the 119 national plans published, only 38 include access to contraception and maternal and newborn health, while just 15 make any reference to gender-based violence. Increasing temperatures result in poorer maternal health and pregnancy complications, such as earlier deliveries and stillbirths. Intensified natural disasters damage health facilities, disrupt care, spread waterborne diseases, and increase the risk of violence and child marriage. Of the countries with published plans, only Paraguay, Seychelles, and Benin specified needed to build climate-resilient health systems, and only Dominica mentioned the need for contraception. Vietnam is the sole country to identify economic instability as a drier of child marriage. Climate change impacts demographics differently, and its unique harm towards women must be addressed in policy in order to reach a just future.

25 09, 2023

Indigenous women are showing us how to fight for environmental and human rights

2025-02-21T17:33:06-05:00Tags: |

Indigenous women in Brazil are leading the fight for climate and environmental justice by bringing ancestral strength and knowledge to the beacons of power in the country. These women have been protesting and reaching positions in congress, with their demands expanding on ecological frameworks of justice. They are pushing for a new bill to protect Indigenous women from violence linked to mining and exploitation of the environment and communities. Furthermore, the women have been creating spaces for strategic and successful sisterhood, decolonization, and community building for indigenous women in and out of government. They have successfully overturned the marco temporal legal concept which attempted to trivialize Indigenous claims to land, leaving protected peoples and environments vulnerable to violence and extraction. This is part of their mission to reforest politics and the mind—engaging in actions that heal the planet, people, and greater ecosystem. They are bringing regeneration not just to their environment, but to the world through knowledge, care, solidarity, and re-Indigenization. They are demanding the recognition and uplifting of Indigenous women and their work in order to restore the world.

24 08, 2023

Opinion: I grew up next to an L.A. oil well. California can protect others from what I went through

2024-08-26T11:19:38-04:00Tags: |

Nalleli Cobo, an environmental justice activist and founder of “People Not Pozos,” was nine years old when she started advocating against oil drilling in her community. The pollution from the oil wells had been making her and her family sick, her entire life. At ages 11 and 19, she was diagnosed with asthma and stage two reproductive cancer. Cobo’s experience is one that is shared across many Los Angeles residents, especially Black and Hispanic communities, who live within dangerous distances to oil wells. The California Legislature proposed Senate Bill 1137, to protect community members impacted by oil extraction, but the bill was later halted by the oil industry pouring money into a ballot referendum. Senator Lena Gonzalez, a sponsor of SB1137, proposed a new bill, SB556, that would apply legal and financial penalties to oil drillers that ignore the science linked to the health risks of drilling, including asthma, cancer, respiratory problems, preterm birth, and high-risk pregnancies. Cobo continues her work against the oil industry within California. Ultimately, this bill did not pass in the California legislature, however, policies like SB566 continue to bring hope to communities in the fight for health protections against polluting industries.

10 05, 2023

Aruba Considers Enshrining the ‘Rights of Nature’ in Its Constitution

2024-08-26T12:38:36-04:00Tags: |

Katie Surma, a journalist with Inside Climate News, reports on Aruba’s efforts to enact Rights of Nature. In its 2008 constitution, Ecuador enshrined the rights of Mother Earth, Pacamamma– the first nation in the world to constitutionally protect Rights of Nature. Now, Aruban lawmakers want Aruba to be the second country to do this. The proposed amendment would protect ecosystems and make the Rights of Nature a moral and legal imperative in Aruba, though it still needs to be approved by both the Aruban Parliament and the Kingdom of Netherlands.  Aruba, a small island nation, is facing devastating climate impacts– the island is expected to become significantly warmer and dryer by 2050. The amendment also recognizes that access to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right. Even though the interdependency between humans and nature is advocated for does not mean that it is protected– though lawyers have begun winning cases against further island development, the government at large is still making short-term profit decisions at the expense of nature.

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.

14 03, 2023

Older Swiss women take government to court over climate

2025-03-30T19:11:02-04:00Tags: |

Elisabeth Stern, a woman leader from rural northeastern Switzerland, is a member of the KlimaSeniorinnen organization which has filed a lawsuit against the Swiss government for breaching their human rights by not taking sufficient action to combat climate change. KlimaSeniorinnen presents scientific evidence of the impacts of climate change on health, with a particular focus on the vulnerability of older people and women. They argue that stronger climate targets and action must be taken by the government to protect their right to life. The organization seeks to hold the state accountable, promote climate justice, and protect the rights of individuals affected by climate change. Their case will be heard at the European Court of Human Rights, marking the first climate change lawsuit of its kind in the court.  

8 02, 2023

‘If Brazil starts with us, why did we arrive last?’: Q&A with Indigenous lawmaker Célia Xakriabá

2025-04-09T20:37:50-04:00Tags: |

Celia Xakriabá, who had won the seat of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, was interviewed about her campaign and her aims for the next years. She describes the importance children and youth played in her campaign and how, for many parents, their future was the tipping point that motivated them to vote for Xakriabá. Being both the youngest Indigenous deputy in the world and the first Indigenous woman to receive a PhD in her state, Xakriabá and Sonia Gujajara, Brazil’s first Minister of Indigenous Peoples, share a feeling of loneliness that Xakriabá sees as part of what she calls “the racism of absence.” Far too often, the demarcation of territories only happened after the death of an Indigenous leader, but Xakriabá says no one should have to wait for that moment. She pushes for the implementation of quotas across the country as a form of reparation and the creation of a secretariat for Indigenous education within the Ministry of Education via new legislation. The country’s statute on Indigenous peoples needs to be updated, leaving behind its racist terminology and views, something that has already begun under the Presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and is continuing with her guidance.

31 01, 2023

Women Are On The Frontlines Of Climate Change But Not At The Negotiation Table

2025-03-06T00:50:11-05:00Tags: |

Women are continually being underrepresented in climate change discussions, with only seven of the 110 officials leading discussions at COP27 being female. This exclusion of women reflects a failure to commit to achieving gender equality at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, where men occupied 61% of membership positions involved in decision-making. At COP27, women accounted for only 35.6% of participation, marking a decline from recent years, in spite of many of these organisations claiming to recognise the crucial role of women in addressing climate change. Women are currently bearing the worst of the impacts of climate change and their representation is vital in climate discussions. Findings show that when women and marginalised groups are included in decision-making, better climate policy and social equity is achieved. Furthermore, data from McKinsey states that organisations with greater gender diversity on executive teams are 25% more likely to have higher profitability. It is therefore imperative for social and climate justice that women are properly represented at the negotiation table.

15 12, 2022

These Indigenous Women are Fighting Big Oil―And Winning

2025-02-21T17:12:44-05:00Tags: , |

Indigenous leaders Nemonte Nenquimo and Nonhle Mbuthuma discuss their successes in stopping Big Oil initiatives that would harm their communities, and share their formula for how others can triumph through community involvement, education, and legal pressure. Nenquimo, a Waorani leader, organized a resistance to stop government plans to drill in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador in 2019. Just a few years later, Mbuthuma, a leader of the amaMpondo people, led her community to court to prevent Shell from gaining a permit that would enable them to pillage Indigenous farming and fishing communities on the coast of South Africa. These efforts are rooted in Indigenous rights, knowledge, and spirituality. Nenquimo and Mbuthuma believe that if Indigenous stories and knowledge are spotlighted and supported―legally, financially, and otherwise―effective and successful change can be made.

27 10, 2022

COP27 President Envoy on Youth: With Hurricanes, Floods, Heatwaves, Climate Change Cannot Be Ignored

2025-04-09T20:20:53-04:00Tags: |

Dr. Omnia El Omrani, the official Youth Envoy for COP 27, experienced the profound impact of climate change during Hurricane Irma's devastation in Miami back in 2017. As a medical professional, witnessing the influx of emergency patients due to the hurricane ignited her interest in environmental and climate issues. Over the years, she transformed into an activist, representing medical students and young doctors on the global stage, starting from COP24 in 2018 to COP26 in 2021. Her role as a climate change activist and community leader from Egypt is crucial in involving youth perspectives in COP27's implementation-focused strategy. The Youth Climate Summit COY17 has resulted in a statement reflecting youth perceptions and potential solutions, which will be discussed and debated during COP27. Dr. El Omrani's dedication extends to bridging awareness about climate change, influencing decision-makers, and creating educational curricula for universities, all with the goal of tackling climate challenges and promoting resilience, especially among vulnerable populations.

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.

10 10, 2022

Give legal rights to animals, trees and rivers, say experts | Environment | The Guardian

2024-02-14T12:01:36-05:00Tags: , |

This article discusses the perspectives of the authors, Dr. Wendy Schultz and Dr. Trish O’Flynn, who co-wrote the report, Law in the Emerging Bio Age. Their report emphasizes the importance that legal frameworks have in the interactions between humans, their environments, and biotechnology. Dr. O’Flynn elaborates on the common misperception that humans are outside of nature and the ideology that nature is something for humans to control or alter. Dr. O’Flynn also highlights the potential of implementing legal protection for non-human species, such as allowing other species to achieve their own potential cognitively, emotionally, and socially. With the continuing developments in biotechnology, questions concerning ethics also arise about the role that humans have in using it. Dr. Schultz suggests the creation of an accountability framework would ensure consequences for these actions, which is where Rights of Nature laws would play their most crucial role. The article closes by calling attention to the difficulty of spreading this approach in western countries as opposed to others who have already adopted legislation protecting the Rights of Nature.  Photo Credit: Dušan Veverkolog (Unsplash)

5 10, 2022

“A successful climate transition could help create a more peaceful world”

2025-03-24T22:52:36-04:00Tags: |

Nina von Uexkull is a peace and conflict researcher who advocates for a just climate transition and sees benefits for both the natural environment and people in exposed areas. von Uexkull began working with the Uppsala Conflict Data Program in their Department of Peace and Conflict Studies. The database makes it possible to see when and where people died in armed conflicts. She then combined this data with her interest in climate issues. Her work has shown that people in drought-prone areas are more likely to support violence. She has linked similar effects to floods. While these connections are not yet sufficiently strong, von Uexkull hopes her research can predict behaviors and prevent the risk of violent confrontations. She was selected in June 2022 for the Oscar Prize for young researchers.

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.

13 07, 2022

Women should be leading conservation efforts in Africa

2025-03-24T22:46:51-04:00Tags: |

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf served as the President of Liberia from 2006–2018. She won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2011 as part of her efforts to further women’s rights, as well as the 2017 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership in recognition of the positive changes in Liberia under her administration. Sirleaf was the first woman elected head of state of an African country. In Africa, women make up 70% of the workforce and grow 90% of food. Because most women in sub-Saharan Africa have traditional responsibilities such as growing food, gathering water and fuel, and caregiving, environmental degradation caused by climate change impacts women the most. However, women’s voices are absent from development discussions, despite Africa leading the world in women’s public leadership. According to Sirleaf, one of the best ways to achieve a vibrant conservation sector in Africa is to listen to the women who are affected most by environmental degradation. Despite the establishment of conservancies that protect wildlife corridors across Africa and the fact that rural women have historically assumed the role of guardians of natural resources, women have not had the opportunity to engage in the governance of conservancies. Creating space for the knowledge and capabilities of women would open unseen opportunities in the fight against climate change and increase efficiency in conservation efforts.

13 07, 2022

First climate agreement to center Indigenous Voices gains international support

2025-03-24T18:28:50-04:00Tags: |

The United Nations pushed for widespread adoption of the Escazú Agreement, the first climate agreement focused on Indigenous perspectives. It upholds the notion that protecting the environment requires uplifting, engaging, and centering Indigenous communities. Multiple activists, such as Patricia Gualinga, an Amazonian women spokesperson, and Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN’s executive director, spoke up during the conference to advocate for Indigenous knowledge and protection. Indigenous environmental protectors are often hurt or killed during their work. During both illegal and permitted logging and mining, Indigenous communities are frequently displaced or disproportionately affected by resulting health issues. The Escazú Agreement aims to prevent these injustices, calling for stricter protections for Indigenous communities and environmental activists.

1 07, 2022

‘Talk with us, not for us’: fishing communities accuse UN of ignoring their voices

2025-03-24T23:06:39-04:00Tags: |

Small-scale fishing communities accuse world leaders of prioritizing corporate interests over protecting their livelihoods at the UN Oceans Conference. Small-scale fishermen and women in coastal nations provide more than half of the fish consumed worldwide; however, the international community fails to recognize their contributions to food security and ocean protection. Suzanne Njeri, Vice President of the African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network, states that coastal fishing communities are sidelined in these discussions. She emphasizes that they must combat malnutrition while also protecting their communities. These communities witness firsthand the damage that corporate interests and climate change inflict on fish breeding grounds, yet policymakers are not listening. In 2022, fishing communities issued a global call to action, urging governments and international organizations to secure preferential access to and increase co-management of coastal areas, ensure the participation of women, and expand support for addressing climate change impacts on coastal regions.

14 04, 2022

How Vanessa Nakate Mobilizes the Masses

2025-04-18T11:05:40-04:00Tags: |

Vanessa Nakate, a formidable force in the realm of climate justice activism, hails from Uganda with a fervent mission: to hold the Global North accountable for the climate crisis. Starting with personal realization of climate change impacts in her country, Nakate initiated climate strikes inspired by Greta Thunberg. Despite initial solitary strikes, she gradually formed the Rise Up movement, aiming to amplify African voices in the climate movement. Central to Nakate's advocacy is the urgent call for global solidarity in addressing climate change, particularly in light of the disproportionate burden borne by African communities. With Africa historically responsible for less than 4% of global emissions, yet disproportionately impacted by climate change, Nakate stresses the imperative for equitable climate finance, cessation of emissions exportation by Global North countries, and genuine commitment to green initiatives. In Nakate's message, hope resonates as a beacon of resilience amidst adversity. She envisions a future where collective action drives meaningful change towards a climate-friendly world, underpinned by justice and equity for all.

28 03, 2022

‘Marine conservation talks must include human rights’: Q&A with biologist Vivienne Solís Rivera

2024-09-16T09:53:04-04:00Tags: , |

Vivienne Solís Rivera, a prominent biologist, actively advocates for a human-rights-based approach in the Geneva negotiations on the Global Biodiversity Framework. She raises concerns about the impact of the 30×30 conservation target on the fishing rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), emphasizing the need for a climate justice framework. The discussions prioritize sustainable fishing practices, equitable participation, and diverse governance models. Rivera's work highlights women's resilience and resistance, promoting decentralized and accessible solutions that uphold climate justice. An open letter signed by environmentalists, scientists, and human rights advocates calls for the inclusion of human rights in the 30% conservation goal. It addresses concerns regarding exclusive marine protected areas denying fishing access to small-scale fishers and jeopardizing livelihoods. The letter emphasizes collaboration with IPLCs, recognizing their effective land and ocean management and stressing the importance of protecting women's rights, Indigenous rights, and the rights of local communities

24 03, 2022

2022 Goldman Prize Winner: Marjan Minnesma

2025-03-24T22:42:22-04:00Tags: |

Marjan Minnesma, born and raised outside of Amsterdam, served as the director for the Institute of Transitions before establishing Urgenda in 2007, working on innovative climate solutions. Despite all EU member states adopting targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions in 2010, the Dutch government ignored its commitments. Minnesma fought to hold her government accountable, arguing that the government put citizens in harm's way due to its inaction and ignored its legal obligation, “duty to care.” In November 2012, Minnesma held a seminar for elected officials and journalists, hoping they would act on climate change, but to no avail. Mainnesma later wrote a letter demanding a 40% reduction in greenhouse gasses (GHG) by 2020. The government responded that it did not want to be a ‘front runner’ in mitigating climate change. In November 2013, Urgenda filed a lawsuit against the government, supported by crowdfunding and citizen science, to reiterate the demand for the government to cut GHG emissions. In June 2015, the Hague’s district court ruled that the Dutch government breached its duty of care as it failed to protect its citizens from climate change. Going against public opinion, the Dutch government appealed on 29 counts. In October 2018, the courts upheld the June 2015 ruling, but the government appealed again, sending the case to the Supreme Court. Urgenda published 54 concrete measures that the government could adopt to reduce greenhouse gasses by 25%. In December 2019, the Supreme Court upheld the lower courts’ decisions, forcing the government to cut emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by the end of 2020. Marjan Minnesma was awarded the 2022 Goldman Prize for her work. 

23 03, 2022

Virtual conferences exclude most African women – how can we be heard?

2025-03-24T22:58:22-04:00

Annually, the United Nations hosts the Commission on the Status of Women, the biggest gathering to discuss gender issues. However, the global meeting is not accessible to all. African women have been repeatedly left out of the conversation and the Commission. They face visa denials with little to no attempts from embassies to facilitate the strenuous U.S. paperwork process. Most lack the resources and the time to fly to New York and stay for the meetings. If African women can overcome those issues and make it to the U.N., there is little time for them to speak on their issues and effectively voice their concerns. The theme for the 2022 Commission was addressing the climate crisis. Despite their first-hand knowledge of climate change impacts, African women were left out of the conversation due to technical language and geographic/political obstacles. To combat that, African women have started their own commission, Africa CSW. In 2022, they met with 60 representatives from 18 African nations to hold meetings at the same time as the opening sessions of the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women.  The group that hosted Africa CSW is also calling for the UN CSW venue to rotate every year to allow for further participation. African women deserve to be centered in conversations that affect them. They should be able to hold their representatives accountable.

16 02, 2022

A Year After Her Arrest, Indian Climate Activist Disha Ravi Is Still Not Free

2025-04-18T11:16:57-04:00Tags: |

A year after her arrest, Indian climate activist Disha Ravi remains entangled in legal constraints. In spite of this, her unwavering commitment to environmental advocacy remains undiminished. As a leading figure in India's Fridays For Future chapter, Ravi's journey into activism stems from her familial roots as the granddaughter of farmers, witnessing firsthand the struggle for water access in rural India and facing floods in her Bengaluru hometown. However, her ardent support for farmers' protests led to her arrest under charges of sedition, sparking international attention and debate on India's approach to dissent and climate justice. Ravi's case sheds light on the broader context of draconian laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which stifles peaceful expression and targets activists. Despite facing unjustified harassment and media scrutiny, Ravi remains resolute in her mission for climate justice, advocating for a transition away from coal dependency and urging global solidarity in the fight against climate change. As she continues her activism under stringent legal conditions, Ravi's story serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggle for environmental protection and the imperative of collective action in fostering transformative change.

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

2025-01-25T11:27:20-05:00Tags: |

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

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

27 01, 2021

Sunrise Movement’s Varshini Prakash: Biden’s Climate Agenda Must Go Beyond Undoing Trump’s Damage

2025-02-21T16:59:53-05:00Tags: |

Varshini Prakash, co-founder and executive director of the Sunrise Movement, spoke with Amy Goodman on Biden’s climate action as of 2021 and what steps she believes the Biden-Harris Administration should take going forward to address the climate crisis. She appreciates the steps Biden had already taken, such as re-entering the Paris Climate Agreement and canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, among other initiatives. However, Prakash emphasizes that these actions must continue, and that economic and climate justice must be centered in the conversation. At this stage of the crisis, with much of the immediate damage disproportionately affecting historically underserved communities, it is not enough to make up for the damage of previous administrations. We cannot afford to sit back now that we have a leader who is pushing for climate initiatives―we must continue to push for the future we want to see. A standout point was that Biden should keep his efforts going and stop the Dakota Access pipeline and Line 3, both sites of endured Indigenous resistance. Climate justice initiatives and sustainable economic development must be coupled going forward. Prakash believes that various movements coming together under the climate justice umbrella can help build support and pressure, and lead to unified change.

12 11, 2020

​​An Energy Leader Wins an Election

2025-03-24T23:10:47-04:00Tags: |

DeAndrea Salvador, former executive director of the Renewable Energy Transition Initiative (RETI)—a nonprofit dedicated to making energy affordable and efficient in North Carolina—won a race to become a North Carolina senator. Salvador founded RETI at age 23, educating Charlotte, North Carolina, residents about energy efficiency and conservation while also advancing community solar initiatives in South Carolina. Equity is the cornerstone of her work. In 2015, North Carolina had half a million households spending 20% or more of their monthly income on energy bills. Salvador believes that energy systems cannot be equitable if only some people have access to clean energy sources, nor are they equitable if people must make difficult choices to afford their monthly energy bills. In 2018, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed an executive order to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 40% of 2005 levels by 2025. Salvador’s work in the State Senate is crucial in ensuring that this effort prioritizes the needs of communities of color and low-income individuals.

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.

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

29 07, 2020

Gender, Climate and Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: From Diagnostics to Solutions

2024-02-23T13:27:38-05:00Tags: |

Climate Change exacerbates high rates of violence in Latin America and the Caribbean, contributing to instability and increased inequalities. Latin American and Caribbean societies face rampant gender discrimination, unequal access to public services, persistent pay gaps, and a lack of political participation by women. More than 1 in 4 households are headed by women, more than anywhere in the world, and a disproportionate number of women work in the informal economy. The Latin American and Caribbean region also has the highest rates of gender-based violence worldwide – with six countries (Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, El Salvador, and Bolivia) accounting for 81% of cases globally. Women in rural areas, especially Indigenous women, rely heavily on local natural resources and find it challenging to maintain their lifestyles in the face of increased water and food scarcity due to climate change. Only 30% of rural women own agricultural land, and 40% engage in unpaid labor, putting them at increased risk of economic crises. When women in Latin America and the Caribbean take leadership positions in the face of climate change, they are instrumental in incorporating ancestral Indigenous knowledge into climate change efforts by protecting each other and the land. Young women and women-run organizations, including the Lime Work Programme on Gender, engage globally through COP negotiations and other international climate conferences. However, more work must be done internationally to address gender inequality and climate change with the guidance of frontline women. Photo Credit: Martin Fuhrmann / Pixabay.com

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

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

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 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. 

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

The Woman Going After Big Energy for the Typhoon That Killed Her Family

2025-03-27T14:39:38-04:00Tags: |

In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan killed 6,300 - including Joanna Sustento’s mother, father, brother, sister,  and nephew - and destroyed the city of Tacloban. The Typhoon ranked 8.1, on an intensity scale that only goes up to 8. Sustento blames climate change for the storm, and blames 47 of the world’s largest polluters for causing climate change. Sustento is on a journey to hold them morally and legally responsible. A human rights commission in the Philippines has held public hearings to determine if these companies should be held accountable, however, it cannot make legal rulings. Despite this, the outcome could set an important precedent. Legal recognition of climate change’s impacts is important for spurring further action and giving tangible points of accountability. None of the 47 companies participated in the Philippines investigation, and none of their representatives heard Sustento speak on the impacts of climate change and the direct actions of corporations on the lives of her family. The commission is holding hearings across the Philippines throughout 2018. An official report is expected in 2019.

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

Ugandan Women Didn’t Cause Climate Change, But They’re Adapting to It

2018-01-24T11:19:42-05:00Tags: |

Constance Okollet is among the first women of Uganda taking bold action to fight climate change impact, through the formation of the Osukuru United Women Network. Over time, the network has evolved into an education platform about climate change, mitigation and adaptation strategies. Irene Barbara Amayo, another powerful woman, is the chairperson of a group in the Network which has taken action including creating a sustainable poultry operation and a small tree nursery. Even though the Network faces multiple infrastructural challenges which constitute barriers and challenges, the women involved in the project continue to be optimistic and stand for their beliefs. This article highlights that even though these women are not the ones responsible for climate change and massive global pollution, they are nonetheless rising as heroes to build solutions.  Photo credit: Edward Echwalu

20 10, 2017

Indigenous Women Take Pipeline Activism Global

2017-11-01T10:52:53-04:00Tags: |

Michelle Cook, a Diné human rights lawyer, founding member of the of the Water Protector Legal Collective at Standing Rock, and delegate to the Autumn 2017 Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegation to Europe, speaks on Rising Up With Sonali TV, providing hard hitting analysis of why financial and political institutions are morally and legally obligated to change their practices to respect Indigenous rights, human rights and the Earth - and how Indigenous women are taking action to push for this accountability and action in some of the European nations home to major investors and institutions funding fossil fuel extraction projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline. Photo credit: Teena Pugliese

20 10, 2017

WEDO Training On Gender And UN Climate Policy

2017-11-01T10:37:45-04:00Tags: |

Bridget Burns of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) provides a one hour online training for global women seeking an overview of the history of gender at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);  integrating gendered -language in the policy process; and what to expect from the upcoming discussions on the gender action plan. Photo credit: WEDO

16 10, 2017

Women Lead On Climate: WEDO 2017 Regional Trainings

2017-10-27T15:52:27-04:00Tags: |

In 2017, the Women’s Environment and Development Organization conducted trainings on climate change policy and decision making in 3 regions, reaching 83 women from 31 countries. WEDO works for the inclusion of women in the frontlines of all levels of decision-making on climate change. Photo credit: Women’s Environment and Development Organization

6 10, 2017

A Future Detoxified

2017-12-06T14:23:18-05:00Tags: |

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports on pushing for gendered considerations in hazardous chemicals and waste management, through the Gender Action Plan of the Stockholm Basel and Rotterdam International Conventions. The report includes thoughts from Stella Mojekwu, Chief Environmental Scientist at the Federal Ministry of Environment in Nigeria on the dangers posed to women exposed to oil-based, toxic PCB through cooking and handeling of cosmetics and chemical products. Resources are included to learn more about international and United Nations policy efforts and conventions to address this issue through improvement of  gender mainstreaming mechanisms. Photo credit: WECF

2 10, 2017

Post-Hurricane Recovery Efforts Must Include Women’s Voices

2020-09-02T21:41:29-04:00Tags: |

In this article, Dr. Heidi Hartmann and Geanine Wester center the lived experiences of low-income black women impacted by post-Katrina recovery in New Orleans twelve years ago as a lesson for policy planning and development post-Irma and post-Harvey. They outline how women are more likely to live in poverty—especially women of color—and represent more of the elderly population, which make them more vulnerable to climate disasters and gender-based violence both before and after disasters. For the women in public housing prior to Hurricane Katrina, they faced recovery policies that effectively eliminated their homes to make way for mixed-income developments, dispersed and curtailed public services for low-income families, and devastated key community support networks. These stories underline the importance of including women, particularly poor women and women of color, in the process of rebuilding whole communities post-disaster.

1 10, 2017

Why Native American Women Are Going After Europe’s Banks to Divest From Big Oil

2017-11-01T04:52:40-04:00Tags: |

A delegation of Indigenous women leaders from the United States traveled to Europe in October 2017, where they met with leaders of government and financial institutions in Norway, Switzerland, and Germany to share their experiences, and calls to action for immediate action to divest funding from the Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Partners, as well as other dangerous fossil fuel extraction projects across Indigenous lands. In this Yes! Magazine interview, delegate Jackie Fielder (Mnicoujou Lakota and Mandan-Hidatsa), campaign coordinator of Lakota People’s Law Project and organizer with Mazaska Talks, discusses the events of the Delegation, as well as ongoing global, Indigenous-led movements for fossil fuel divestment such as the Divest The Globe and Equator Banks Act campaigns. Photo credit: Teena Pugliese

27 09, 2017

Inspiring Pacific Women: Her Excellency Dr. Hilda C. Heine

2017-10-27T15:18:33-04:00Tags: |

Throughout her lifetime, President Dr. Hilda C. Heine has paved the way for more female leadership in government and academia in the Pacific. For one, she became the first female leader of an independent Pacific Island nation with her presidency in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. As president, she continues to call for international climate change action, especially as the threat of sea level rise and extreme weather events threaten island communities. She also co-founded Women United Together Marshall Islands to fight domestic violence against women. Photo credit: The Pacific Community/Communauté du Pacifique

26 09, 2017

It Is Time Governments Recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Contributions

2017-10-26T17:36:38-04:00Tags: |

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Igorot), UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, points out that despite the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, few governments have adopted national laws that reflect their commitments. Indigenous rights to land continue to be disrespected, and the right to self-determination is violated. She calls for a serious effort to address the reasons why the UN Declaration is not effectively implemented. According to Victoria the key obstacles are: the rights of Indigenous peoples are not prioritized, the historical injustices that have been happening to Indigenous Peoples have not been redressed and governments need to recognize the contributions of Indigenous Peoples in protecting the environment and making this world a more sustainable place. Photo credit: Broddi Sigurdarson

26 09, 2017

Mexican Presidential Candidate Maria De Jesus Patricia Martinez On Healing For Land And People

2017-10-26T16:10:53-04:00Tags: |

María de Jesús “Marichuy” Patricio Martínez, a Nahua Indigenous woman leader born in Tuxpan, Jalisco, has made history as Mexico’s first ever Indigenous woman presidential candidate for the 2018 elections. María is a traditional healer in her community, know for her lifetime of work to protect traditional ways, culture, language and the wellbeing of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico. She was prompted to run for office after witnessing the dangerous impact of industry, particularly mining, on the health and lives of her people and the land on which they depend. Photo credit: Duncan Tucker

24 09, 2017

Three Platforms For Girls’ Education In Climate Strategies

2018-01-24T11:52:49-05:00Tags: |

Globally, women and girls face acute impacts from climate change, however research has shown that investing in the empowerment and education of girls can act as a powerful remedy and solution to address climate change. This report discusses a few steps that can be taken to strengthen girls skills and abilities, while also moving towards global Sustainable Development Goal standards - including promoting girl’s reproductive rights, investing in girl’s education to develop leadership skills in them and by developing their life skills for green economy. Photo Credit: Brookings.edu

23 09, 2017

Extractives vs Development Sovereignty: Building Living Consent Rights For African Women

2018-01-23T17:44:43-05:00Tags: |

This report chapter by WoMin and Oxfam focuses on the right of consent of women and their communities with regards to mega-development and extraction projects, and emphasizes how the collaboration between corporations and states undermines community fights for sovereignty. The community of Xolobeni, South Africa is used as a case study of how the right of consent is determined by inequalities, and how women are too often excluded from decision-making and consent-giving processes due to their class and gender. The study confirms how women confined by the prevailing societal patriarchal structure, especially those with lack of resources and land ownership, have their voices silenced, and their opposition to dangerous projects ignored.. Photo credit: Oxfam

20 09, 2017

Open Letter To The Women Of Congress From Climate Change Activists, Actors, & Average Moms

2018-03-02T14:08:11-05:00Tags: |

Women across the United States have presented an open letter to the women in Congress following the Trump Administration’s exit from the Paris Agreement and proposed 31 percent budget cut to the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). Hollywood elite, CEOs, advocates, and thousands of community activists have banded together to tell Congress, “Not on our watch!” In their letter, co-signers urge women of Congress to start getting serious about climate change. They point to the water crisis in Flint, fires in California, hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and air pollution in Utah as they plead for policy change that will protect the country’s children. As women, they say, the connection between climate change and gender is lived every day. They end their letter by urging Congress to provide full funding to the EPA in an effort to protect the constituents they are meant to serve. Photo credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images

13 09, 2017

The Contribution Of Gender Justice To Successful Climate Politics

2017-09-13T11:27:54-04:00Tags: |

GenderCC in cooperation with the Wuppertal institute for Social-ecological Research (ISOE) is working on a project whose focus is on the contribution of gender justice to successful climate politics as well as the options for shaping climate policy. This work is valuable in that it gives a systematic review of the existing literature on gender and climate in order to provide critical data to industrialized and historical emitter countries. In addition, the research will give even more in depth analysis on the benefits of integrating gender dimensions into climate policies. Photo credit: IISD/ENB, Kiara Worth

8 09, 2017

Decolonize Justice Systems! An Interview With Dine’ Lawyer Michelle Cook

2020-09-08T21:23:05-04:00Tags: |

All over the world, Indigenous communities exist and function within two justice systems based on different worldviews: the European and the Indigenous. Human Rights Lawyer Michelle Cook (Diné), member of the Navajo Nation and born of the Honághááhnii clan, discusses the unequal relationship between these two frameworks and explains how the language of Human Rights can help challenge the colonial legal system which understates Indigenous' institutions. Photo Credit: Indigenous Rights Radio.

6 09, 2017

#OurSolutions: Interview With Azeb Girmai Of Environmental Development Action

2017-12-06T14:29:55-05:00Tags: |

As part of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO’s) #OurSolutions storytelling project, Azeb Girmai of Ethiopia shares her insights on women-centered sustainable development, structural change for climate justice, and strategies for strengthening local capacity for climate resilience and addressing poverty.

1 09, 2017

To Fight Climate Change, Educate and Empower Girls

2017-11-01T22:57:25-04:00Tags: |

Supporting girls education had been found to be one of the most effective and equitable manners to address global climate change. Education helps girls deal with climate vulnerability and challenging circumstances, opens doors to healthy lives and women’s ability to contribute to fashioning climate solutions; and intersects with reproductive justice and women’s choices in their care for healthy future generations. This important analysis is shared by two women leaders of the Center for Universal Education in the Global Economy and Development. Photo credit: New Security Beat

1 09, 2017

Tzeporah Berman: Pipelines, Politics And Polarization – Where Do We Go From Here?

2017-11-01T03:53:31-04:00Tags: |

Tzeporah Berman, a Canadian woman environment leader and author, argues that the construction of pipelines, such as the Energy East Pipeline, is contrary to the commitments Canada made in Alberta Climate Plan and the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. She urges Canada's elected officials to be honest: locking in emissions by building more fossil fuel infrastructure is not the way to a renewable energy future. Photo credit: Kris Krug

1 09, 2017

Why Moms (And The Rest Of Us) Must Fight For EPA’s Future

2017-11-01T01:31:58-04:00Tags: |

In this article, Vien Truong, CEO of Dream Corps, mobilizes mothers across the United States to use their economic and political clout to amplify the grassroots green movement and build clean, healthy communities. She advocates for strategies such as renewable energy, clean transportation, and female representation in government offices to eliminate pollution and the severe health impacts 0f fossil fuels. Photo credit: Dream Corps

1 09, 2017

CEJA Statement on Sexual Harassment in the Capitol

2020-09-03T00:29:16-04:00Tags: |

The letter illustrated the  between power structure and gender inequality. TheirThe pervasiveness of sexual harassment and asrelationsault has become the recent subject of public debate in the California legislature. With the help of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus and CEJA, an environmental justice organization, 200  women signed a statement against sexual harassment in Capitol. Many of these women spoke in front of the California Assembly Rules Subcommittee to bravely share their experiences of sexual harassment. This is a step in the right direction to ending sexual violence and a culture that permits and promotes the devaluation of women and gender non-conforming people. Photo Credit: CEJA

30 08, 2017

#OurSolutions: Interview With Azeb Girmai Of Environmental Development Action (ENDA)

2017-10-30T20:51:44-04:00Tags: |

Azeb Girmai is PhD candidate in Kyoto University’s Division of African Studies who previously worked with Environmental Development Action (ENDA) in Ethiopia. In this interview with the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, she speaks about the need to center women in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, as women are central to environmental conservation and social development.

30 08, 2017

Maria Nailevu, Pacific Climate Justice Activist

2017-10-30T02:51:11-04:00Tags: |

Growing up with recurrent natural disasters, sea level rise and flooding, Maria Nailevu experienced the impacts of climate change from a very early age. Today, she is working with Diverse Voices and Action (DIVA) for Equality to promote social, economic and ecological justice woman to advocate for women human rights and climate action at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties conferences. Nailevu is also working to free her home of plastics with the Pacific Urgent Action Hub for Climate Justice and creating safe spaces where women can come together to share knowledge, stories and strategies for a gender-just society. Photo credit: DIVA4Equality

27 08, 2017

Sustainable Development Goals And Gender

2017-10-31T20:34:44-04:00Tags: |

A brief on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Gender introduced by the Global Forest Coalition focuses on the gender perspectives of realizing the goals, as well as the challenges and opportunities regarding the implementation of the SDGs. The brief also refers to the need of a meaningful participation of women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the SDG process.

27 08, 2017

Gender Remains One Of Climate Change’s Great Inequalities

2017-10-27T15:40:54-04:00Tags: |

In this article, Isabella Lövin, Sweden’s deputy prime minister, discusses women’s physical and economic vulnerability to climate change as well as their critical role in a just transition despite often limited power and access to resources in decision-making spaces. She advocates that gender equality in low-carbon development and climate change adaptation is essential not just for the means of female empowerment but for true transformative change. To illustrate this impact, she discusses two clean energy projects in East Africa and Mongolia funded by the Green Climate Fund that center female entrepreneurship and women’s quality of life.  Photo credit: Ashden

27 08, 2017

Tia Hatton Is Suing The U.S. Government Over Climate Change

2017-10-27T15:12:54-04:00Tags: |

Tia Hatton, a University of Oregon student majoring in environmental studies, published this essay in Sierra Magazine about why she became a plaintiff in the case Juliana, et al. v. United States of America. Hatton and 21 other young climate activists are suing the U.S. government in a landmark case for failing to take meaningful action on climate change. The trial begins in early February 2018. Lawyers hope to prove that the US government knew for decades about CO2 pollution and rising global temperatures. Photo credit: Tia Hatton

27 08, 2017

Mary Robinson Asks: Where Do You Go When Your World Disappears?

2017-11-01T02:19:08-04:00Tags: |

During the Women in the World Summit, Mary Robinson, president of the Mary Robinson Foundation, calls solidarity with people affected by climate change in 2015. Patricia Cochran, Executive director of Alaska Native Science Commission and Penelise Alofa, National Coordinator of Kiribati Climate Action Network stressed on the interconnection with woman human rights and climate justice. Photo credit: WITW

27 08, 2017

Meet the Oregon Attorney Suing President Trump Over Climate Change

2017-10-27T12:06:09-04:00Tags: |

Julia Olson of the legal non-profit “Our Children’s Trust” is suing the federal government and agencies like EPA for neglecting to act on climate change. Olson maintains that the U.S. government has been aware of climate change and its impacts on people since George Bush took office, yet did nothing. Carbon dioxide levels have increased from 220 ppm to 440 ppm from 1789-2013.  Olson argues that the government is clearly violating the right of the kids to live sustainable lives by permitting the use and development of non-renewable energy sources like coal. She hopes the case Juliana v. United States will lead to concrete legal steps to curb greenhouse effects. Photo credit: Our Children's Trust

27 08, 2017

Here’s How Women Will Save The World

2017-10-27T11:26:29-04:00Tags: |

Journalist Angela Terry writes about the work of the Climate Change Coalition, a member organization that organises the Show the Love Campaign to highlight the aspects of the world people want to save from the destruction of climate change. Many of the Coalition’s supporters are women, and the video they made to inspire connection to the earth was viewed by almost 7 million people. Terry argues that women are at the forefront of online and offline organizing to battle climate change. Photo credit: Huffington Post

23 08, 2017

How An Environmental Activist Became A Pioneer For Climate Justice In India

2018-01-23T20:10:25-05:00Tags: |

Sunita Narain, an environmental activist and Director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India shares powerful analysis on the responsibility that wealthy countries have to take action to address their liability for global climate impacts, which is unjustly impacting citizens of ‘developing’ and low-income nations. She calls for climate justice, and for the Indian government to grow the country in a manner that relies on sustainability and equity, instead of copying western development mechanisms that bring harm. Photo credit: Centre for Science and Environment

6 08, 2017

Women Build Capacity To Bring A Strong Pacific Voice To COP23 Negotiations In Bonn, Germany

2017-12-06T14:31:37-05:00Tags: |

In advance of the United Nations Framework COnvention on Climate Change COP23 in Germany, held under the Presidential leadership of Fiji, women leaders of the Pacific region gathered in Suva, Fiji to build capacities and strengthen collective demands for the 2017 climate talks. The Women’s Environment and Development Organization provides a report back and resources.

2 08, 2017

Fiji’s Climate Champion Speaks Up For Women In The Wake Of Cyclones

2017-11-02T00:11:14-04:00Tags: |

Eta Tuvuki is a single mother who saw her house dismantled in seconds by the powerful cyclone Archipelago. The mental trauma of losing her safe shelter didn’t deter her, however; rather it made her strong and inspired her to do something concrete for her fellow women facing the same situation. Today, as a rural leader for the Fiji-based NGO FemlinkPacific, Tuvuki acts as intermediary between her village and other government representatives. Apart from that, she shares the stories of women on the radio, helping and training women to restore the farms knocked out by cyclones and to be prepared for any kind of weather disaster. Photo credit: Sonia Narang

1 08, 2017

Feminism, Forests And Food Security

2017-11-01T03:20:28-04:00Tags: |

At the forty-fourth Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS-44), the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation organized a side event to address the links between "Feminism, Forests and Food Security." Gender equality is a crucial component of sustainable forest management and food security, a point elegantly made by Marlène Elias, Gender Research Coordinator of the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry, and Gender Specialist at Biodiversity International. The event also addressed the critical role rural women play in conserving biodiversity and natural resources, despite the unique challenges they face, such as lack of access to technology and credit. Photo credit: Juan Carlos Huayllapuma/CIFOR

1 08, 2017

Confronting the Gender Gap In Canada’s Green Transition

2017-11-01T01:34:05-04:00Tags: |

Women constitute a very small section of the energy sector in Canada. Though this presents a challenge, it also represents an opportunity to train and recruit women and minorities to the green economy. As Canada is transiting from fossil fuels to a green economy, it needs a substantial policy that covers the gender gap and supports a healthy work-life balance. Photo credit: The Leap

29 07, 2017

Gender Into Urban Climate Change Initiative

2017-10-29T01:04:47-04:00Tags: |

Is the climate policy of your city genderproof? There is a triangular relationship between climate change, gender and cities. GenderCC launched the Gender into Urban Climate Change Initiative at the 2015 COP21 climate negotiations, with Johannesburg, Makassar, and Delhi meetings held since then to organize and empower women around the links between climate change, gender and cities. Photo credit: gender cc

27 07, 2017

Female Equality Is Vital To Climate Policy And Future Sustainability

2017-10-27T15:14:59-04:00Tags: |

H. Patricia Hynes, a former environmental engineer and now-professor of environmental health, argues in this piece, published by Truthdig, that we cannot achieve sustainability goals without simultaneously guaranteeing the rights of women and girls worldwide. Hynes examines several climate and natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in the United States and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, to demonstrate how women and girls become primary victims of climate change and argues the need for elevating the rights of women to avoid this phenomena. She presents in the piece several proven women-centered practices that elevate and empower women and mitigate impacts of climate change. Photo credit: Adam Jones

27 07, 2017

Study Reveals The Gender Gap In Tanzania, Uganda Climate Policies

2017-10-27T11:13:36-04:00Tags: |

Although Uganda and Tanzania have seen visible changes in the lives of women via legal and constitutional means, their current climate policy fails to acknowledge gender and social glass ceilings faced by women in social matrices where their roles, priorities, opportunities are different from men’s. Ignoring the gender gap in fields like agriculture impacts the economy of country negatively. This study reveals that closing the gender gap in agriculture would increase Tanzania’s GDP by $105 million and Uganda’s by $67 million. Though the governments of Uganda and Tanzania are trying to close this gender gap, a lot still needs to be done at the local, national and international levels in regard to better allocation of resources and including women not as beneficiaries, but rather as an equal partners in the development process.

27 07, 2017

Louisiana Teen Joins Environmental Litigation Filed By 21 Young People

2017-10-27T10:59:14-04:00Tags: |

The United States has known for the past five decades that carbon dioxide pollution from burning fossil fuels causes global warming yet has not taken the necessary steps to prevent it. Twenty-one young people from around the United States have filed a lawsuit to protect the people of the coasts and future generations from coastal erosion and oil spills, and to remind the federal government to step in and address the harm if people, companies and industries are not within emission limits. 14 year old woman leader, Jayden Foytlin, resident of Rayne, Louisiana, is one of the teens dedicating her self to this lawsuit, following the example of her mother, renowned Indigenous rights activist, Cherri Foytlin.  Photo credit: Katc

15 07, 2017

Women Climate Defenders – Video

2017-12-15T14:20:04-05:00Tags: |

Global women’s rights organization, MADRE, participated in the People’s Climate March in Washington D.C., bringing together Indigenous and frontline women from across the world to ensure their voices are heard, and to highlight the disproportionate impacts of climate change felt by women. Amongst the Women Climate Defenders who marched with MADRE were Winnie Kodi (Sudan), Lucy Mulenkei (Kenya), Martha Ntoipo (Tanzania), and Alina Saba (Nepal), alongside Yifat Susskind, MADRE’s executive director, and Diana Duarte, MADRE’s policy and communications director.

13 07, 2017

Haitian Women Needed At The Forefront Of Disaster Risk Management

2017-10-25T22:56:41-04:00Tags: |

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Management is calling attention to the disproportionate impact of natural disasters on women and girls. For example, Haiti’s Hurricane Matthew not only devastated the country’s economy, but also put women in particularly difficult positions as family caretakers and stewards of natural resources. This article argues for gender mainstreaming in disaster risk management to center women’s knowledge and agency in disaster response and reconstruction efforts. Photo credit: UN Photo/Logan Abassi

12 07, 2017

Malia Hulleman and Heather Milton Lightening on Direct Action from the Grassroots

2025-03-06T17:13:28-05:00Tags: |

In this video produced by For the Wild and Spirit Weavers Gathering, Malia Hulleman and Heather Milton-Lightening discuss and share experiences and advice from their direct action activism in the grassroots Indigenous and environmental movements. Hulleman is an environmental activist and Hawai’i native who dedicated her life to protecting Indigenous rights and the environment. She stood with the Standing Rock Sioux against the Dakota Access Pipeline in the face of human rights violations. In Hawai’i, she organizes against the construction of a telescope on sacred land and advocates for the preservation of the Hawaiian language and culture. Malia's experiences at Standing Rock inform her work on sustainable energy and experiences of climate justice. Similarly, Heather Milton-Lightening has years of organizing experience. She is a founding member of the Native Youth Movement which works across the US and Canada together with the Indigenous Environmental Network. From leading youth organizations to lobbying at the United Nations, Heather's work aims to support Native communities through socio-political activism and environmental protection.

12 07, 2017

World Indigenous Women Fight Climate Change at COP21

2017-09-22T10:05:49-04:00Tags: |

Indigenous women from around the world united at the International Indigenous Women's Day at the COP21 climate talks to demonstrate their central role in the battle against climate change. While Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka praised the draft climate agreement for shifting from being "gender-blind" to one that includes "gender references," including a controversial section on climate finance, the women also recognized that the text required more work to strengthen Indigenous rights. Grace Balawag of the Indigenous Peoples' International Center for Policy Research and Education discussed how the draft supports respecting the knowledge and traditions of Indigenous peoples (IPs) in adaptation to climate change; however, this part is left out in terms of mitigation and loss and damage. Photo credit: Fritzie Rodriguez/Rappler  

1 07, 2017

The Solution For Reversing Global Warming Is Educating Girls And Family Planning

2017-11-01T23:01:02-04:00Tags: |

Salon Magazine speaks with Dr. Paul Hawken of Project Drawdown, who set out with a renowned international team to calculate out the most impactful, tangible climate solutions - and was surprised to discover that educating girls and empowering women is cumulatively the #1 most impactful global climate change solution.

1 07, 2017

Biography Of Denise Abdul-Rahman

2017-11-01T17:52:30-04:00Tags: |

Denise Abdul-Rahman is a powerful woman leader who has spent her career working at the intersection of racial, climate and economic justice. For example, she has facilitated community trainings on “Bridging the Gap: Connecting Black Communities to the Green Economy,” and led the Just Energy Campaign to stop Indianapolis Power Light from burning coal. Abdul-Rahman holds a variety of titles: she serves the NAACP Indiana as an Environmental Climate Justice Chair, sits on the Climate Justice Alliance Steering Committee, was a Credentialed Delegate to Paris COP21 with the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, and was a USCAN 2016 Conference Steering Committee member. Photo credit: Kheprw Institute

1 07, 2017

Woman, Scientist, Activist: Female Researchers Take Charge

2017-11-01T03:39:39-04:00Tags: |

Dr. Sarah Myhre writes about intersectional feminism in this article for Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. An ocean scientist, Myhre explains how women are stepping up in an era of increased misogyny ushered in by the election of Donald Trump, and highlights women scientists' leadership in the climate movement, such as with the organization 500 Women Scientists. Photo credit: Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock

30 06, 2017

Noelene Nabulivou Standing For Climate And Gender Justice In Fiji

2017-10-30T02:54:10-04:00Tags: |

Noelene Nabulivou is the political advisor for Diverse Voices and Action (DIVA) for Equality, a Fiji-based organization she helped to found that works at the intersection of gender, human rights and environmental justice. As an openly lesbian feminist, Noelene has mentored countless women across the Pacific, such as Lavetanalagi Seru, co-coordinator of Project Survival Pacific. Nabulivou’s leadership has been indispensable for the women’s, disability and feminist movement in Fiji and the Pacific Islands. Photo credit: Sustainable Pacific Community

30 06, 2017

Women Reclaiming Our Democracy: Resistance And Renewal

2017-10-30T02:23:02-04:00Tags: |

During a 2017 Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network online Education and Advocacy training, ‘Reclaiming Our Democracy: Resistance and Renewal’, women leaders from across the United States shared pointed analysis and thoughts on how best to organize and pursue grassroots-driven systemic change, and make a difference in local and national politics, particularly in the context of the United States Trump presidential administration. Cindy Wiesner, National Coordinator of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (GGJA) and Co-Chair of the Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) and the Our Power Campaign shares thoughts on the importance of long term capacity and relationship building between communities on the frontline of ecological and social injustices in order to support each other around sites of local struggle. A’shanti F. Gholar, Political Director for Emerge America, shares information on the status of women, particularly women of color, in electoral politics - and why and how women across the US must stand up and take action to fill the gap. Liz Van Cleve, an environmental media and outreach communications professional and volunteer with the Indivisible Project, discusses her work and what has been learned surrounding effective ways to engage and affect local and national political outcomes. Photo credit: WECAN International

29 06, 2017

Ogoni Widows File Civil Writ Accusing Shell Of Complicity In Nigeria Killings

2017-10-12T14:26:47-04:00Tags: |

Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula are bringing Shell to court in the Netherlands for complicity in the execution of their husbands in 1995. The men were killed by Nigeria’s military government after 300,000 peaceful demonstrators publicly opposed the widespread pollution of Ogoniland. The company denies culpability, but Audrey Gaughran, senior director of research at Amnesty International, who is supporting the plaintiffs, argues that Shell had plenty of evidence about the human rights abuses suffered by demonstrators at the hands of the military government. Photo credit: Amnesty International

27 06, 2017

Gender Equality For Successful National Climate Action

2017-10-23T22:02:44-04:00Tags: |

In this blogpost, Verania Chao, a Policy Specialist for Environment and Climate Change within the Gender Team at the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support at UNDP, argues for centering gender in climate change policy. The gendered barriers women face to not only add to women’s daily labor, but also increase the cost of managing the impacts of climate change.The dearth of gender-specific approaches and limited gender disaggregated data in major climate policies is one of the main obstacles to overcome to implement sound and just climate policy. Photo credit: Shashank Jayaprasad

27 06, 2017

Leaving Paris For All The Wrong Reasons

2017-10-27T16:13:05-04:00Tags: |

Two women earth defenders and activists, Sara Mersha and Carol Schachet, co-wrote this editorial in response to President Trump withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. The women underscore the influence the fossil fuel industry had on the decision to ultimately withdraw. Nevertheless, the women countered this dramatic and uncertain shift in U.S. climate policy with Grassroots International’s four “key priorities” for climate justice work going forward. Sara Mersha is the Director of Grantmaking and Advocacy at Grassroots International and Carol Schachet director of development and communications at Grassroots International. Photo credit: Grassroots International

27 06, 2017

When Women Have Equal Rights The Tide Turns

2017-10-27T16:11:19-04:00Tags: |

In Meghalaya, where Indigenous Indian societies are matrilineal and women inherit land and decide what is grown on it, communities not only have a strong climate-tolerant food system, but they also grow some of the rarest, medicinal and edible plants in the world. These women in northeastern India are proving that when women are treated as equal and have equal land rights under the law, they shine as leaders in sustainable development and policy. Photo credit: Manipadma Jena

27 06, 2017

Mom’s Clean Air Force Interviews Ohio Representative Kristin Boggs

2017-10-27T16:09:56-04:00Tags: |

Mom’s Clean Air Force published this exclusive Q&A interview with State Representative Kristin Boggs (D) on what truly makes Ohio’s natural resources unique and worth preserving. Boggs also discusses how as a mother she is concerned about climate change and the ways this will impact children’s future. Boggs underscores the importance of a bipartisan effort to enact progressive climate legislation, one that does not change course after each election. Photo credit: Mom’s Clean Air Force

26 06, 2017

Rising Voices: Collaborative Science With Indigenous Knowledge For Climate Solutions

2017-10-26T16:43:46-04:00Tags: |

Suzanne Benally (Navajo/Santa Clara Tewa), Jannie Staffansson (Saami), Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Mbororo) and Berenice Sanchez (Nahuatl/Otomi) share reflections and lessons from the ‘Pathways from Science to Action’ gathering, during which over 130 Indigenous leaders from across the world united to discuss how Indigenous, place-based science and knowledge can work in collaboration with western science to build impactful solutions to the climate crisis. Photo credit: Cultural Survival

16 06, 2017

Rivers As Persons: What It Means To Give Legal Rights To Nature

2023-02-05T22:51:27-05:00Tags: |

This podcast, hosted by the Director of the Victoria Law Foundation Lynne Haultain, explains what it means to give legal rights to nature and how this is demonstrated by recent legislative developments (in New Zealand, India, and other countries) that grant rivers legal personhood. The podcast features environmental law researcher Dr. Erin O’Donnell and economist Julia Talbot-Jones, who discuss the complexities of the Rights of Nature movement and its demands. Ultimately, they claim, rights of nature creates a framework for protecting the environment and natural resources under the law. 

15 06, 2017

Black And Latina Moms Are Most Concerned With Climate Change

2018-02-15T12:58:54-05:00Tags: |

A recent air pollution and climate study found that U.S. mothers and grandmothers are troubled by the impending effects climate change has and will have on their children – with Black and Latino mothers leading the pack. Specifically, the Public Policy Polling found that 87% of Latinas and 84% of Black mothers and grandmothers agreed with the statement: “We are not doing enough as a nation to protect clean air and clean water for your children and grandchildren in the coming years and decades.” Photo Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

13 06, 2017

Full Interview: Naomi Klein On Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics

2017-10-31T20:35:02-04:00Tags: |

Naomi Klein’s book This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate has been called the bible of the climate justice movement. It cuts straight to the chase in identifying capitalism as the principal culprit of climate change, through stories from the global movement that widely uses the slogan “system change, not climate change.” Klein also notes that the ‘capitalist patriarchy’ is subordinating women’s bodies and the earth. In her new book No Is Not Enough, Klein takes on the catastrophic decisions President Trump is making on global climate progress by denying that climate change exists and by infamously pulling out of the acclaimed 2015 Paris climate accord. Yet, despite the setbacks caused by Trump, Klein explains that the climate movement is stepping up and fighting hard against the dangerous impacts that climate change policy will have on the interlinked issues of race, gender and economic inequality under Trump’s administration. Photo credit: Democracy Now!

8 06, 2017

Women Ocean Leaders Of Samoa: Anama Solofa

2017-08-26T15:48:32-04:00Tags: |

Anama Solofa represents the growing number of Pacific Island women making waves in both our oceans and in policy spaces dedicated to championing the sustainable and equitable use of this precious natural resource under threat. A Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship program recipient, Anama is studying for her Master’s degree in Marine Policy. Having worked at Samoa’s Ministry of Fisheries in and at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (S.P.R.E.P.), she is a fierce advocate for ocean conservation. Solofa also knows first-hand the difficulties in working in policy, a male-dominated field, in addition to the inter-generational issues that young women working in the field face. Photo credit: Samoa Observer

6 06, 2017

Policy Brief: Gender Equality In Climate Change Adaptation In Vietnam

2017-10-23T22:07:21-04:00Tags: |

Vietnam has a long history of women’s organizing through various groups such as the Vietnam Women’s Union, and has passed robust laws to fight gender inequalities. Within the context of its high vulnerability to climate change due to increased flooding, typhoons and extended drought, it is imperative that the solutions crafted are responsive to the ways in which asymmetries of power between men and women play out. Photo credit: WECAN International

1 06, 2017

Kari Fulton Talks About Climate Change And The Threat Of Extreme Weather

2017-11-01T17:47:16-04:00Tags: |

Cultural historian and environmental justice advocate Kati Fulton speaks about the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris accord. Fulton points out that such an action reduces the amount of funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, the impacts of which are not isolated to the United States but will be felt worldwide. She urges politicians to stop denying the threat posed by extreme weather, such as Hurricane Irma, and take measures to ensure environmental justice. Photo credit: CGTN America

1 06, 2017

Helena Norberg-Hodge: Society Should Shape Business – Not The Other Way Round

2017-11-01T11:09:11-04:00Tags: |

Helena Norberg-Hodge, founder of organizations such as Local Futures and the Global Ecovillage Network,  is a vocal global advocate for localization of economies to truly meet the needs of people and planet. She demands a world that values wellness and sustainability over profit, a term she has coined ‘the economics of happiness’. This Guardian article profiles her life and invaluable contributions to movements for new economy, sustainable living, wellbeing and a just transition to renewable systems.

1 06, 2017

Whitney Tome Of Green 2.0 On Building An Environmental Movement That Looks Like America

2017-11-01T03:11:06-04:00Tags: |

Whitney Tome tells her story about working for over a decade in the environmental movement and often being the only woman of color present. Her experience led her to found, Green 2.0, an initiative that is working to bring more people of color to environmental organizations and building a movement that better represents all of the United States. Photo credit: Green 2.0

1 06, 2017

Centering Equity, Inclusion And Justice In All Of Our Work: Lessons Learned So Far

2017-11-01T01:02:02-04:00Tags: |

Nellis Kennedy-Howard is the Director for the Equity, Inclusion and Justice department at the Sierra Club and has an extensive background in law, natural resources and environmental justice issues, professionally and personally. The main goal for this sector is to manage the organization’s activities and its transformation into an anti-oppressive entity, while continuing to work with environmental and participation and community engagement’s issues. Three other women compose this department, namely Jessica Ronald, Cait Lull and Allison Chin. Resources are scarce and limited manpower list among some of the practical challenges Nellis and her team face. Photo credit: Sierra Club

30 05, 2017

Ecologist Special Report: Empowering Women To Tackle Climate Change

2018-08-24T17:13:37-04:00Tags: |

The country of Benin in West Africa, is increasingly facing intense climatic changes in the already existing six-month dry season. The agriculture in districts such as Alibori are highly dependent on rainfall for food production. Therefore, to address this increasing intensity of climatic variations, 400 women from the district of Alibori have established Solar Market Gardens, where they can source a sustainable energy through solar charged water pumps and drip irrigation which allows the women to use the resources economically. This establishment has allowed for various social innovations, in turn, guaranteeing 185,000 people with access to renewable energy and stable crop production. This led the women to win “Women for Results” Climate Prize awarded by UNFCCC. Photo Credit: The Ecologist

30 05, 2017

To Save The World’s Forests, Protect Women’s Land Rights

2018-10-17T18:10:13-04:00Tags: |

Solange Bandiaky-Badji, the head of Gender Justice and Africa Programs at the Rights and Resources Initiative, comments on how Indigenous and rural women from low-to-middle income countries suffer from weak enforcement of land tenure security - and how this fails to meet international standards for fighting climate change and women’s rights. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, special rapporteur for Indigenous rights for the United Nations, states how land rights are essential for women’s security, well-being and presence at decision-making processes for resistance, resilience and development of their communities. Photo Credit: Joel Redman 

29 05, 2017

She’s a Climate Scientist. Here’s Why She Quit Working for Trump

2020-10-23T22:48:43-04:00Tags: |

Jane Zelikova, a soil ecologist, used to work for the U.S. Department of Energy researching methods of greenhouse gas emission reduction by fossil fuel industries. When Donald Trump was elected president, Zelikova, as well as her female colleagues, considered the incoming administration to be a threat to scientific work as well as to the planet. As a result, they formed the activist group 500 Women Scientists. Their fears were not unfounded, since the new administration was determined to remove Obama’s Clean Power Plan as well as reduce funding for the Energy Department’s renewable energy research programs. Thus, Zelikova quit her fellowship at the department to pursue a position at the nonprofit, Center for Carbon Removal, instead. Photo Credit:Emeric Fohlen/ZUMA.

27 05, 2017

An Architect Of The Paris Climate Agreement Isn’t Losing Sleep Over Trump Pull-Out

2017-10-27T15:42:51-04:00Tags: |

In this interview, Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, shares her perspective on the United States’ pull-out of the Paris Agreement, the economic opportunity of decarbonization, and China’s clean energy leadership. Despite President Trump’s mistaken message on clean energy job creation and unwillingness to work with the international community, Figueres illustrates how initiatives ranging from renewable energies to carbon markets in countries like China are creating millions of jobs, cleaner air, and competitive economies. Photo credit: Quartz

27 05, 2017

Who Are The Women Leading The Fight Against Climate Change?

2017-10-27T15:39:26-04:00Tags: |

Following on the momentum of the People’s Climate March, women leaders gathered at a Women's Earth and Climate Action Network event to discuss their strides at the forefront of the climate justice movement. For example, indigenous leaders Cherri Foytlin of Bold Louisiana and Faith Gemmill of RedOil shared the impact of climate change and extractive industries on their native lands and ways of life. Leaders like Leila Salazar-López of Amazon Watch and Sally Jewell Coxe of the Bonobo Conservation Initiative focus their efforts on protecting the Amazon and Congo Basin rainforest ecosystems, home to rich biological diversity and serving as “the lungs of earth.” Photo credit: WECAN International

27 05, 2017

A Feminist Revolution Demands Climate Justice

2017-11-01T00:36:24-04:00Tags: |

Bridget Burns, co-director of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) reflects on her experiences joining the People’s Climate March on 29 April 2017 with other global women leaders challenging our environmental crisis and fighting against multiple form of injustice. Bridget speaks on grassroots movements like the Chipko movement in India, COPINH in Honduras and the Sioux Tribe of Standing Rock as examples of resistance and the transformative power of the voices of diverse women raised for the Earth.  Photo credit: Emily Arasim/WECAN

27 05, 2017

Susan Ladd: Women Can Be Powerful Agents Of Change

2017-10-27T11:28:10-04:00Tags: |

After the 2017 inauguration of United States President Donald Trump, Susan Ladd highlights evidence of women’s leadership, from the Women’s Marches around the globe to grassroots women, as a solution to the sustainability challenges we face. Photo credit: Andrew Dye/BH Media

27 05, 2017

Rethinking Women Activists’ Safety At A Time Of Escalating Risk

2017-10-27T00:48:43-04:00Tags: |

An ever-increasing number of women activists are targeted due to their functions as advocates against all sorts of abuse. Because of that, the organization JASS and its partners have been trying to develop a different approach to guidelines for the safety of activists, one based on a feminist perspective. The Mesoamerican Women Human Rights Defenders Initiative has been informed by dialogues that take place in a plural environment, with the participation of organizations, activists, donors, the United Nations, etc. The idea is to provide insights and come to conclusions as to how to diminish the dangers these women are exposed to when confronting powerful interests. Photo credit: JASS Just Associates

26 05, 2017

Reports Highlight Women, Indigenous Peoples’ Role In Climate Action

2017-10-26T17:28:03-04:00Tags: |

UN Women with the Green Climate Fund has published a guidebook on gender mainstreaming, a brief on the role of women in climate change adaptation based on the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Program, and a report on decent work for Indigenous peoples. These publications underline the importance of women and Indigenous peoples in addressing and fighting climate change, and connect the role of Indigenous peoples to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The reports call for Indigenous peoples as well as Indigenous women to be seen as agents of change and be able to participate in the development of climate change measures as they constitute a particularly vulnerable population. Photo credit: UN Photo/Marco Dormino

13 05, 2017

Study Reveals Gender Gap In Tanzania, Uganda Climate Policies

2017-10-19T23:14:14-04:00Tags: |

Uganda and Tanzania are actively working to integrate gender into their climate action policies. While this fact is laudable, analysis of these two countries’ national and local policies have found some gaps, specifically in the ways that women’s experiences are being stereotyped as well as the erasure of their agency. In addition to this, while a lot of the policy proposals are laudable, the reality on the ground is much more complex with regard to implementation as there remains little to no budgetary allocation for the work. Photo credit: Hudson Apunyo/ Reuters

11 05, 2017

Women Are Transforming The Energy Sector

2017-09-29T19:06:44-04:00Tags: |

Women are at the forefront of the fight against climate change and the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Kris Mayes is co-author to the renewable portfolio standards of Arizona, which requires the increasing adoption of renewable energy sources. Lorena Aguilar is global senior gender adviser to International Union for Conservation of Nature and advocates for the integration of women in the renewable sector. Suzanne Bertin, as executive director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, explains the various opportunities for women in a field dominated by men and encourages female participation.

7 05, 2017

Molly Rauch Speaks Of Moms Clean Air Force At The Moms Social Good Summit

2017-12-07T18:01:47-05:00Tags: |

During the Global Moms Challenge Social Good Summit, Molly Rauch of Mom’s Clean Air Force discusses how climate change impacts human health, particularly for moms and children. She speaks on air pollution, heat waves, wildfires, increase of pollen and allergens, and other impacts being felt on a daily basis across the US and around the world. Focusing on air pollution, she notes impacts to not only the respiratory system, but also the heart and mental health. Photo credit: Moms Clean Air Force

2 05, 2017

Women In The World Climate Talks: Building A Cohort Of Champions

2017-09-24T18:44:45-04:00Tags: |

For years the UNFCCC treated the impacts of climate change as gender neutral but due to women’s fierce activism inside and outside of the negotiating halls, the gender-specific ways in which women are impacted gained traction. One of the most important political blocs in the UNFCCC, the group of least developed countries (LDCs) have taken incredible steps over the last few years to ensure that the representation of women negotiators within its own ranks increases and that their overall advocacy work at the climate negotiations speaks to the multiple and intersecting ways that women in their countries are affected by climate change. Photo credit: IISD/ENB/Kiara Worth

1 05, 2017

Anne Lambert’s Fight To Protect Brazilian Rainforest Biodiversity

2017-10-31T21:54:50-04:00Tags: |

Anne Lambert, founding director of the International Conservation Fund of Canada, began her passionate work for the conservation of Brazil’s tropical rain forest after several trips to the country and her encounters with Brazil’s Kayapo people. In this compelling interview, Lambert explains how the severity of the loss of biodiversity in Brazil or any region in the world ultimately affects all nations on the Earth. Photo credit: Herald News/Anne Lambert

1 05, 2017

Standing Against The Banks: DAPL Divestment And Water Protectors’ Fight For Justice, Indigenous Rights, Water And Life

2017-11-01T05:00:19-04:00Tags: |

Michelle Cook, a Dine/Navajo human rights lawyer and founding member of the Water Protector Legal Collective at Standing Rock, and Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network, share an in-depth analysis on the need for Indigenous-women led movements to push policymakers and financial institutions to divest funding from fossil fuel extraction projects across Indigenous territories and around the world, drawing on their experiences in Europe during the Spring 2017 Indigenous Women’s Divestment Delegation to Norway and Switzerland.

1 05, 2017

Faces Of Change: Than Than Aye

2017-11-01T01:12:34-04:00Tags: |

Than Than Aye is an activist lawyer for human rights. She decided to study law after she saw how her brother and his peers suffered violations of their rights and could not afford a lawyer to defend them. The siblings later created a civil and political organization to help communities empower themselves legally. Than Than is also part of EarthRights International, working with communities in search of justice in themes such as land and human rights. Being a lawyer on the ground is a big challenge and Than Than faces many dangers, but she believes that helping communities is of the utmost importance. Photo credit: EarthRights International

30 04, 2017

When Women Lead, The Environment Wins

2017-10-30T20:49:52-04:00Tags: |

In fall of 2016, A. Tianna Scozzaro was elected as commissioner to the Washington, D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission. In this post via Rachel's Network, she highlights the need for increased women’s leadership at all levels of policy-making, especially given new attacks on Clean Power Plan and rollbacks to environmental regulation. Photo credit: A. Tianna Scozzaro

27 04, 2017

Pediatrician Warns That EPA Budget Cuts Will Harm Children’s Health

2017-10-27T15:35:28-04:00Tags: |

In response to budget cuts put forth by the Trump Administration, Dr. Jennifer Lowry has been crafting editorials, phoning her elected officials, and encouraging others to speak out against drastic budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Lowry has worked with the EPA as a toxicologist, pediatrician, and medical director in Kansas City to protect children’s health; however, she fears the administration’s proposed cuts will debilitate the EPA’s ability to regulate harmful chemical and environmental exposures, fund research into exposure, and thus, negatively impact children’s health. Photo credit: Jennifer Lowry

27 04, 2017

Victoria Tauli Corpuz: “The Dominant Economic Paradigms Are At Odds With The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples”

2017-10-31T20:35:48-04:00Tags: |

Victoria Tauli Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and former Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, advocates for the engagement of Indigenous women in climate action. While speaking to UN Women, she gave numerous examples of how Indigenous women actively participate in climate action. For instance, Maasai women in Kenya, Amazonian women in Peru, and Indigenous women of Cordillera region of Philippines have adopted new strategies in both risk reduction and disaster response. Photo credit: UN Photo/JC McIlwaine

27 04, 2017

A Week With Taiwan’s Most Inspiring Eco-Feminists

2017-10-27T11:03:46-04:00Tags: |

In times of great uncertainty, when first-world countries are backing out of the Paris climate deal, when women’s rights are at stake all over the world and global warming is increasing, it is important for eco-feminists to raise their voices from the grassroots level to decision-making bodies. Local feminists in countries such as Taiwan are empowering women to lead on environmental issues, from the angle of livelihood and households to addressing questions including low-carbon living, public involvement in energy transition, and building green communities. Leaders with the Women's Environment and Development Organization report on their time with the eco-feminists of Taiwan. Photo credit: HUF

26 04, 2017

Indigenous Women: The Frontline Protectors Of The Environment

2017-10-26T17:04:25-04:00Tags: |

In parallel to the 2017 session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network organized a forum with powerful Indigenous women leaders from around the world. They discussed the effects of climate change in their communities and their actions to protect their land. Lucy Mulenkei, of the Indigenous Information Network, explained how Kenyan Maasai Indigenous women are fighting against the effects of climate change after the government declared a national drought emergency, while Kandi Mossett, Indigenous Environmental Network’s Extreme Energy and Just Transition Campaign Organiser, discussed how the fossil fuel industry and development projects are also impacting Indigenous communities in the United States. Photo credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS

26 04, 2017

Descendant Of Sitting Bull Speaks At UN About Fight Against Dakota Access And State Violence

2017-10-26T16:51:57-04:00Tags: |

Brenda White Bull, member of the Standing Rock Sioux nation, army veteran, and descendant of Lakota Chief Sitting Bull, presents an intervention at the 2017 United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City, exposing human and Indigenous rights violations, as well as treaty violations, perpetrated through the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). She speaks directly to the connection between ongoing violence against the Earth, and the violence against Indigenous women by police and other armed forces, which was seen and documented throughout months of action to protect the land and water. Photo credit: Indigenous Environmental Network

24 04, 2017

Gender And Climate Finance

2017-11-13T19:02:27-05:00Tags: |

This policy brief published by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization discusses the links between fighting for gender equality and climate finance. Climate finance, or flows of money from developed, industrialized nations to support mitigation and adaptation in developing countries, can support those impacted by natural disasters, energy shortages or economic changes. However, gender should be increasingly mainstreamed in climate finance policy to ensure that gender inequalities are not exacerbated by such measures.

24 04, 2017

Asia – Indigenous Women Fight For Justice, Influence And Equity

2018-01-24T12:08:06-05:00Tags: |

Asian Indigenous women are fighting for socio-economic and climate justice, and setting an example for women around the world. The stories of Rukka Sombolinggi, Piy Macliing Malayao and Jannie Lasimbang are shared as examples of how women are using their skills and sharing their traditional knowledge to protect the environment. Julie Koch, Executive Director of International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs confirms the importance of supporting Indigenous women in their action and advocacy work, and in opposition to continued discrimination and gender-based violence.

21 04, 2017

Eighty-Five Percent Of Climate Change Commentators Are Men

2017-10-08T22:51:08-04:00Tags: |

An analysis by Media Matters point to the gender gap in the media portrayal of people affected by climate change. Around 86 percent of the people praised by the media platforms on the issue are men. The former president of the Sierra Club, Allison Chin, stated that the inequality women face regarding climate change is already extremely large in terms of the effects of environmental disasters, and the fact that the media makes the gender imbalance even larger is not helping to achieve gender equality. Senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress and an expert in global climate policy Rebecca Lefton highlighted the importance of having women's perspectives while Christiana Figueres, the previous Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, discussed the issue of women suffering the harsh impacts of climate disasters. Two recognized female scientists on climate, Heidi Cullen and Katherine Hayhoe, admit to sensing the gender disparity in their work for being women. Photo credit: Media Matters

14 04, 2017

6 Queer Women Literally Saving The World Through Environmental Justice

2018-02-14T22:11:39-05:00Tags: |

The voices of six inspirational queer leaders are highlighted to challenge the lack of representation within the environmental movement. Included are Rachel Carson, whose landmark text, “Silent Spring”, paved the way for the modern environmental movement; Mahri Monson who works for the EPA in Washington; and Rikki Weber who works for the environmental law firm EarthJustice, who have spearheaded fights for climate justice, while also making their workplaces more inclusive for LGBTQ and gender non-conforming people. Also featured is Rebekah Paci-Green, co-director of an NGO that helps schools become more resilient to natural disasters, alongside Judi Brown and Lindi von Mutius, board members of “Out4Sustainability”, an NGO that seeks to mobilise the LGBTQ community to take part in environmental action. Photo credit: Earthjustice

10 04, 2017

One Giant Step For Women’s Land Rights: The African Union Officially Endorses Pan-African Women’s Charter On Land Rights

2017-10-19T23:11:44-04:00Tags: |

While chanting “Our land, our lives, women let us mobilize,” a mass assembly of rural women from across Africa adopted a charter demanding land justice for women. In the 9th Annual African Union Gender Pre-Summit in Addis Ababa, these demands were officially endorsed. For African women facing inequalities in access to and control over land, this legal endorsement by the African Union is significant but concrete strategies, policies and infrastructure to make these demands a reality are now more pertinent than ever. Photo credit: International Land Coalition

27 03, 2017

Global Forest Coalition #Women2030 Media Training Toolkit

2017-10-27T16:05:38-04:00Tags: |

This Media Training Toolkit published by #women2030, introduces basic information about sharing stories with new audiences using photography and social media. #women2030 is a program that aims to achieve gender-responsive implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by engaging women and gender-focused organizations worldwide. It is led by several movements and organizations such as the Global Forest Coalition. Photo credit: Global Forest Coalition

27 03, 2017

Environmental Activist Leads Thousands Of Women To Sustainable Solutions

2017-10-27T10:52:15-04:00Tags: |

Priscilla Achakpa is a Nigerian environmental activist and the Executive Director of the Women Environmental Programme. Through her work, she has introduced thousands of local women to sustainable solutions to everyday problems, such as waste-to-energy machines that can process rice husks. Priscilla’s focus on environmental activism is creating bottom-up solutions to address specific needs of each community. Photo credit: Inez & Vinoodh

27 03, 2017

Two Women Are Coaxing Los Angeles To Switch From Cars To Bikes

2017-10-27T10:43:46-04:00Tags: |

As people look to California to lead the way on climate action, Rubina Ghazarian and Avital Shavit are doing their part as Los Angeles-based transportation planners. They have been working for years to launch a bike-share system for the large, complex metropolitan area. Bike-share officially launched in 2016 and has already been credited with saving almost 300,000 pounds of CO2. Photo credit: Grist50!

27 03, 2017

Women Are Pushing A Simple Climate Solution With Big Potential

2017-10-27T10:41:51-04:00Tags: |

One of the ways to fight climate change is to simply make carbon pollution more expensive. Camila Thorndike and Page Atcheson took this principle and created the Put A Price On It campaign, designed to hold major carbon producers financially responsible. They are doing this by organizing youth leaders from around the country to push state legislation for carbon taxation. Photo credit: Grist 50!

27 03, 2017

Ahmina Maxey Fights For Safer Water Disposal

2017-10-27T10:38:16-04:00Tags: |

While living in Detroit, Ahmina Maxey successfully implemented a much-needed citywide recycling program. Now working with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives organization, Ahmina focuses on what happens to garbage after it’s picked up. She fights for an incinerator-free future, eliminating the dangerous levels of CO2, arsenic, lead, and other deadly chemicals entering our communities. Photo credit: Grist50!

27 03, 2017

Catherine Flowers Brings Civil Rights To The Fight For Environmental Justice

2017-10-27T03:10:52-04:00Tags: |

Catherine Flowers is a long-time environmental justice fighter in her hometown. After seeing poor communities disproportionately affected by sewage and then threatened with eviction or arrest if they did not obtain unaffordable septic systems, Catherine negotiated with Alabama’s state government to end unjust enforcement policies. She is the founder of Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise Community Development Corporation and continues to advocate for disadvantaged communities. Photo credit: Grist50!

27 03, 2017

Karina Castillo Organizes Those With The Most To Lose From Climate Change

2017-10-27T03:07:43-04:00Tags: |

After working in the department of Emergency Climate Management and developing climate curriculum at the Miami Institute, Karina Castillo now works with a national coalition of parents and caregivers fighting climate change and air pollution. She is the point of contact of Florida coalition members, guiding them through meetings with policy makers and supporting their climate/clean-air advocacy work. Photo credit: Grist50!

27 03, 2017

Nanette Barragán Fights For Polluted Communities

2017-10-27T03:06:01-04:00Tags: |

Nanette Barragán is a member of the city council of Hermosa Beach California. She has already taken on oil and gas companies looking to drill wells on the local beach. Once those projects were stopped, Barragán began to focus on ensuring that the current environmental rollbacks won’t impact community members in the districts she represents, the majority of whom are minorities and are exposed to heavy pollution. She is now the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s environmental task force and a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources. Photo credit: Grist50!

27 03, 2017

Commemorating International Women’s Day: Highlighting The Role For Women In Climate Change Adaptation

2017-10-27T02:54:39-04:00Tags: |

International Women’s Day 2017 focuses on women and work, highlighting the need for economic parity. To achieve this, research and policy should focus on supporting women’s work that best assists them in meeting the challenges of climate change. Globally, research and policy is being informed by the use of collaborative and participatory research models to ensure solutions are meeting the unique needs of women in their communities. Photo credit: Neil Palmer (CIAT)

22 03, 2017

Women Saving The Planet: Lidy Nacpil Of The Philippines

2018-02-20T17:57:54-05:00Tags: |

Lidy Nacpil is a political organizer, human rights advocate, and campaigner for the environment. She helps direct the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development while simultaneously filling a variety of roles across several other civil-society organizations , including the Green Climate Fund. She is one of only two “active observers” from civil society who is given time to speak at Green Climate Fund meeting. At these meetings, she makes use of video-conferencing so that as many advocates as possible can take part, particularly the people who are most at risk from a warming planet. Having lived under a dictatorship, she knows that giving up is simply not an option, even in the face of fear. And despite a grueling schedule, the global rise of nationalist parties, and environmental degradation, Nacpil says she remains hopeful. In order to move forward as a planet, she says, we have to stop treating the climate as less urgent than other crises. We have to include everyone, especially communities of color, and we have to recognize the interconnections of gender justice and climate justice. Photo credit: Ali Berrada

13 03, 2017

Lead Scientist, Lizzie McLeod On Women, Gender Equality And Climate Change

2017-12-13T13:04:22-05:00Tags: |

Lizzie McLeod works with the Nature Conservancy as the Climate Adaptation Scientist for the Pacific Region. After many years as a coral reef scientist, as part of her work she now helps facilitate learning exchange for women across many Pacific Island Nations, to come together and share their climate change experiences and expertise and lessons learned. The aim is to combat the severe lack of women in environmental decision making bodies and climate science, by bringing together women of various walks of life in one platform for knowledge sharing, development of new adaptation actions, and dissemination of collective knowledge. Photo Credit: Reef Resilience

1 03, 2017

Rights of Nature: A New Paradigm for Environmental Protection with Mari Margil

2017-11-01T04:26:01-04:00Tags: |

Mari Margil, Associate Director of the Community Environmental Defense Fund shares a video presentation on her organization's work to uplift Rights of Nature and the Universal Declaration for the Rights of Nature of Mother Earth. Mari has assisted organizations and governments around the world in understanding and implementing Rights of Nature law, including working with Ecuador’s Constituent Assembly; working in Nepal, India, Australia, and other countries to advance Rights of Nature framework; assisting members of the Ho-Chunk Nation in drafting the first US tribal constitutional amendment on the Rights of Nature; and even consulted with members of the Green Party of England and Wales in developing a party platform inclusive of the the Rights of Nature. Photo credit: National Community Rights Network

27 02, 2017

Pacific Women Hone Climate Change Negotiation Skills

2017-10-27T02:14:06-04:00Tags: |

Women from the Pacific Islands know all too well how climate change is affecting their homes, livelihoods and health, as they are on the frontlines of the crisis. 22 women, including Moira Simmons-Avafoa, from Tuvalu’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended a workshop organized by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) in Suva, Fiji on the intricacies of the climate negotiations and how best activists can leverage these spaces to push forward their agenda. Photo credit: Ariela Zibiah

9 02, 2017

The 11-Year-Old Suing Trump Over Climate Change

2017-10-19T23:19:12-04:00Tags: |

Avery McRae is an 11-year-old girl and part of a young movement bravely redefining what intergenerational equity around climate justice means. Together with 20 other plaintiffs between the ages of nine and 20, she is suing the federal government over its promotion of fossil fuels despite having full knowledge of the devastation that they continue to cause. Their case is known as Juliana v. United States and was filed in Eugene, Oregon. Photo credit: Robin Loznak

30 01, 2017

Pacific Women Climate Change Negotiators Workshop At Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat

2017-10-30T21:00:25-04:00Tags: |

22 women from across the Pacific region attended the Pacific Women Climate Change Negotiators Workshop at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to learn negotiation skills. Alisi Rabukawaqa Nacewa of the Bua Urban Youth and Coral Reef Alliance from Fiji, and Ofa Kaisamy, from the Tonga Department of Climate Change, voiced their concerns that women’s voices were not properly heard at the policy-making table. Photo credit: The Fiji Times Online

29 01, 2017

Indigenous Sisters Resistance Leads Women’s March in Seattle

2018-02-20T18:50:26-05:00Tags: |

The 2017 Women’s March against the Administration of President Donald Trump was one of the largest actions in U.S. history, and Indigenous women’s resistance played an important role. At the Seattle, Washington March, American Indian, Alaskan, Native Hawaiian and other global Indigenous and frontline women leaders led the over 3.6 mile march, and raised calls for human rights, Indigenous rights, and social and environmental justice. Photo Credit: Chris Stearns

27 01, 2017

Women Scientists Advocating For Equality Surge To 14,000 Strong

2017-10-19T23:17:17-04:00Tags: |

The group “500 Women Scientists” was created as a direct response to President Donald Trump and his administration’s war on science by a group of women scientists who connected the anti-science rhetoric with the deep misogynistic culture pervasive in their fields. But this initial concern has also grown to focus on the need to make science more inclusive and accountable to the ways in which science and scientists have been used to further entrench deep racial, class and gendered inequalities for people of color and Indigenous communities. Photo credit: NASA HQ

27 01, 2017

Women’s Role In Combating Climate Change

2017-10-27T11:00:44-04:00Tags: |

The C40 Women4Climate conference has organized women mayors all over the world to work within the framework of municipal governments to mitigate the effects of climate change in their respective areas. For instance, in Caracas, Venezuela, under the mayorship of Helen Fernández, women are taking initiative to protect the environment at the local level. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris and the chairwoman of C40, explains that mayors are closer to the climate issues emerging at local levels, making them more committed to solving these issues than larger governments are. Zandile Gumede, the first woman mayor of Durban, South Africa, was elected in part due to her leadership on environmental issues. Photo credit: STR/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

24 01, 2017

A Day With The Women Scientists Protesting Trump

2017-10-19T22:56:26-04:00Tags: |

Hundreds of women scientists joined together with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators at the Women’s March on Washington on the 21st of January, just a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as president of the United States of America. After Donald Trump won the election in one of the most controversial and polarized presidential races ever witnessed in the country, a new advocacy group called “500 Women Scientists”  was established. Women scientists face incredible institutional and systemic barriers such as sexism/misogyny, racism for black/women of color scientists, elitism/classism, in order to become and succeed as scientists. In the face of a president who has openly declared war on the science community, these women scientists are boldly fighting back but also striving to bring justice into their own work. Photo credit: Robinson Myer/The Atlantic

19 01, 2017

Climate Activists Bring It All To The Women’s March In Washington

2017-12-13T13:57:16-05:00Tags: |

The Women’s March on Washington in January 2017, planned in response to the election of the U.S. Trump Administration, brought together thousands of woman from across the US, and around the world, standing for women’s rights, racial equality, environment and other vital causes. Profiling women leaders such as Cindy Wiesner of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, A. Tianna Scozzaro of Sierra Club, Bridget Burns of Women's Environment and Development Organization, and representatives of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network - this article explores why women marched for climate justice as part of the Women's March, and how women around the world are both disproportionately affected by climate change, and essential to solutions. Photo credit: Women’s Environment and Development Organization

10 01, 2017

Women Bear The Brunt Of Climate-Forced Migration

2017-11-01T13:17:20-04:00Tags: |

ActionAid International, the Climate Action Network South Asia, and Bread for the World have prepared a new report, “Climate Change Knows No Borders,” warning of the devastating and increasing impact of climate change on migration in South Asia and calling on national policy makers to especially address the impacts on women. The International Organisation for Migration explains that migrant women and men have different vulnerabilities, priorities, responsibilities, and opportunities. Photo credit: Mangala

9 01, 2017

Spotlight On Lauren Jabusch: Leading The California Student Sustainability Coalition

2017-10-31T16:14:43-04:00Tags: |

As the Chair of Board of Directors with the California Student Sustainability Coalition, Lauren Jabusch has supported and connected students across the state to enhance sustainability in their schools. Lauren is performing research as part of her Ph.D. in Biological Systems Engineering, which she hopes will aid in the development of next generation clean biofuels. In this interview, Lauren talks about climate advocacy, sustainability, and community leadership. Photo credit: Cristian Heredia

1 01, 2017

GenderCC – Women For Climate Justice

2017-10-08T22:43:28-04:00Tags: |

GenderCC Women for Climate Justice is a worldwide network focused on the intersection between women’s rights, gender equality and climate justice. Composed of global activists, specialists and organizations, GenderCC is marking a strong presence at the annual international climate negotiations where women leaders are putting issues of gender onto the negotiating table. Showing how the causes of and attitudes to climate change vary according to gender and amplifying how women are disproportionately affected by global warming and climate policies, GenderCC is spreading the the message that climate justice means gender justice. Photo credit: GenderCC

1 01, 2017

Guatemalan Indigenous Women Reclaiming Identity, Heritage And Rights

2017-09-22T18:37:46-04:00Tags: |

The Asociación Femenina para el Desarrollo de Sacatepéquez/Women’s Association for the Development of Sacatepéquez (AFEDES) coordinates a range of diverse projects aimed at the physical, economic and political autonomy of Indigenous women and their families. They promote food sovereignty, political education, and building human capacities, including training in Indigenous weaving as part of Indigenous traditional knowledge. In this framework, AFEDES is demanding that the Guatemalan government recognize their right to protect the collective ancestral intellectual property on Mayan weaving designs and clothing. Photo credit: Thousand Currents

1 01, 2017

Environment And Climate Change: Relevance Of Gender In The Policy Area

2017-09-13T11:13:39-04:00Tags: |

Increasingly the European Union as a political bloc is elevating the issue of power relations between men and women that determine access and control over natural resources. Gender also is an important consideration in the design and implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures as responses to climate change. Given its powerful influence over international multilateral climate policy spaces such as the UNFCCC, it is imperative for the bloc to think and work harder about using its role for positive structural transformation for women especially in the fight against climate change. Photo credit: European Institute for Gender Equality

1 01, 2017

Why We March Against Trump: Violence Against Women And The Earth Is Linked

2017-11-01T10:10:30-04:00Tags: |

Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, shares an analysis in advance of the Women’s March on Washington, regarding the importance of diverse women across the United States standing up to decry the abuses of the Trump presidential administration, from social and economic, to environmental. Osprey offers insights into the manners in which global women are putting their bodies on the line everyday for health for their communities and the Earth; and raises a call for women to march and raise their voices in solidarity with each other to push back against the violation of women and the Earth which threaten to increase under US president Trump. Photo credit: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

1 01, 2017

Women’s Rights In Land Investment Decision-Making: Interview With Celine Salcedo-La Viña

2017-07-20T17:27:23-04:00Tags: |

Celine Salado-La Viña spoke with FoodTank about her recent publication Making Women’s Voices Count in Community Decision-Making on Land Investments. Celine supports women in Tanzania, Mozambique and the Philippines to exercise their rights to land and natural resources by promoting gender-equitable community decision-making on land investments. As a policy researcher, Celine also advocates for regulatory reforms by conducting outreach activities to engage stakeholders, promote awareness, and encourage implementation of the reformed framework. Photo credit: FoodTank

1 01, 2017

Wave Of Feminist Actions: #GOPHandsOffMe

2017-11-01T00:57:30-04:00Tags: |

The #GOPHandsOffMe online movement started as a reaction to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comment in 2005 about grabbing women “by the pussy” without consent. Grassroots Global Justice Alliance National Coordinator Cindy Wiesner shares her concerns with such a sexist comment and ponders about Hillary Clinton’s responsibilities as well. Another big concern was the negligence of climate change and how it affects women the most during the election. Jill Mangaliman, Executive Director of GGJ member organization Got Green, also points to the importance of having women at the forefront of change, resistance and solutions. Photo credit: Grassroots Global Justice Alliance.

27 12, 2016

The Women Of The Paris Climate Negotiations

2017-10-27T02:45:59-04:00Tags: |

Women from diverse professional backgrounds and geographic locations, like Edna Cartoyo (Kenya), Flavia Cherry (St. Lucia), Reem Almealla (Bahrain) and Maria Nailevu (Fiji) are present on the front lines of the climate change negotiations in Paris. Women globally hold a small percentage of top ministerial positions in environment-related sectors, leading to half of the global population being underrepresented.  This group of strong women representatives from Bahrain to Peru, Navajo Nation to Kenya, are in Paris to ensure the voices of women are heard. Photo credit: John Picklap

27 12, 2016

Angela Adrar COP22 Takeaways

2017-10-27T01:25:48-04:00Tags: |

Angela Adrar, executive director of the Climate Justice Alliance and Our Power Campaign, communicates about the activities of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance during the COP22 climate talks, and notes the key points to address after the conclusion of COP 22, including the new president of the United States. She expresses concerns over the fossil fuel industry’s on the Paris Agreement implementation strategy. Photo credit: Climate Justice Alliance 

16 12, 2016

Experts Say Encouraging Women Farmers Is The Way To Solve Hunger

2017-08-26T11:16:13-04:00Tags: |

Women make up 45% of the agricultural workforce worldwide, and up to 60% in Asia and Africa. However, they own only 20% of the land and work 12 hours a week more than men in developing nations, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Almost 60% of chronically hungry people are young girls and women. Given the statistics, the lack of access to land, credit and other gender gap issues are urgently pressing. Solutions to these problems will not only improve agricultural productivity in a sustainable way and fight hunger, but will also improve women’s financial independence and quality of life, explains Neven Mimica, EU commissioner for international co-operation and development.

9 12, 2016

A Last Resort That Might Work: Small Town Voted In Community Bill Of Rights To Ban Fracking

2017-07-20T19:21:07-04:00Tags: |

Mother Kelly Jacobs is an advocate against the NEXUS natural gas pipeline proposed to run through her neighborhood in Ohio. She successfully rallied her community to vote on an amendment to their town charter that would include a community bill of rights to block proposed pipelines and guarantee their right to clean air, water, and soil. The amendment passed in November 2016. Photo credit: Yes! Magazine

6 12, 2016

Every Climate Protection Is In Trump’s Crosshairs. We Must Fight Now

2017-12-06T14:52:26-05:00Tags: |

Annie Leonard, Bay Area, California mom and author of the film and book The Story of Stuff, shares a call to action following the United States election of Donald Trump. Citing threats to environment and democracy, and dangerous increases in racist and abusive rhetoric and policy, Annie speaks up for fellow activists and concerned people to organize and take action on a national and electoray level, and in their home communities and daily lives.  Photo credit: Mike Nelson/EPA

30 11, 2016

Largest All-Female Expedition Braves Antarctica To Fight Climate Change And Inequality

2017-10-19T23:03:37-04:00Tags: , |

For women doing academic research on climate change, the male-dominated field of science is often a challenge to navigate. The largest all-female expedition to Antarctica, comprising 76 scientists, is linking the ways in which they experience patriarchy in their work to the experiences of women on the frontlines of climate change, while building a formidable network of women scientists dedicated to dismantling patriarchy and climate change. Photo credit: Homeward Bound

30 11, 2016

Defending The Territory, Defending Life: Women Human Rights Defenders Resist Extractivism In Latin America

2018-03-06T18:04:32-05:00Tags: |

Across Latin America, women human rights defenders are creatively organizing themselves as they resist the extraction of natural resources that destroys their lands and ways of life. Since the 1990s, Latin America has received the greatest foreign direct investments for the extractive sector, which has nearly destroyed entire ecosystems and communities. Watershed headwaters, the Amazon jungle, and Andean lagoons all face threats. Most of these projects are imposed on marginalized communities, thereby demonstrating the link between social and environmental violence. In response to territorial destruction, women have risen up against mining projects, dams, and monocultures, only to be met by brutal repression, criminalization, and sexual and physical violence. Some defenders, such as Berta Cáceres of Honduras, have been murdered, while others, like Lonko Juana and Machi Millaray Huichalaf of Chile, have been imprisoned. Still, despite all the obstacles they face, women have been able to temporarily stop or paralyze extractions in Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Chile, and Argentina. They have organized autonomously and organically, and they have led collective transformations of solidarity. Photo credit: Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition

29 11, 2016

Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC) Statement On International Women Human Rights Defenders Day

2020-10-13T20:23:06-04:00Tags: |

Since, 2006 the world has been celebrating International Women Human Right Day to promote the human rights under various International Human Rights treaties like International Bill of Human Rights and Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women. Women Human Right Defenders often face the resistance from mainstream society for protecting women rights and environmental rights. Thus, to protect the rights of these defenders, the government must ensure justice and establish its law in sync with UN treaties. Photo Credit: Unknown

27 11, 2016

Indigenous Latin American Women Craft Climate Change Solutions In Marrakech

2017-10-27T16:30:09-04:00Tags: |

A group of Indigenous women from Latin America, called Chaski Warmi (which means women messengers in Kichwa), collected stories from their regions about people affected by climate change. The Indigenous group brought stories of women affected by the fossil fuel industry and climate disasters, in addition to resource extraction. The Indigenous women went to COP22 in Marrakech to share their cultural struggles and environmental strategies. Photo credit: Binod Parajuli/Seble Samuel

27 11, 2016

Gender Just Climate Solutions Award Winners Announced And Publication Launch

2017-10-27T16:19:38-04:00Tags: |

The Gender Just Climate Solutions Award was launched in 2015  by the Women and Gender Constituency of the UNFCCC, and praises women who work towards climate justice and gender equality. The ceremony in November of 2016 was hosted by the Women Engage for a Common Future during COP22 in Marrakech. The three winners of the award were Foundation MOHAMMED VI, YAKKUM Emergency Unit, and ENDA Graf Sahel. Photo credit: Annabelle Avril, WECF

27 11, 2016

How Women Are Going From Climate Victims To Climate Leaders

2017-10-27T15:49:48-04:00Tags: |

At United Nations COP22 climate talks, grassroots women fought for representation and participation in international climate policy discussions, and demonstrated solidarity with women’s struggles across borders. Indigenous leaders such as Alicia Cahuiya of the Huaorani in Ecuador, Kayla DeVault of the Navajo Nation, and Fadma El Khallouri of the Amazigh (Berber) are actively resisting extractive industries that have ravaged their native lands and bodies, and presented about their efforts during a COP22 Women's Earth and Climate Action Network event. Photo credit: Rodrigo Buendia/AFP/Getty Images

27 11, 2016

UN Official: Global Economy Needs Radical Makeover To Fight Climate Change

2017-10-27T15:27:51-04:00Tags: |

In this article, Rachel Kyte, CEO of the U.N. Sustainable Energy for All program, shares her perspective on government accountability for the decarbonization of the global economy. She is a leading advocate of clean energy for all, especially to mitigate climate change and improve conditions for women. Photo credit: Georgetown University

27 11, 2016

Gender And Climate Change: A Closer Look At Existing Evidence

2017-10-27T12:21:28-04:00Tags: |

This report by the Global Gender and Climate Alliance highlights literature that analyzes vulnerability to the impacts of climate change based on gender. Men and women have different experiences in the context of climate change resulting cultural, social, economic and political implication and inequalities. Gender responsive climate policies will reduce vulnerability and improve the adaptation of men and women to the impacts of climate change. There still are, however, many gaps in the gender and climate change literature that needs to be addressed through further research. Photo credit: GGCA

27 11, 2016

An Open Letter To And From Female Scientists

2017-10-27T02:58:40-04:00Tags: |

Following the recent 2016 United States presidential election, women scientists from around the country united to express their diversity, unity and unwavering commitment to strengthening their collective work for just and innovative solutions to the climate crisis and all manner of challenges faced by the global community. Photo credit: Sarah K. Wagner

27 11, 2016

Indigenous Latin American Women Craft Climate Change Solutions In Marrakech

2017-10-27T02:37:24-04:00Tags: |

A year before the COP22 climate negotiations in Marrakech, a group of Indigenous women from across Latin America united through the Caksi Warmi network, which means “women messengers” in Kichwa. Ivonne Ramos, coordinator of Acción Ecológica (Ecuador), explains how the women brought stories about climate change and natural resource extraction to the United Nations, proposing an alternative development model that respects their lives and communities. For example, Gladys Panchi, Emberá of Colombia, is resisting mineral extraction on her community’s lands, while Martha Cecilia Ventura, Maya K'iche' of Guatemala, promotes cultural resilience by preserving Indigenous medical systems. Cecilia Flores, Aymara of Chile, and Blanca Chancosa, Kichwa of Ecuador and the vice-president of Ecuarunari, join the chorus call as messengers for a just, sustainable future. Photo credit: Binod Parajuli

27 11, 2016

Women Move From Victims Of Climate Change To Climate Leaders

2017-10-27T02:27:14-04:00Tags: |

Women around the world are uniting to demand the opportunity to be part of the solution for climate justice. Coverage of a Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network event at the COP22 climate talks shares the struggles and triumphs of women fighting for climate justice, from the Navajo Nation to the camp at Standing Rock to Morocco. Women are leading work to defend food, seeds, water and land, and are driving real climate solutions. Photo credit: Rodrigo Buendia/AFP/Getty Images

27 11, 2016

What A Trump Presidency Means For Environmental Justice Leaders

2017-10-27T01:34:50-04:00Tags: |

Several environmental and climate justice leaders, including Madeline Stano, staff attorney for the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, Cindy Weisner, national coordinator for the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Kandi Mossett of the Indigenous Environmental Network, Anne Rolfes, founder of Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Michael Leon Guerrero, executive director of the Labor Network for Sustainability, voice their concerns over the inauguration of Donald Trump and his environmentally detrimental campaign pledges. They provide sage advice for protecting the environment and rights of minorities, and suggest ways in which  everyone can contribute. Photo credit:  Jeff Swensen/Getty

25 11, 2016

Was A Mississippi Lab Owner Jailed Because Of Her Activism?

2017-07-20T17:51:16-04:00Tags: |

Tennie White is a Mississippi lab owner who has spent years speaking out to protect vulnerable communities impacted by pollution and environmental racism. Tennie was charged, convicted, and jailed for allegedly fabricating testing results by lawyers from the Environmental Protection Agency, an agency which she often criticized for their treatment of marginalized communities. Photo credit: Nicole Craine for The Intercept

18 11, 2016

Gender And Finance: Coming Out Of The Margins

2017-09-24T18:42:11-04:00Tags: |

This policy brief by the South Centre stresses the importance of climate finance being used for the empowerment of women as key actors in climate protection and sustainable development policies. Appropriate climate finance matters in several key ways for women because there continues to be an underrecognition of women’s pivotal roles in managing ecosystems as well as the ways in which climate change adversely affects them. In addition to this, climate finance provides the potential to build structures that will rectify the already existing inter- and intra-generational gendered inequalities that continue to oppress women in their diversity. In short, climate finance is political and it policy considerations must take gender into account. Photo credit: WECAN International

15 11, 2016

Rachel Kyte On The Global Energy Access Challenge

2017-09-29T15:11:09-04:00Tags: |

During the 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Rachel Kyte shared her opinion about accessibility to energy. Rachel is the chief executive and United Nations Special Representative at Sustainable Energy for All and believes that access to energy does not necessarily exclude climate action. She talks about the feasibility of energy accessibility, the promotion of renewable energy, and necessary improvements to the field.

13 11, 2016

Asia Indigenous Women’s Recommendations For Climate Change Policy-Makers

2017-12-13T14:25:16-05:00Tags: |

On 30th November 2016, 32 Women from 8 Asian countries congregated at Yangon, Myanmar for the third Regional Exchange Visit of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP). The women shared knowledge on best practices in combating climate change in their communities. Aware of the the impacts of climate change on indigenous women and the significant role they  play in conserving natural resources and promoting sustainability, the Asia Indigenous women proposed a set of principal recommendations to climate change policy makers for actions on the Paris Agreement.

7 11, 2016

A Gender Analysis Of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions

2017-10-16T23:23:52-04:00Tags: |

This report published by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) takes a critical women’s rights and feminist approach to analyzing the intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), which are an important tool of the UNFCCC to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the context of tackling the climate crisis. This report is a valuable resource in understanding the extent to which the submitted INDCs comprehend the intersections of gender and climate change and evaluating if they go far enough to address the gendered experiences and inequalities around the climate crisis. Photo credit: Women’s Environment and Development Organization

6 11, 2016

A Gendered Analysis Of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions

2017-12-06T14:35:14-05:00Tags: |

This Women’s Environment & Development Organization research paper provides an overview of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change climate process, evaluating to what extend existing commitments have measured up to explicit needs to respect and address women’s human rights and the linkages between climate change and gender. Photo credit: WEDO

5 11, 2016

Selina Leem Doesn’t Want To Lose Her Country To Climate Change

2017-10-19T23:21:33-04:00Tags: |

Selina Leem comes from the Marshall Islands, a small island nation of approximately 50,000 inhabitants that is one the most vulnerable to climate change. As a young woman now studying in Freiburg, Germany, Selina has taken it upon herself to use her voice to speak out about the devastating impacts of the rising seas that her people are facing and the urgency for concrete climate action. Photo credit: HuffPost

1 11, 2016

The WECAN Women’s Climate Action Agenda

2017-11-01T10:01:24-04:00Tags: |

Drawing from the input and calls to action of over 100 global women leaders united by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, the comprehensive ‘Women’s Climate Action Agenda’  and ‘Women’s Climate Declaration’ set forth a strong analysis of how women are most impacted by climate change; and the solutions which they are calling forth and building - from eco-cities to international policy and trade; from seeds and farming, to oceans - from reconnecting with Nature, to the just transition for 100% renewable energy. Photo credit: Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network

1 11, 2016

Vien Truong On Creating An Equitable Environmental Movement

2017-11-01T02:52:32-04:00Tags: |

As the Director of Green For All, an organization based in the United States, Vien Truong works to position social equality and social justice at the forefront of climate policy making and the green economy movement. She gave this presentation at the 2016 National Bioneers Conference and (in the video) offers her perspective and experience on the ways in which green energy and sustainable economies can and do bring justice to low-income communities and people of color. Photo credit: Bioneers

1 11, 2016

Challenges By Young Women In The Struggle Over Environmental Justice

2017-11-01T02:03:47-04:00Tags: |

In this interview with FCAM, the Fondo Centroamericano de Mujeres, María Antonia Recinos Ayala, president of the Santa Marta Women’s Organisation in El Salvador, speaks about her work advocating for young women’s rights in Central America since her youth, after experiencing how little control women had over state-protected development projects that destroyed the environment and communities. She now fights against mining projects in El Salvador and also advocates at the international level. Ayala participated in the COP22 meeting (22nd Conference of the Signatories of the United Nations Climate Change Convention), when she shared her anti-mining struggles and how important it is to have young women participating in decision-making processes for environmental justice.

31 10, 2016

Gender, Urbanization And Democratic Governance

2017-10-31T00:44:55-04:00Tags: |

With the rapid growth of urban growth, increasingly impacted by climate change, there is also proving to be a rising rate of gender inequality within cities. This document explains how gender inequality and urban vulnerability to climate are linked. Political decision-making and social and economic power have a deeply rooted gender bias that favors men in urban areas. For this reason, gender equality and women’s empowerment are of principal importance in the post 2015 Sustainable Development Agenda.

30 10, 2016

Indigenous Sexual Assault Survivors Plead For United Nations Action Against Canadian Mining Giant

2017-10-31T15:34:03-04:00Tags: |

Barrick Gold, the Canadian mining giant and the world’s largest gold producer, is infamous for human rights abuses and ecocide. Nearly 120 sexual assault survivors from Papua New Guinea have taken their case to the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, demanding justice for the sexual and domestic violence that they and many more have faced over the years at the hands of mine security personnel working at Barrick Gold’s Porgera mine.

29 10, 2016

National Ecosystems And Biodiversity Loss: A Gender Perspective

2017-10-31T13:34:15-04:00Tags: |

In response to the Sustainable Development Goals and the worrying loss of biodiversity and natural ecosystems, the Global Forest Coalition has launched the “Women 2030” initiative to integrate women in forests and biodiversity. Partnering with local organization BIOM, the Global Forest Coalition is working in southern Kyrgyzstan to support women’s leadership in forest preservation. For example, in the communities in question, women are central to bird breeding as well as soil conservation and the collection of traditional medicinal herbs, activities which promote biodiversity while simultaneously fighting poverty. Photo Credit: UN Women/Flickr

29 10, 2016

Sustainable Cities, Gender And Transport

2017-10-29T00:58:23-04:00Tags: |

This online factsheet from the Women’s Environment and Development Organization argues for centering gender in sustainable cities development. Although cities are providing economic growth and wealth, such wealth can replicate patterns of gender discrimination, linked to devastating environmental destruction. Environmental sustainability and climate change are embedded in gender equal approaches that result in more sustainable policy development, urban infrastructure, and transportation which meet the needs of all abilities, races, ages income levels. Photo credit: WEDO

27 10, 2016

Carmen Capriles Of Bolivia On Transforming The World By 2030: The Challenge For Women

2017-10-31T20:36:01-04:00Tags: |

Carmen Capriles of Reacción Climática writes about how the last five decades an agenda to achieve gender equity has been introduced but with few results. This is due to a lack of its effective implementation that could guarantee women’s basic rights. The new sustainable development agenda may not solve all the issues but a new era has begun where the major obstacles for women are no longer invisible. There is a hope for the new agenda to be adequately implemented but only by empowering women at all levels and by pushing for a strong political will from Governments to guarantee women’s rights. Photo credit: Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era

27 10, 2016

Climate Justice Is Gender Justice: Reflections From #COP21

2017-10-27T15:30:35-04:00Tags: |

In this article, young feminists and FRIDA advisors Alina Saba and Ayesha Constable share their perspective on the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. They discuss how gender justice and women’s rights took center stage in many conversations due in part to the leadership of the Women and Gender Constituency, a coalition of civil society and non-state groups. These conversations included the impact of climate change on women and indigenous groups as well as the women’s involvement in developing climate solutions. Photo credit: Christine Irvine/Survival Media Agency

27 10, 2016

Brianna Fruean, Youngest Winner Of Commonwealth Youth Award

2017-10-27T14:55:29-04:00Tags: |

Brianna, a young woman from Samoa, become a founding member of the grassroots climate change movement 350 at the age of 11. At the age of 14, she became pacific youth ambassador and attended the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil. At the age of 16, she became the youngest winner of Commonwealth Youth Award specifically in climate change. At 17, she became the Youth Ambassador of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme. She now speaks from her youth perspective in various environmental summits and conferences.

27 10, 2016

Women Are Leading Climate Change Adaptation Efforts In Uganda

2017-10-27T11:15:20-04:00Tags: |

The Policy Action and Climate Change Action (PACCA) project, coordinated by Dr. Edidah Ampaire, creates policy shifts to help communities better adapt to climate change. Similarly, the African Climate Change Resilience Alliance (ACCRA), coordinated by Tracy Kajumba, works to better climate change responsiveness in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently they conducted a gender analysis together to highlight the ways in which women farmers are contributing to climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa. Photo credit: FoEI/ATI – Jason Taylor

27 10, 2016

Meet Kandi Mossett, A Passionate Climate Change Activist

2017-10-27T02:29:37-04:00Tags: |

Kandi Mossett is a member of Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations, and grew up feeling a deep connection to Mother Earth. She has turned that connection into a passionate career as a climate change activist. Kandi’s work is dedicated to campaigning against fracking in the United States, which means going up against the oil industry and other powerful interests. Though facing huge hurdles, she remains unfazed, and calls on young voices to join her on the global environmental stage. Photo credit: Indigenous Environmental Network

27 10, 2016

Young Women Lead Indigenous Youth To Mobilize For Climate Justice

2017-10-27T02:19:58-04:00Tags: |

Seed is Australia’s first Indigenous youth climate network, working to build a movement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people for climate justice. Seed identifies that although climate change is one of the greatest threats to our world, it also brings opportunity to create a more just and sustainable world. The organization is being lead by 3 young local women, including Amelia Telford, who are working directly with the people impacted by climate change. Photo credit: Seeds

27 10, 2016

Women Deliver: Young Women Climate Warriors Speak

2017-10-27T01:41:15-04:00Tags: |

Nearly five hundred participants from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe gathered at the 4th Women Deliver Conference, the world’s largest forum centering on the well-being and health of women and girls. Most of the participants had witnessed first-hand women from their communities living in harsh environmental and economic conditions with susceptibility to health risks. Among the participants were  Majandra Rodrigues Acha, a Peruvian environmental activist illustrating links between climate change and women’s health, Alicia Moncada, project manager for the Indigenous Women’s Organization (Venezuela), campaigning for women’s rights to a safe environment and Betty Bakrha of Fiji, appealing for committed climate action. Photo credits: Women Deliver

26 10, 2016

In Peru, This Young Activist Is Sparking A Movement For Climate Justice

2017-10-26T17:59:32-04:00Tags: |

Majandra Rodriguez Acha is a young climate woman of Peru uniting urban and Indigenous communities across her country for vital dialogue and action around issues of resource extraction, Indigenous Rights violations, violence against women and the Earth, and much more. Photo credit: Global Greengrants

26 10, 2016

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments In Indonesia: Where Are The Women’s Perspectives?

2017-10-26T00:36:06-04:00Tags: |

In Indonesia, cities are developing methodologies towards climate change impact resistance and recovery by investing in city-level resiliency efforts. However, although women are most impacted there is insufficient data on women’s perspectives within urban resilience planning. In this assessment report, the Indonesian NGO Kota Kita presents the significance of a gendered approach in urban resiliency projects, how to improve women’s climate vulnerability assessment, and an examination of specific gender centered resiliency initiatives in Indonesia. Three out of four authors of this report are on the ground women researchers and activists. They are Sarah Dougherty, Rizqa Hidayani, and Dati Fatimah. Photo credit: Kota Kita

26 10, 2016

Lessons From Improving A Gender-Based Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

2017-10-26T00:18:02-04:00Tags: |

Kota Kita Foundation, an Indonesian grassroots NGO, analysed its methodology for the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment through a gender-focused approach, as women are the ones who suffer the most from climate hazards and are not well represented in data and resiliency plans. The low levels of female participation and deficient gender-disaggregated data raises questions about cities’ resiliency plans and the lack of consideration of women’s important role in Indonesian society. Photo credit: Kota Kita Foundation

25 10, 2016

Silver Power: Swiss Grannies Challenge Government’s Weak Climate Policies

2017-10-19T22:59:29-04:00Tags: |

Klima Seniorinnen (Senior Women for Climate Protection) are holding the Swiss government accountable for its climate inaction by submitting a legal petition to demand that their government take stronger action on climate change. The group is comprised of women above the age of 65 and with an increase of heat-waves across Europe, they are at a higher risk of suffering from cardiac arrest, respiratory and circulatory problems, heatstroke and dehydration. This is as much a fight for their wellbeing as it is for the future of the young of Europe. Photo credit: Huffington Post

23 10, 2016

Reframing The Climate Narrative

2020-10-23T22:17:22-04:00Tags: |

Drawing on her experiences at the 2015 UN Climate Talks in Paris, the author and WECAN-member Karina Gonzalez stresses the importance of changing the narrative around climate change. Instead of solely focusing on technological solutions and the reduction of greenhouse gases, she calls for an approach that focuses on the systemic root causes instead. In doing so, one can value the unmeasurable and qualitative, challenge biases and power relations and remove the illusion of predictability.

17 10, 2016

Bringing More Women Entrepreneurs Into The Clean Renewable Energy Revolution

2017-09-28T21:09:11-04:00Tags: |

According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency, access to energy at low rates can increase greatly with the use of decentralized sustainable energy technologies. Moreover, another report, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, asserted the possibility of lowering levels of carbon at the entire globe. In spite of all the good news, many clean energy initiatives are planned by and for men, ignoring the fact that women manage household energy use in developing countries. Thus, even though clean energy is a feasible solution to climate change, policies lacking gender sensitivity may endanger that for as long as they do not address barriers to women entrepreneurs in developing economies. It is time for a change!

6 10, 2016

Violence On The Land, Violence On Our Bodies: Building an Indigenous Response to Environmental Violence

2017-12-06T14:21:18-05:00Tags: |

This report by the Women’s Earth Alliance and Native Youth Sexual Health Network examines case studies from across Indigenous lands of the United States and Canada, including the Dine/Navajo Nation, Lubicon Lake Nation, Grassy Narrows First Nation, Ohkey Owingeh Pueblo, the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, and others - asking why and how Indigenous women in frontline communities are being impacted by intense environmental racism, and sexual and gendered violence due to expansion of extractive and toxic industries in their homelands. It also examines community-based strategies being implemented to resist impacts to health, safety and the land. Photo credit: WEA  

1 10, 2016

Where Women Are Economically Empowered, There Are Fewer Disaster Victims

2017-11-01T23:45:51-04:00Tags: |

Kelly F. Austin of Lehigh University and Laura A. McKinney of Tulane University used data from 85 less developed nations for their study entitled “Disaster Devastation in Poor Nations: The Direct and Indirect Effects of Gender Equality, Ecological Losses, and Development.” The study aims to quantitatively assess the drivers of suffering from disasters across less developed nations reveals that women who are economically empowered have a disproportionately positive impact on disaster outcomes. The researchers found that advancing the economic status of women reduces the proportion of people affected by disasters directly, because economically empowered women are able to better prepare for and respond to disasters and indirectly, as they enhance health resources in the community that help reduce harm and prevent death.

24 09, 2016

An African Ecofeminist Perspective On The Paris Climate Negotiations

2017-09-24T19:14:01-04:00Tags: |

While many groups across the world hail the Paris Agreement as a victory for climate justice, the WoMin Alliance offers us a brilliant African eco-feminist critique of the pertinent issues. The alliance reminds us of the disproportionate impacts of climate change on the continent of Africa as a whole and to African women in particular. For them, the real test of any agreement from COP21 was whether it would be able to articulate a vision for climate justice that decisively put in place frameworks to move away from the dominant extractivist development models and offer concrete spaces for an articulation of alternatives, such as agroecology, energy and gender justice, to name just a few. Photo credit: WoMin

13 09, 2016

Meet The Woman Litigating The “Biggest Case On The Planet”

2017-07-20T17:52:24-04:00Tags: |

Julia Olsen is leading one of the most important court cases in United States history. She is the chief legal counsel of Our Children's Trust, helping 21 young people to sue the federal government of the United States over their insufficient action on climate change. She is bringing the suit on behalf of young people who don’t have a vote or voice, and have more to loose than adults from climate change. Photo credit: CNN

1 09, 2016

The Role Of Indonesian Women In Addressing Climate Change

2017-11-01T01:47:01-04:00Tags: |

Miranti Serad, a founding member of Citra Kartini, an Indonesian women’s empowerment organization, organized a symposium at the 2016 Indonesia Women Expo on “Women and Climate Change.” Rachmat Witoelar, the President's Special Envoy for Climate Change, discussed the negative impacts of climate change on women and how can women play an important role in decreasing increase climate change. Suzy Hutomo, a climate leader and the Executive Chairwoman of The Body Shop Indonesia, has taken steps to prevent climate change by implementing a low-carbon lifestyle both in her family and company. Rahayu Saraswati Djojohadikusomo, a climate leader and a Member of the Commission 8 of the Indonesian House of Representatives, said women’s engagement is necessary to develop the creative economy. Nurmala Kartini Sjahrir, an anthropologist, stated that climate change adaptation and mitigation should empower women because empowering women is preserving life. 

1 09, 2016

Intersectional Feminist Writer Says Climate Change Policy Must Include Voices Of Women Of Color

2017-11-01T01:35:42-04:00Tags: |

Like Classical liberal feminism, the mainstream media has been criticized for its exclusion of women of color. Ama Josephine Budge, a feminist author and artist, says feminism needs to be decolonized. Her recent interview with newsdeeply.com unveils her concern about the exclusion of colored women from climate change policy. Using the example of Berta Caceres, an Indigenous environmental activist who was killed for her work defending land and communities in Honduras, Budge argues for women of color to take center-stage in the climate fight. Photo credit: Zachary Maxwell Seutz

28 07, 2016

Mumta Ito At TEDxFindhorn: Rights Of Nature

2017-10-28T23:48:14-04:00Tags: |

Mumta Ito, founder of the International Centre for Wholistic Law and Rights of Nature Europe, points out that modern environmental laws are designed around an economic paradigm which legitimizes the destruction of Nature. Our legal system operates within paradigms which are anthropocentric believing that Nature exists to serve human needs. In addition, modern legal frameworks are designed to support economic growth without challenging the cause of the problem which is the economic system itself. She suggests moving towards a holistic system of law that puts our existence in this planet within its ecological context. Even though humans have the right to life, Nature which provides all the materials for our lives has no such rights. By enshrining Rights of Nature in law, we protect the Earth that we all need for our very existence. Photo credit: TedxTalks

20 07, 2016

Wang Yong Chen: The Clark Kent Of China

2017-07-12T19:38:25-04:00Tags: |

Along with other Chinese environmentalists, Wang Yong Chen is fighting to protect the Nu-Salween River from the development of a hydropower dam. She has spent her career fighting to protect the Nu-Salween, the only free-flowing river left in China located in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. In 1996, she founded Green Earth Volunteers, one of the first environmental NGOs in China. Photo credit: International Rivers

19 07, 2016

Shining: Co-Powering Communities of Shan State

2018-02-20T18:25:29-05:00Tags: |

Local leader Shining works in solidarity with ethnic minority communities along the Thanlwin River Basin in Myanmar’s Shan State. An alumnus of EarthRights International’s Mekong School, Shining co-founded the Mong Pan Youth Association and Weaving Bonds Across Borders to educate and cultivate leaders at the local and international levels. Through trainings and workshops, she helps to build the communities’ capacity to engage in the EIA process, advocate for their rights, and defend the environment against the proposed Mong Ton Dam and future projects that risk severe short-term and long-term impacts. Photo credit: EarthRights International

15 07, 2016

African Women And International Climate Negotiations

2017-11-14T21:41:24-05:00Tags: |

African women are solely responsible for producing between 60 and 80 percent of the food eaten on the continent and bear the biggest brunt of the reality that 630 million people in Africa do not have access to modern and cleaner energy sources, even as two-thirds of African households depend on them for their energy needs. While it is no secret that Africa will be the hardest hit by the impacts of climate change, statistics show that African women have weak representation at international processes on climate change such as the UNFCCC platform. Given the specific inequalities around the climate crisis that affect African women, there is an immediate urgency to increase their substantive and qualitative representation at the national, regional and international policy levels. Photo credit: The Hague Institute for Global Justice

7 07, 2016

Mining Affects Indigenous Women Human Rights, Phil Women’s Groups Said At 64th CEDAW Session

2018-08-10T15:46:58-04:00Tags: |

On July 2016, The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) reviewed the human rights violations by the Philippine State. The CEDAW Committee was notified that the Philippines is institutionalizing gender biases, patriarchal structures and violence against women to further interests, specifically those of mining corporations. Kakay Tolentine from the Durmagat Indigenous community and BAI (National Network of Indigenous Women) representative highlighted the increases in extrajudicial killings, including 90 Indigenous land defenders between 2010 and 2016. The killing of Juvy Capion was raised to the CEDAW Committee. Capion, a B’laan woman leader who fiercely opposed the Sagittarius Mines, Inc. project on her ancestral lands was killed by military men in October 2012 along with her two young sons. Despite the laws passed to protect Indigenous women, the government fails to fulfill its obligations. Photo credit: WLB

2 07, 2016

Bringing Power To The People: Women For 100% Renewable Energy

2017-07-16T14:32:59-04:00Tags: |

Diane Moss, co-founder of the Renewables 100 Policy Institute, Wahleah Johns, Solar Project Manager with the Black Mesa Water Coalition, and Lynn Benander, CEO and President of Co-op Power, are leading the transition to renewable energy in the United States. They shared lessons and best practices from their work transitioning fossil fuel infrastructure to community-owned renewable solutions at the “Women for 100% Renewable Energy: From Installation to Advocacy” open online training presented by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network: U.S. Women’s Climate Justice Initiative. Photo credit: Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network

28 06, 2016

Meet The Woman Who Pushed Massachusetts Toward The First Carbon Fee In U.S. History

2017-10-19T23:09:50-04:00Tags: |

Jessica Langerman, a former high school teacher turned freelance writer, was accidentally catapulted into the world of climate science and taxes in 2009 when she found herself at a lecture organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Listening to the grim statistics about how climate change would impact not just the world as a whole but her own state of Massachusetts and the slow response, she began to lobby for a statewide carbon tax, which would collect fees from fossil fuel companies importing oil into the state and thus making it a very costly and prohibitive venture for them. Photo credit: Eric Haynes

27 06, 2016

How Can Women Solve Climate Change?

2017-10-27T02:22:59-04:00Tags: |

The face of climate change activism and policy is changing as women move from being seen as passive to active agents of the movement. Gender balance is also region-dependent, with lower participation from women in least developed countries. Rural women around the world continue to lead the mitigation and adaptation actions and are the faces of resilient climate change. Women around the world continue to prove that there will be no climate justice without gender justice.

1 06, 2016

“I’m Living In A Sacrifice Zone”: Women Speak Out For Climate Justice

2017-11-01T02:27:10-04:00Tags: |

This Huffington Post article covers the September 2015, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN International) symposium titled “Women Speak: Climate Justice on the Road to Paris & Beyond”. Framing the discussion, co-founder and Executive Director, Osprey Orielle Lake speaks about the disproportionate impacts of climate change for women and how they must be leaders in the process of tackling such a problem. Global presenters Melina Laboucan-Massimo (Lubicon Cree) speaks about environmental pollution and contamination in her area, creating “dead zones”; Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, Jacqui Patterson, speaks about the harm of living close to coal plants and the correlation of food sovereignty and contaminated soil; Indigenous Kichwa leader Patricia Gualinga Montalvo speaks on the struggle against oil companies in Ecuador; Thilmeeza Hussain, founder of Voice of Women speaks about survival in face of global warming; and finally, Cherri Foytlin brings participants’ attention to sacrifice zones, where POC and Indigenous populations suffer from toxic elements. Photo credit: Huffington Post

30 05, 2016

Young Plaintiffs Sue The United States Government

2017-07-20T18:50:41-04:00Tags: |

Mary Christina Wood, a law professor at the University of Oregon, is supporting a group of young plaintiffs to sue the U.S. government for failing to protect their environment. They argue that the federal government has a responsibility to care for the “atmospheric trust” of clean air, water and a stable climate for future generations. Photo credit: Viewminder/Flickr

27 05, 2016

Mary Louise Malig: In The Aftermath Of Paris Agreement, Nature And Humanity Lose

2017-10-27T12:17:58-04:00Tags: |

In this article, Mary Louise Malig, Campaigns Coordinator with the Global Forest Coalition, draws attention to how the Paris climate agreement fails to create an effective mechanism to ensure the drastically-needed reduction of carbon emissions. She highlights how Article 5 speaks about conserving forests specifically through result-based payments. Unfortunately, this article is not in sync with SDG 15. She argues that the real progress towards implementing the Paris agreement will be made in grassroots and Indigenous movements. Photo credit: Global Forest Coalition

27 05, 2016

Milestone Gender And Environment Report From UNEP Shows Gender Should Be At Heart Of Sustainable Development

2017-10-27T12:13:36-04:00Tags: |

A report entitled “Global Gender Environment Outlook” was launched by United Nation Environment Program in collaboration with Women in Europe for Common Future and Global Forest Coalition to bring attention to the gender aspect of environmental challenges, and call for the inclusion of women at all levels and use of traditional knowledge to heal the environment. Photo credit: Global Forest Coalition

27 05, 2016

Climate Policy Shaper: Heather McGhee

2017-10-27T02:56:22-04:00Tags: |

Heather McGhee is the President of Demos, a non-profit research and advocacy organization that fights against economic and political inequality with policy aligned with climate sustainability. The organization’s work is directly influencing national policy. Currently McGhee is developing a vision for a clean energy economy that will see benefits going to all communities. Photo credit: Grist 50!

27 05, 2016

The Climate Data Architect: Angel Hsu

2017-10-27T02:52:52-04:00Tags: |

Angel Hsu is the head of the Yale department that develops data-driven tools to inform environmental policy. Tools such as indicators and software help track environmental trends so that policy-makers can make more informed decisions concerning climate change. Angel emphasizes that reliable data is needed to help close the communication gap between scientists and policy makers, putting environmental needs first. Photo credit: Grist 50!

27 05, 2016

Ten Things To Know: Gender Equality And Achieving Climate Goals

2017-10-27T02:32:20-04:00Tags: |

The Climate & Development Knowledge Network has released a document summarizing the findings and recommendations of their study on the benefits and challenges of pursuing climate development from a gender perspective. Using global case studies, the report tells us first and foremost that gender equality matters and works from a climate perspective. Location also matters and gender approaches should take into account urban development. Photo credit: Jeremy Horner

18 05, 2016

Native Houma Woman Stages Protest At Shell Shareholder Meeting

2017-07-16T14:52:14-04:00Tags: |

Monique Verdin, a member of the Mississippi River Deltas indigenous Houma nation, represented the Native American Houma National Council at Shell’s annual shareholder meeting in 2016. With the support of the Indigenous Environmental Network and the UK Tar Sands Network, she presented a pop-up exhibition of professional photos showing the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and oil and gas infrastructure in the Mississippi Delta to advocate for an end to extraction. Photo credit: Energy Voice

12 05, 2016

Women’s Wisdom Crucial To Beating Climate Change, Researcher Says

2017-10-14T16:03:43-04:00Tags: |

Researcher Virginie Le Mason, of the Overseas Development Institute, says involving women in decision-making is sometimes viewed as slowing down and complicating processes, but their views are crucial to dealing with climate change. Photo credits: Atlantis Images/Shutterstock.com

2 05, 2016

How One Small Town Is Winning The Water War Against Nestle

2017-07-12T20:01:14-04:00Tags: |

Donna Diehl, a 55 year-old bus driver, is amongst those leading the fight against Nestle’s plan to extract and bottle water in Kunkletown, Pennsylvania for profit. They have joined the efforts of thousands of people across the United States who are passing local ballot initiatives to protect their water sources. Photo credit: Flickr

30 04, 2016

Constance Okollet Of Osukuru United Women’s Network At COP22

2017-10-30T21:08:00-04:00Tags: |

In this interview from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP20 meeting in Lima, Peru, Earth Island Institute’s Constance Okollet discusses her work as a peasant farmer in Uganda and as the chairperson of the Osukuru United Women’s Network, mobilizing women farmers affected by flooding and health impacts from climate change. Photo credit: UNFCCC Climate Action Studio

27 04, 2016

The Environmental Equalizer: Sudha Nandagopal

2017-10-27T03:04:07-04:00Tags: |

Sudha Nandagopal oversees Seattle’s Environmental Justice Initiative, a unique program that recognizes environmentalism is typically unequal in the distribution of benefits and burdens of policies. As a means of increasing equality and community-driven solutions, Sudha convenes a working group representing the interests of people of colour, immigrants and refugees, low-income, and limited-English individuals to participate in environmental decision-making. Photo credit: Bill Phillips

27 04, 2016

Women’s Rights In Protected Areas: Championing Gender Equality In Biodiversity Policy

2017-10-27T02:34:56-04:00Tags: |

The livelihoods of many women around the world depend on the conservation of protected areas. Pham Thi Kim Phuong, for example, bikes every morning to harvest clams and snails from mudflats in a protected areas. However, as Lorena Aguilar, Global Senior Gender Adviser at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), explains that the promotion of gender equality in protected area conservation is often overlooked. A study by the IUCN’s Environment and Gender Information (EGI) platform demonstrated that gender equality is rarely written into policy: only nine gender keywords were mentioned out of the 1,290 World Heritage Convention State of Conservation Reports analyzed. Aguilar notes the missed opportunities here, as protected areas should be engines not just for conservation, but also gender equality, and calls for gender mainstreaming in protected areas management. Photo credit: Peter Howard/IUCN

24 04, 2016

How One Woman Is Helping Climate Refugees Face The Realities Of Relocation

2017-10-31T20:33:15-04:00Tags: |

Dr. Robin Bronen is an international expert in the forced migrations of people. Her research explores the permanent disappearance of land due to climate change, and the impacts of warming on populations and migration.  Using her experience as an immigration attorney and her knowledge of the law, Bronen developed a legal “relocation” framework for people and countries facing climate-induced displacement to advocate for the rights of those impacted by “climigration,” now a term in the climate change lexicon.

18 04, 2016

This Baltimore 20-Year-Old Took Out A Giant Trash Incinerator

2017-10-31T15:40:13-04:00Tags: |

Baltimore is one of the most polluted cities in the United States, and the neighborhood of Curtis Bay is particularly afflicted by respiratory disease caused by industrial emissions. Upon learning of a proposed trash incinerator in Curtis Bay, Destiny Watford led a four-year campaign to halt the construction of this harmful incinerator next to many of Baltimore’s public schools. Photo credit: Doug Kapustin/The Washington Post

6 04, 2016

Violence Against Women Human Rights Defenders In Mesoamerica 2012-2014 Report

2018-03-06T17:55:26-05:00Tags: |

Hostilities against women human rights defenders (WHRDs) take many forms, and are initiated by various state and non-state actors. In this informative report, IM-Defensoras adopts a gender perspective to highlight the experiences of  WHRDs on the ground in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua as of 2014. Whilst quantifying the scale and types of violence against WHRDs in the region, it also recognizes their specific and place-based needs of diverse women and their communities. Photo Credit: Im-Defensoras

4 04, 2016

One Of The World’s Most Influential Women In Climate Finance: Barbara Buchner

2017-07-20T18:53:16-04:00Tags: |

Named one of the 20 most influential women in climate change, Dr. Barbara Buchner advises leaders on climate, energy, and land use investments around the world. She is an Executive Director at the Climate Policy Initiative and regularly speaks as an expert in climate policy and climate finance. Her work involves bringing together key financial institutions to actively engage in green, low-emissions finance. Photo credit: Climate Policy Initiative

30 03, 2016

The Empowerment Of Women Will Be Central To Realizing Sustainable Global Development

2017-10-30T20:41:41-04:00Tags: |

“Planet 50-50 by 2030 - Step It Up for Gender Equality” was the theme of the 2016 International Women’s Day. For Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, this is a call to leave no one behind in the process of development. Though some progress is made to include Indigenous and grassroots women in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), more efforts are needed. For example, only 36% of the delegates at COP20 were women. Photo credit: IPS News

27 03, 2016

The Climate Power-Shifter: Vien Truong

2017-10-27T03:00:27-04:00Tags: |

Vien Truong is the director of Green for All, an advocacy group focused on clean energy, green jobs, and income equality. The organization, along with a coalition of other environmental justice groups, collaborated to get California’s SB 535 Bill passed, which requires companies producing large amounts of pollution to cut down on their emissions or be held financially responsible. Photo credit: Grist 50!

27 03, 2016

Closing Gender Finance Gaps: Discussion On Financing Scenarios For Women In Agriculture

2017-10-27T01:48:19-04:00Tags: |

In October of 2015, there was a teleconference by the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, including the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, UN Women, and AWID's Economic Justice team (represented by Anne Schoenstein). With a theme of "financing and economic empowerment scenarios for women in agriculture", the online discussion focused on the outcomes of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3), which took place in July 2015. Anne Schoenstein made statements on behalf of both AWID and the Women's Working Group on Financing for Development ((WWG on FfD), highlighting the need to address illicit financial flows and to regulate the activities of transnational corporations through human rights law.

11 03, 2016

Women Act For Climate Justice: 10 Days Of Global Mobilization

2017-10-31T23:48:28-04:00Tags: |

The Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network (WECAN) International is supporting grassroots advocates to safeguard the rights of women and Indigenous communities in the face of climate change. In 2016, WECAN kicked off 10 days of global mobilization to highlight the environmental challenges affecting girls and women and called for communities to shift the equation. Women shared their photos and statements, and participated in educational events and projects, protests, and marches. Photo credit: WECAN

28 02, 2016

Recognizing The Rights Of Nature And The Living Forest

2018-10-17T18:17:15-04:00Tags: |

Mirian Cisneros, Ena Santi, Patricia Gualinga and Nina Gualinga are some of the women leaders of the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest, who are opposing continued oil extraction, and setting forth a vital proposal for the healthy and just future they envision for their community and the forest that they live in relationship with. The women shared their communities’ Kawsak Sacha, ‘Living Forest’ proposal at the International Rights of Nature Tribunal in Paris, France during the United Nations 2015 climate negotiations. This article shares background and analysis from Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, regarding the Living Forest proposal, Rights of Nature and the importance of Indigenous women’s leadership in these movements for deep systemic change in law, policy, and ways of living with the Earth. Photo credit: Emily Arasim/WECAN International

27 02, 2016

Five Superwomen Fighting For Our Earth

2017-10-27T11:32:05-04:00Tags: |

Emphasizing the link between nature and women, Global Mom's Challenge shares on how  transformative eco-feminists all over world are using their best efforts to save our planet in the local, national and international arenas. For instance, former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, United Nations Secretary General Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate, advocates global justice for poor and vulnerable people. Similarly, Winnie Bynanyima integrates the gender perspective into policy and decision-making in international commitments, and Osprey Orielle Lake leads the international climate trainings in areas such women for forests, Rights of Nature and United Nations forums. Moving further, Dr. Jane Goodall, the international chimpanzee researcher, is spreading her message about the conservation and emphasizing personal responsibility to get others to care. Lastly, Diana Duarte, Communication Director of Madre partners with communities to adapt climate change. Photo credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

27 02, 2016

Miya Yoshitani On the Solutions To Climate Change

2017-10-27T01:52:49-04:00Tags: |

At a Climate One event about environmental equity, Miya Yoshitani, the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, points to the buying power that each person has, and how this impacts climate change. Miya talks about the importance of people's actions in the climate movement, along with other tools, such as policy, as a way to mitigate and adapt to the current environmental issues. Photo credit: Climate One

12 02, 2016

Empowering Women To Mitigate Climate Change

2017-10-16T23:34:21-04:00Tags: |

Increasingly, governments and multilateral institutions are making the connections between women and climate change and how the latter is exacerbating already existing inequalities that mostly poor and working class women across the world face. Gender considerations in the formulation of climate policies and implementation have been proven to be empower women, but a greater focus needs to also be on  dismantling the socioeconomic and political structures that work to oppress women and which climate change increases, and these strategies need to put women’s activism and actions at the forefront. Photo credit: WECAN International

8 02, 2016

This 25-Year-Old Is Asking Politicians Tough Questions About Climate Change

2017-07-20T18:54:40-04:00Tags: |

Yong Jung Cho worked at environmental group 350 Action during the 2016 presidential primary election. She organized and trained hundreds of volunteers to follow candidates on the campaign trail and ask them tough questions about climate change. Photo credit: Fusion

2 02, 2016

These Three Women Attended A Monsanto Shareholders Meeting Demanding Answers

2017-07-19T21:42:37-04:00Tags: |

Anne Temple, Rachel Parent and Beth Savitt represented three generations of women when they attended a Monsanto annual shareholders meeting to highlight the health dangers of genetically engineered crops and pesticides such as Round-Up. Photo credit: Food Integrity Now

30 01, 2016

Vien Truong Celebrated With CLCV Environmental Leadership Award

2017-10-30T02:15:32-04:00Tags: |

Vien Truong is a fearless advocate of climate solutions that benefit low-income communities and communities of color. She currently leads Green for All’s work building a green economy and was a key driver of the California Senate Bill 535, the Charge Ahead Initiative, and the California Climate Credit, all of which directs state resources to benefit disadvantaged communities. Photo credit: California League of Conservation Voters

27 01, 2016

Women As Leaders On Environmental Policy And In Government

2017-10-27T15:33:59-04:00Tags: |

Heather Taylor-Miesle (Director of the Ohio Environmental Council, and former director of NRDC Action Fund) and Debbie Welsh (Director of the Center for American Women and Politics) discuss in a Q&A style story published by Rachel’s Network the systematic barriers that American women must overcome when running for political office. Both women conclude that electing more women is key to implementing stronger environmental policy. Photo credit: Rachel’s Network

27 01, 2016

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš Is Bringing Latinos To The Climate Policy Table

2017-10-27T15:32:26-04:00Tags: |

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, founder of Azul, explains in this article the ways that the conservation movement can be more equal and inclusive. Gutiérrez-Graudiņš is working to dismantle institutional barriers in the environmental movement and increase the presence of Latino voices in California’s climate policy making. She wrote in the introduction for La Verde Paper: Latino Perspectives on Conservation Leadership, released by La Madre Tierra and Resource Media, that although the conservation movement has failed to adequately engage people of color, on-the-ground movements exist and are engaging with and impacting policy in communities. Photo credit: Resource Media

27 01, 2016

The Environmental Educator: Emily Graslie

2017-10-27T02:51:11-04:00Tags: |

Through her work as the Chief Curiosity Correspondent at the Field Museum, Emily Graslie is known as the science educator for millennials.  Her reputation as a science and nature expert has given her the opportunity to speak directly with the Chief of the Environmental Protection Agency. Emily’s work focuses on having communities understand the broader effects of climate change. Photo credit: Tom McNamara

1 01, 2016

Meet Safa Al Jayoussi, A Leading Environmental Expert And Advocate In the Arab Region

2017-09-26T13:55:37-04:00Tags: |

Safa Al Jayoussi has worked on many successful environmental campaigns in the Arab world. As an expert and environment advocate, she became the founder and executive director for IndyAct in Jordan, an organization that empowers independent environmental activists in the Middle East. Her most recent activities include campaigning against nuclear power plants and advocating for a binding agreement between Arab League countries during the COP21 talks. Photo credit: Arab Woman Platform

31 12, 2015

COP21 Insights: Climate Wise Women

2017-10-08T22:17:07-04:00Tags: |

Ursula Rakova, Thil and Constance are three Climate Wise Women who are devoting their work to spreading the word about the inseparable relationship between gender and climate. Here, they offer a personal and political account of their time at the COP21 climate talks in Paris. They remind us of how Indigenous women leaders and women-led communities are working on adaptation, gender and finance, defining a promising path forward. The article emphasizes the challenges of moving a gender agenda forward within the COP process and the feminist commitments made to overcoming those challenges. Photo credit: Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA)

27 12, 2015

Maybe Women Should Lead the Way In The Battle Against Climate Change

2017-10-27T15:11:25-04:00Tags: |

Women are leading way in the battle against climate change. During a Women's Earth and Climate Action Network event in Paris during the United Nations COP21 climate negotiations, we hear from Josefina Skerk, political activist and Vice President of Sami Parliament,is  fighting to protect her people and Patricia Gualinga, an Indigenous leader from the Kichwa Pueblo of Sarayaky in the Ecuadorian Amazon, who helped her community win landmark case against oil extraction in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Photo credit: Fox Photos/Getty Images

25 12, 2015

For The Earth And Future Generations: Women Leading Solutions On The Frontlines Of Climate Change

2018-03-01T12:25:34-05:00Tags: |

At an event hosted by Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network during the COP 21 Paris negotiations in 2015, women leaders spoke about how women are the first and worst impacted by climate change. Indigenous women led the way, sharing their experiences fighting the dominant fossil fuel economy and forging a new way towards a sustainable, healthy and ecological communities. Photo credit: Emily Arasim/WECAN

8 12, 2015

Debate “Women And Climate” With Vandana Shiva And Mary Robinson

2018-07-13T16:29:10-04:00Tags: |

At the “Women and Climate” event during the Paris Climate Talks Indian scholar, environmental activist, and anti-globalization author, Vandana Shiva spoke to recognize “women power” in addressing the climate crisis. She along with former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, Marie-Monique Robi, and Segoline Royal, all presented on the imperative to have women at the forefront when looking for climate solutions.  Photo Credit: Seed Freedom

4 12, 2015

African Women Hardest Hit By Climate Change, But Play Pivotal Role In Finding Solutions

2017-07-20T19:08:38-04:00Tags: |

Prascilla Achakpa, Executive Director of the Nigeria’s Women Environmental Programme, and Edna Kaptoyo, of the Kenya-based Indigenous Information Network, discuss the disproportionate impact of climate change on women in Africa. These women, who were delegates at the United Nations Paris Climate Talks in 2015, emphasized the importance of including women in negotiations and achieving sustainable solutions. Photo credit: Democracy Now

2 12, 2015

Shyla Raghav On The Hidden Impacts Of Climate Change On Island Nations

2017-10-31T23:46:51-04:00Tags: |

Policy Director at Conservation International and delegate from the Maldives Shyla Raghav explains how island states are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels before the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris in 2015. Raghav, also a U.N. delegate for the Maldives at COP21, articulates how the Maldives is threatened by extreme catastrophic weather disasters due to climate change. Photo credit: Vice News (Video)

1 12, 2015

African Women Gender And Climate Change At COP21

2017-10-16T23:26:39-04:00Tags: |

The African working group on gender and climate change and the New Economic Partnership for Africa (NEPAD), separately held two side-events at the African Pavilion during COP21 in Paris. These events addressed the intersection of gender and climate change in Africa, specifically on the lack of gender disaggregated data which would better inform climate science reports and actions. Additionally, the sessions emphasized that climate funds, and especially the NEPAD climate fund established in 2012, should be more targeted at adaptation and mitigation measures supporting African women’s work in agriculture, value chains and their contributions towards climate solutions. Photo credit: c21stnigeria

1 12, 2015

Gender Day At COP21

2017-11-01T23:08:14-04:00Tags: |

On Gender Day inside of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 climate talks in Paris, France, diverse women leaders from around the world joined together and raised their voices on the importance of gender equality and women’s leadership at the forefront of the negotiations. Photo credit: Project Survival Media

1 12, 2015

Women On The Frontlines Of Climate Change At COP21 And Beyond

2017-10-31T23:45:15-04:00Tags: |

Writing in advance of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 climate negotiations in Paris, Osprey Orielle Lake, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, shares an analysis of why women’s voices and solutions must be at the forefront of all climate decision making in order to make just and effective progress in addressing the climate crisis. Osprey reminds us that despite facing a myriad of challenges and disproportionate climate vulnerabilities - women hold great strength coming from their close relationship to the Earth, and their vital ability to envision and plan grassroots, bottoms-up solutions, which contrast with the popular top-down and large scale methods which often ignore the root causes of climate change. She shares examples of how women are leading the way, from renewable energy and sustainable food systems, to policy making and peace building. Photo credit: Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network

1 12, 2015

Teresa Almaguar Of PODER Rejects REDD

2017-11-01T11:10:55-04:00Tags: |

Teresa Almaguar of California a grassroots environmental justice organization, PODER speaks with Indigenous Rising Media during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to share her thoughts on REDD carbon schemes, which she explains contribute to the displacement of Indigenous and other frontline communities, while allowing polluters to buy their way out of their abuses instead of stopping them. Photo credit: Indigenous Rising Media

30 11, 2015

13 Women Who Set The Policy Agenda At Paris Negotiations

2017-07-12T20:34:04-04:00Tags: |

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is the co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change and a key leader in the fight to mitigate the disastrous effects of Lake Chad’s disappearance. An estimated 30 million people in the West African countries of Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger depend on the lake. She and 12 other women leaders appear in Vogue for their leadership during the COP 21 climate negotiations in 2015 in Paris, France. Photo credit: Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin

27 11, 2015

Listening And Learning – A Climate Justice Dialogue With Grassroots Women

2017-10-27T15:46:49-04:00Tags: |

At the Bonn Climate Change Conference, grassroots women had the opportunity to share their experience engaging with climate solutions with international negotiators in order to encourage gender-responsive policy-making. Through learning circles, the women discussed the need for accessible funding, purposeful involvement in local project development, and established trust with government leaders. Their local and traditional knowledge helped informed the climate negotiations and the development of the Gender Action Plan. Photo credit: Mary Robinson Foundation

27 11, 2015

COP21: Overarching Narratives, Real Lives

2017-10-27T15:06:42-04:00Tags: |

In this Open Democracy report from the United Nations COP21 climate negotiations in Paris - we hear from Ursula Rakova, campaigner and human rights advocate, who explains to delegates at COP21 that displaced islanders do not want to be known as victims, and expresses disagreements that that the Paris Agreement was “balanced”, primarily because displaced islanders cannot hope to return to their homelands. Neema Namadamu, Democratic Republic of Congo discusses reforestation in Africa, and Indigenous women leaders including Pennie Opal Plant, Kandi Mossett and Casey Camp Horinek discuss why the voices of frontline women must be heard. Photo credit: Open Democracy

27 11, 2015

Farhina Yamin, International Climate Lawyer

2017-11-01T23:25:42-04:00Tags: |

As an international climate lawyer, Farhana Yamin has lead over 200 negotiations, fighting against the impacts of climate change. She now represents the Marshall Islands against the critical conditions facing the local communities. Farhana has a clear mission driving her work – zero emissions by 2050. Photo credit: Inez & Vinoodh

27 11, 2015

Achala Abeysinghe Represents Those Most Vulnerable To Climate Change

2017-10-27T10:48:33-04:00Tags: |

Achala Abeysinghe is a legal advisor on climate change negotiations to the Chair of the Least Developed Countries, a group of 48 countries that are highly susceptible to global warming. Achala works tirelessly on behalf of the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the world to ensure their rights are represented when it comes to the effects of climate change. Photo credit: Inez and Vinoodh

1 11, 2015

Pennie Opal Plant Speaks Outside #COP21

2025-01-25T11:39:00-05:00Tags: |

Pennie Opal Plant, Indigenous leader from Richmond, California and Indigenous Environmental Network delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 climate negotiations, speaks out from just outside of the COP event space, after participating in a public action to oppose fracking. Pennie shares a poignant analysis on the COP process, and her hopes for overcoming continued greed and capitalist solutions in the climate policy process.

1 11, 2015

A Reality Check on the Paris Agreement: Women Demand Climate Justice

2017-11-01T23:09:52-04:00Tags: |

Members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Women and Gender Constituency issue a powerful statement at the close of the Paris climate negotiations - calling out failures and policies not commensurate to the level of climate crisis faced, or responsive enough to the realities of climate impacts, especially on women and frontline and marginalized communities worldwide. The Constituency points out that despite promised to stay under 1.5 degrees warming, current commitments measure up to 3.2 – 3.7 degrees rise; and declares it’s unwavering commitment to continued advocacy to push for gender equality, climate justice and real action by world governments.

1 11, 2015

Indiana NAACP Environmental Climate Justice Chair, Denise Abdul-Rahman Speaks At Indiana Mama Summit April 8, 2015 At The Indiana State House

2017-11-01T17:54:41-04:00Tags: |

At the Indiana Mama Summit 2015, climate leader Denise Abdul-Rahman called for the state of Indiana's Department of Environmental Management to halt the burning of coal and the dumping of coal ash, practices which disproportionately impact people of color and low-income communities. Denise Abdul-Rahman was instrumental to passing the NAACP Clean Power Plan Resolution, which calls for coal ash to be defined as “special waste” and calls for special disposal to avoid the harmful health impacts of coal waste. Photo credit: Indian Green Outreach

1 11, 2015

Roots For The Future: The Landscape And Way Forward On Gender And Climate Change

2017-11-01T23:20:45-04:00Tags: |

The ‘Roots for the Future: the Landscape and Way Forward on Gender and Climate Change’ report produced by the Global Gender Office of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA), examines vital research, data, strategies, and results on gender and climate change policymaking; proposes key recommendations; and provides step-by-step guides, case studies and examples for gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive approaches in climate policy making. Photo credit: GGCA

1 11, 2015

Maldives Women Leaders Thilmeeza And Humayy At WECAN Climate Summit

2017-11-01T04:02:38-04:00Tags: |

Thilmeeza Hussain and Humayy of the Maldives Islands speak with S*HE Living TV following a Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, UNFCCC COP21 climate negotiations event - sharing analysis on climate impacts and vulnerability in the Maldives; failures in the climate policies and decision-making needed to save the Maldives and other low-lying islands; and the role of women in standing up to refuse continued stagnancy and demand justice and real action by world governments. Photo credit: S*HE Living TV

1 11, 2015

Dorah Marema from GenderCC Southern Africa Speaks Out At COP21 Climate Talks

2017-11-01T04:01:35-04:00Tags: |

Dorah Marema from GenderCC Southern Africa speaks with members of GenderCC during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 climate negotiations in Paris, sharing her thoughts as an African woman on the need for climate policymakers to urgently address with tangible solutions the lived daily impacts felt by peoples in her region and around the world. Photo credit: GenderCC

31 10, 2015

US Women: Let’s Talk About Climate Solutions

2017-10-31T19:26:45-04:00Tags: |

Marianne Gabel, founder of the Delaware, Ohio chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby, advocates for swift climate action in Ohio and Washington D.C. with other women climate leaders such as Sheila Fox, Alice Frazier, and Lindsey Kohlenberg. In 2014, they walked with 800 CCL volunteers to support “Political Will for a Livable World” and as a group, advocated to over 500 members of Congress. Gabel discusses the idea of taxing carbon, which would generate revenue to promote green energy jobs. Photo credit: Rachel's Network

31 10, 2015

Expert Q&A With Katharine Hayhoe, Climate Scientist

2017-10-31T19:24:33-04:00Tags: |

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a world-renown climate scientist who played a key part in writing the Third National Climate Assessment, a report which surveys the impacts of climate change in the United States. She spoke with Rachel's Network about the political challenge posed by climate change, the joys of motherhood, and how her faith informs her work. Photo credit: Rachel's Network

30 10, 2015

Gender and Urban Climate Policy: Gender-Sensitive Policies Make A Difference

2017-10-30T21:20:44-04:00Tags: |

This guidebook published by the Dutch government (GIZ), GenderCC - Women for Climate Justice and UN Habitat explores the theme of gender in urban climate change adaptation and mitigation. It explores the principles of gender-sensitive urban climate policy and advocates for more women’s representation at every level of policy-making.

30 10, 2015

Africa: COP21 – Grassroots Organizations Spotlight Women’s Voices At UN Climate Conference

2017-10-30T20:53:06-04:00Tags: |

Titi Akosa, a Nigerian lawyer and the Executive Director of the Centre for 21st Century Issues, rallied with other women and NGO allies at the COP21 Paris climate talks, including Lean Deleon, who pointed out that those most affected from the climate crisis are women and marginalized people who lack access to decision-making bodies

30 10, 2015

The Challenges Of Gender Equality And Climate Change

2017-10-30T20:47:45-04:00Tags: |

Gladys Vila Pihue, a leader of the National Organization of Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Women of Peru (ONAMIAP), writes about the exclusion of rights of Indigenous Peoples in Article 2 of the Draft Agreement negotiated at the 2015 Paris climate talks. It is important to coordinate between policymakers and the Indigenous women of the Andes and the Amazon in order to articulate a common vision of justice to international community. Photo Credit: Women's Earth and Climate Action Network

30 10, 2015

Women and Climate Change Symposium – Women and Climate Change: Impact And Agency In Human Rights, Security, And Economic Development

2017-10-30T20:40:16-04:00Tags: |

Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson presented a keynote address at the “Women and Climate Change Symposium” at Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security to launch the report “Women and Climate Change: Impact and Agency in Human Rights, Security and Economic Development.” She stressed the importance of women’s participation in the decision-making processes of the UN climate change negotiations and emphasized the need to close the gap between commitments and implementation. Photo credit: Mary Robinson Foundation

30 10, 2015

An African Ecofeminist Perspective On The Paris Climate Negotiations

2017-10-30T20:35:14-04:00Tags: |

WoMin, or African Women Unite Against Destructive Resource Extraction, comment on the shortcomings of the 2015 Paris climate talks. The members of WoMin are organizing against non-renewable energy and mineral extraction in dozens of African countries. Along with that, they have outlined alternative development framework consisting of climate and ecological justice, energy justice, food justice and gender justice in Africa. Photo credit: Heidi Augestad

30 10, 2015

From Australia To The United Nations, Young Bundjalung Woman Advocates For Climate Justice

2017-07-12T20:32:40-04:00Tags: |

Amelia Telford is the founder and director of Seed, a network of young Aboriginal people fighting for climate justice. Observing sea levels rising in the Torres Strait, bush fires and drought, she advocated for swift action on climate change for her country at the COP 21 climate talks in Paris in 2015. Photo credit: James Brickwood

28 10, 2015

Catherine Irons At TEDxTauranga: Using Human Rights Law To Protect New Zealand’s Natural Environment

2017-10-28T23:50:04-04:00Tags: |

Catherine Irons, Senior Lecturer in the School of Law at Victoria University of Wellington, uses examples of pollution to illustrate that this can no longer be accepted as the status quo and she proposes to include environmental protection in our human rights legislation. Human rights are designed to resolve human problems, but if we do not see a problem it is impossible to create a right for it. Modern legal frameworks provide for environmental laws but not for environmental rights because when the laws were created humans didn’t see any problems. Lastly, she points out that a line in the Bill of Rights or Human Rights Act would allow the protection of the environment to be discussed in the national courts and it could compel a person, company or organisation to take active measures to ensure we live in a healthy, sustainable country. Photo credit: TEDxTauranga

28 10, 2015

Fighting For Our Shared Future: Protecting Human Rights And Rights Of Nature

2017-10-28T23:25:52-04:00Tags: |

This report, with co-authors including woman leader Linda Sheehan, examines the co-violations of Nature’s and people’s rights around the world, as humans and Mother Earth are directly linked. Currently, Nature is treated globally as property, and as a result both humans and ecosystems are severely injured. The aim of the report is to highlight this problem via an analysis of 100 case studies of mining in Northern Europe, Canada, Latin America and Africa. At the same time, the publication identifies solutions and recommendations to combat and prevent human rights violations and violations of Rights of Nature. Photo credit: Earth Law Center

28 10, 2015

Rights Of Nature In Latin America: Ethics And Law In Dialogue

2017-10-31T16:20:18-04:00Tags: |

Dr. María Valeria Berros, professor and researcher at the National University of the Littoral and the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research in Santa Fe City, Argentina, is researching the  recognition of nature as a subject of rights in Latin America. Using legal documents which recognise nature explicitly as a legal entity, such as Pachamama in the Constitution of Ecuador (2008), Madre Tierra (Mother Earth) in the Mother Earth Rights Act (2010) and the Framework Act on Mother Earth and Integral Development for Living Well (2012), in Bolivia, she shows that non-anthropocentric ethics is beginning to gain importance. Photo credit: Rachel Carson Center

28 10, 2015

Why The Need For Ghana To Have A Gender Sensitive Climate Change Policy

2017-10-28T22:48:59-04:00Tags: |

Fariya Abubakari, the county coordinator of End Ecocide Ghana, is using journalism to advocate for gender mainstreaming in international climate policy. In this article, she argues that the daily experiences of women like Kubura, a farmer from the Upper East Region of Ghana, provide ample evidence in favor of centering gender in mitigation and adaptation. Citing Kubura's role in her family as the main breadwinner and provider of food and water, Abubakari shows how gender sensitive climate policy can build on women's roles as caretakers and natural resource stewards to design effective mitigation adaptation strategies, while calling for an increase in women's voices in international climate negotiations. Photo credit: Women In Tamale Via Photopin (License)

27 10, 2015

Women’s Participation: An Enabler Of Climate Change

2017-10-27T16:38:29-04:00Tags: |

In this report, the Mary Robinson Foundation illustrates how gender-responsive climate action generates benefits for both men and women. Julia Antonia Menjiva and other Guadalupe women’s involvement in adaptation planning bolsters gender balances in decision-making and guides gender-responsive climate policy in El Salvador. In Chile, Celia Reyes secures government assistance to combat water scarcity, lends traditional knowledge to municipal projects, and leverages solar energy training to benefit her family. Photo credit: Mary Robinson Foundation

27 10, 2015

Climate Justice And Women’s Rights: A Guide To Supporting Grassroots Women’s Action

2017-10-27T16:36:45-04:00Tags: |

This report by the Global Greengrants Fund, the International Network of Women’s Funds, and the Alliance of Funds offers eight case studies of successful women-led climate solutions. For example, Ursula Rakova mobilized the resettlement of her community in Papua New Guinea in response to rising sea levels and limited government assistance. Additionally, Mama Aleta Baun of Indonesia and Lam Thi Thu Suu of Vietnam are leading sustained efforts against extractive and unsustainable industrial projects in their homelands. Photo credit: Global Greengrants

27 10, 2015

Pacific Island Women For Cimate: Netatua Pelesikoti

2017-10-27T14:53:47-04:00Tags: |

Netatua Pelesikoti, Former Director of the Climate Change Division, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the first Pacific Island woman to be a lead author of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, had been tackling climate issues from past 20 years. She worked both in policy and management at a national level including monitoring and evaluation, training and project management. She has now returned to her hometown to serve her country. Photo credit: Pacific Communities

27 10, 2015

Luisa Emilia Reyes Zúñiga For Gender Responsive Policy

2017-10-27T14:48:47-04:00Tags: |

Luisa Emilia Reyes Zúñiga, Programme Director of Equality and Sustainable Development Policies and Budget with the Mexican NGO Equidad de Género, an expert on gender responsive policies, has trained many governmental and UN officials. She spoke to UN women about the challenges she faces in her advocacy. She stressed the recognition of human rights framework in climate agreements to attain three dimensions of sustainable development i.e. social, economic and environmental. Photo credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown

27 10, 2015

Pacific Gender And Climate Change Toolkit

2017-10-27T14:44:20-04:00Tags: |

To support climate change practitioners primarily in the Pacific Islands, UN Women has designed the Pacific Gender and Climate Change toolkit which aims to include gender has important strategy in programs and policies. This toolkit provides practical gender needs (PGN) advice to create a sustainably developed world.

27 10, 2015

The Weight of the World – Can Christiana Figueres Persuade Humanity To Save Itself?

2017-10-27T12:15:34-04:00Tags: |

Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is a powerhouse woman leader. This New Yorker piece provides a detailed portrait of her leadership in the outcomes of the Paris agreement, including signers committing to design domestic plans to reduce the carbon, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) Figueres argues that emergent issues like money gaps and the North/South divide need to be tackled with mutual corporation of developing and developed worlds.

27 10, 2015

When Women Lead: A Decade Of Women’s Environmental Voting

2017-10-27T11:05:38-04:00Tags: |

In this piece, Rachel’s Network argues that gender equality in politics is essential for achieving more environmentally sustainable policies. They show how women legislators tend to vote in sync with international commitments towards the environment. So, Rachel’s Network argues, if states want to champion protecting the environment and public health, they should support and elect more women to public office. Photo credit: Rachel’s Network

27 10, 2015

COP21 Was Male Dominated, Says United Nations Special Envoy

2017-10-27T10:55:28-04:00Tags: |

Ireland’s first female president and United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Change Mary Robinson knows all too well what it means to both be in top positions as a woman, and just how few women manage to get to these positions. Mary Robinson also understands the implications of having climate policy spaces dominated by men while women are either absent, present but absent in critical positions, or missing completely. Mary Robinson rightly notes that climate change disproportionately affects women, especially in the Global South, and that there is a need to connect the greater issues of economic development, gender inequalities, migration and the present refugee crisis, with the climate crisis discourse. The solutions being negotiated within the UNFCCC corridors must also keep in mind the multiple and intersecting oppressions women in their diversity face. Photo credit: IISD/Kiara Worth

27 10, 2015

Resisting Urban Industrial Emissions In South Africa’s Vaal Triangle

2017-10-27T02:43:16-04:00Tags: |

The Vaal Triangle in South Africa comprises several cities and towns that are responsible for some of the world’s highest carbon-emitting industries. Caroline Npaotane is the co-coordinator of the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance. Along with a dedicated group of activists, Caroline is driving efforts to fight polluting industries. Their work has helped to bring in new air quality standards in the area, and has led to the Vaal Triangle being named as a priority area for climate change mitigation by the government. Photo credit: Thys Dullart

27 10, 2015

Mary Robinson, Christiana Figueres And Amina Mohammed On Gender Equality And Earth’s Future

2017-10-27T02:10:45-04:00Tags: |

Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Christiana Figueres and Deputy-Secretary General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed see the ways in which gender inequality and climate injustice do not happen in a vacuum, and all are imbued with power relations touching on multiple socio-political, cultural, economic and even religious spheres. For these three women who have spent their lives working for justice, the transformation and redistribution of power is at the heart of attaining both gender equality and climate justice.

27 10, 2015

Policy Brief: Gender Equality In Climate Change Adaptation In Vietnam

2017-10-27T02:07:54-04:00Tags: |

Vietnam has a long history of women’s organizing through various groups such as the Vietnam Women’s Union, and has passed robust laws to fight gender inequalities. Within the context of its high vulnerability to climate change due to increased flooding, typhoons and extended drought, it is imperative that the solutions crafted are responsive to the ways in which asymmetries of power between men and women play out.

20 10, 2015

Unleashing The Power Of Women Via Renewables

2017-07-20T16:27:03-04:00Tags: |

Although still under-represented in the energy sector, Lorena Aguilar of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Global Gender Office stresses how women play an integral part in solving problems related to clean energy and emissions reductions. IUCN's Gender and Renewable Energy Network Platform provides a space for climate change mitigation professionals to swap resources and collaborate on gender-inclusive renewable initiatives. Photo credit: The Huffington Post

19 10, 2015

Women Call For Stepped-Up Gender-Responsive Climate Policy And Action

2017-09-24T19:09:25-04:00Tags: |

In the lead-up to the Paris climate meeting (COP21), UN Women together with the UNFCCC secretariat and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) facilitated an experts meeting in order to encourage the incorporation of gender perspectives related to the climate process. The meeting outcome stressed the importance of supporting women’s leadership and agency in climate responses and ensuring that the related mechanisms were alive to the ways in which different women experience climate change and the material structures needed to support them. Photo credit: WECAN International

16 10, 2015

Women Gaining Ground: Securing Land Rights As A Critical Pillar Of Climate Change Strategy

2017-10-16T23:15:30-04:00Tags: |

Research shows that the majority of the world’s poor rely on natural resources such as land, seeds, forests and rivers for their livelihoods and general survival. In addition, women from the worst climate affected regions (Africa and South Asia) are not only disproportionately affected by climate change but also have limited rights around the access and control of natural resources. Multiple studies now show that if these women had much more secure rights, specifically around land, they would be much more empowered to tackle climate change. There is an urgency to secure these rights though adequate policy frameworks and implementation. Photo credit: WECAN International

12 10, 2015

Lakota Women Lead Charge Against Uranium Mine

2017-07-17T16:51:37-04:00Tags: |

Grandmother Debra White Plume is one of the Indigenous Lakota women leading a campaign to prevent the renewal of permits for uranium mining corporations in Nebraska. The women are also working to educate their communities about the dangers of water contamination caused by mining. Photo credit WNV/Rosy Torres

1 10, 2015

Women Environmental Tacticians

2017-11-01T23:21:20-04:00Tags: |

Rabble podcasts hears from global women leaders Sandra Steingraber, biologist, leader of the We Are Seneca Lake movement, and anti-fracking advocate; Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women's Earth & Climate Action Network; Sonia Guajajara, National Coordinator of Brazil's Association of Indigenous Peoples, Maranhão, Brazil; Casey Camp-Horinek, Ponca Nation elder and Indigenous Environmental Network representative; and Nina Gualinga, Kichwa youth leader from Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon - regarding the diverse manners they are standing for climate justice, from storytelling and science education, to petitions, blockading, marching, speaking out, and even putting their lives on the line. Photo credit: Rabble.ca

29 09, 2015

Women Are Taking Charge In Bangladesh – From The Grassroots To Government

2017-07-20T19:01:17-04:00Tags: |

Bangladesh has more women in top political positions than any other country, thanks to investments in health, education and women’s leadership. For example, Rani Mondal benefited from a small loan and training which allowed her and her friends to start a crab business, giving her the financial security to protect her family in case of flooding or other climate-related disasters. Others, such as Sheheh Parvin, sit on local committees to manage communal natural resources, while Sheikh Hasina is the country’s two-time Prime Minister. Photo credit: Anna Ridout  

26 09, 2015

A Call To Action For Indigenous Rights From Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn

2017-10-26T16:13:07-04:00Tags: |

Activist Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn iwi of the Māori of Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kuri people in Aotearoa (New Zealand) stands as a protector of Indigenous rights and territories, and the health of coastal ecosystems and customary Indigenous fisheries. As an executive member of Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa, the governing authority for her Te Rarawa peoples, Catherine is an outspoken voice against colonization, and for the upholding of Indigenous rights to their lands, waters and sustainable economies. During recent meeting of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, she spoke out about the impacts of deep sea oil drilling and rising seas on Pacific Indigenous peoples, amongst other vital issues. Photo credit: Shane Brown, Global Coordinating Group Media Team

26 08, 2015

In Rural Mali, Women’s Climate Work Brings Political Prowess

2017-07-18T00:25:51-04:00Tags: |

Sali Samake, a farmer in rural Mali, is one of thousands of women trained to measure rainfall under an agro-meteorological aid programme run by the Malian government. While providing crucial data to climate researchers, she also receives weather forecasts and advice to share with other farmers, which helps them adapt to changing weather patterns. Because of this support, she and other women are increasingly thinking of running for municipal office. Photo credit:Reuters/Joe Penney

12 08, 2015

Our Lives Matter: Women Fighting For Water Justice In South Africa

2017-07-17T22:08:54-04:00Tags: |

Women representing the communities of Somkhele and Fuleni in South Africa gathered at a Water Assembly in Kwazulu Natal with a clear message about their experiences of water scarcity. Women in these drought-stricken communities have been heavily impacted by coal mining and extractives industries, resulting in a clear water shortage, along with diminishing livestock and farming opportunities. Supported by WoMin, local women presented a clear set of demands to local stakeholders to inform strategies addressing the water scarcity. Photo credit: Heidi Augestad

29 07, 2015

Q&A With Mary Robinson: What Is Climate Justice?

2017-10-23T21:24:00-04:00Tags: |

Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson makes clear that to adequately tackle the issue of climate change, we must first of the most vulnerable people, those on the frontlines of the climate crisis. We must also remember that women continue to disproportionately bear the effects of the crisis. A moral stand in this case constitutes centering people, rights and justice in this struggle against climate change. Photo credit: Mary Robinson Foundation

17 07, 2015

Pacific Nations Need Gender-Specific Climate Schemes

2017-07-20T19:02:36-04:00Tags: |

Rising sea levels have made the Pacific Island nations extremely vulnerable to climate change. However, women in Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Tonga hold intimate knowledge of how their communities can adapt due to their roles working in fisheries and agriculture. Kuiniselani Toelupe Tago-Elisara, the deputy director of gender, culture and youth in the social development division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), encourages international policymakers to take women’s unique knowledge and contributions into account when designing climate adaptation programs. Photo credit: Jack Fields

11 07, 2015

After The Storm: Colette Pichon Battle

2017-11-11T10:40:42-05:00

Colette Pichon Battle, attorney and Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, speaks about the intensity of the post-disaster recovery efforts in South Louisiana. The only woman lawyer from her community, she returned home to help the residents of her home navigate the legal process of recovery from Hurricane Katrina. However, after the BP oil spill happened, she knew that it was going to be a legal fight to help the people recovering from Katrina secure justice in the face of fossil fuel extraction and climate-related natural disasters. She is fighting to preserve the Earth's delicate balance for her community and future generations. Photo credit: Lady Walker

2 07, 2015

Former President of Ireland: We’ve Exploited Our Earth

2017-07-20T19:04:29-04:00Tags: |

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, believes strongly that environmental justice is a human rights issue and that it is time for the global community to act. She calls for global cooperation and investment in renewable energy. Photo credit: Al Jazeera America

28 06, 2015

UN Experts Warn That Women Are Excluded From Climate Change Projects In Africa

2017-07-19T22:01:18-04:00Tags: |

Eighty percent of Africa’s small-holder farmers are women, yet women across Africa face numerous barriers to accessing funds that would help their communities adapt to climate change. Ange Bukasa from the investment facilitation organization Chezang Connect in the Democratic Republic of Congo says there is a lot of talk of helping local communities and women, but there is still much work to be done. Photo credit: Jacob Silberberg/Getty Images

24 06, 2015

Gender And Urban Climate Policy

2017-09-24T19:16:05-04:00Tags: |

This report by UN Habitat is a call to critically think about the multitude of ways that gender interacts and informs climate change and climate policy, regarding policy around cities in this case. Cities are increasingly being recognized as essential actors of climate change policies and in the last 20 years, cities in low- and mid-income countries across the world have been prioritizing adaptation and mitigation efforts. Given how power relations with regard to access and control over natural resources continue to play out in cities and overwhelmingly put women at a disadvantage, it is prudent that we think strategically about how to craft climate-related policies that create just cities for women. Photo credit: UN Habitat

20 06, 2015

Climatologist Heidi Cullen Making Climate Science Mainstream

2017-07-20T19:07:07-04:00Tags: |

Heidi Cullen is the Chief Climatologist for the U.S.-based non-profit news organization Climate Central, which analyzes and reports on climate science to the public. She is one of the leading women making climate science and change communication part of the mainstream media by acting as an on-air Climate Expert. Heidi also worked as the Chief Science Advisor for the popular documentary series Years of Living Dangerously, highlighting global warming and climate change. Photo credit: National Academy of Sciences/CC BY-NC-SA

19 06, 2015

Faces Of Change: Adolfina Garcia

2017-10-13T16:05:54-04:00Tags: |

Adolfina García, an Achuar Indigenous woman from the Corrientes Region of northern Peru, saw her son die due to contamination caused by the oil companies near her home. This article details how Adolfina and the leaders of five Achuar communities brought a lawsuit against Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum to demand reparations for the widespread destruction of their livelihoods. Photo credit: EarthRights International

29 05, 2015

National Geographic Emerging Explorer Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim Raising The Voice Of Indigenous Climate Knowledge

2017-09-22T18:33:34-04:00Tags: |

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is a woman working to collect Indigenous knowledge about natural resources in Chad as part of a 3-D mapping project. She also represents her community in climate discussions at the United Nations. She describes a childhood that straddled two worlds: school in the capital city of N’Djamena and tending cows among family in the Mbororo. Now she bridges the gap between the Indigenous people who intimately know their land and the governments making decisions many miles away. Photo credit: AFPAT

28 05, 2015

Ruth Nyambura: Protecting Rights Of Nature Front Line Defenders

2018-03-01T12:26:14-05:00Tags: |

Ruth Nyambura, from the African Biodiversity Network, pointed out during Paris International Rights of Nature Tribunal that we should deal with the rights of Mother Nature along with the protection of the people who defend her and the problem of their criminalization. First, it is important to build an understanding of the system which uses the criminalization of these defenders and focus on how to demand the rights of Indigenous defenders by States which have committed genocides. Furthermore, there is a need for a systems approach to the climate crisis: we need to talk more about racism, colonization, patriarchy and borrow ideas of climate justice for the protection Rights of Nature defenders. Photo credit: Rights4Nature

27 05, 2015

Expert Q&A With Keya Chatterjee, USCAN Executive Director

2017-10-27T15:20:35-04:00Tags: |

In this article, Keya Chatterjee speaks with Rachel's network on the climate movement and opportunities for growth, ranging from fundraising to community participation. Through the US Climate Action Network, Keya Chatterjee supports the coordination and collaboration of organizations engaged in building climate solutions. Photo credit: Rachel’s Network

22 05, 2015

Ghana’s Women Farmers Resist The G7 Plan To Grab Africa’s Seeds

2018-08-26T16:10:13-04:00Tags: |

Traditional farmers like Esther Boakye Yiadom and organizations like Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Rural Women’s Farmers Association of Ghana, and Global Justice Now, are actively challenging the Ghanaian government’s agreement to participate in the new G7 Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. The Alliance would negatively impact the small-scale farmers who traditionally follow seed saving and seed sharing practices. These practices have allowed small farmers to maintain traditional forms of agriculture, save many varieties of seeds, and protect biodiversity. However, with this new Alliance, the seed market will be concentrated in the hands of a few multinational companies. Thus, restricting farmers from seed saving, impacting cultural practices, forcing the small-scale farmers to buy seeds from corporations, expanding land grabbing, increasing the influx of GMO seeds, and eroding rights of small-scale farmers.  The good news is that after relentless organizing, protesting, and petitions from rural women and ally organizations, the legislation has come to a halt.  Photo Credit: Global Justice Now

16 05, 2015

Climate Justice For All: Putting Gender Justice At The Heart Of The Paris Climate Change Agreement

2017-10-16T23:18:13-04:00Tags: |

The result of existing inter- and intra-generational unequal gender relations work to ensure that women face unique challenges as a result of climate change. Using a gender lens to analyze the impacts of the climate crisis is not only important as a first step to begin to deal with gendered inequalities, it also allows us to squarely put women at the heart of the response by valuing their existing knowledge, skills and innovation through various platforms such like policy and implementation levels. Photo credit: WECAN International

1 05, 2015

Climate Change And Children’s Health: Armed With Facts

2017-11-01T03:07:09-04:00Tags: |

Mom’s Clean Air Force published this report, which looks at how children are particularly vulnerable to some of the initial effects of a changing global climate. Presently, children are suffering the impacts of climate change from infections caused by disease-carrying pests like mosquitoes and ticks to heat-related illnesses and allergies. The report suggests ways for mothers to contend with climate change and argues, more broadly, that now is the time to shift from air-polluting fossil fuels and extractive economies toward a green and sustainable future. Photo credit: Mom’s Clean Air Force

30 04, 2015

Climate Equality: Women On The Front Lines

2017-09-13T11:09:09-04:00Tags: |

Women affected by climate change in areas such as the Carteret Islanders (in Papua New Guinea), Central Vietnam, Nepal, and Bangladesh are being recognized on this article for their protagonism and resilience in the fight against climate disasters. These women's work ranges from giving first-aid classes to advocating for the creation of drinking water facilities, and governments in these locations are working with local women groups to create policies for climate change adaptation. The Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development used the Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) to increase women leadership in developing policies on climate. One of the protagonist groups in these efforts is the Mugal Indigenous Women's Upliftment Institute, which focuses on the adaptation of farming practices for extreme weather conditions due to climate change. The Mugal women have also been leading efforts to create climate policies in Nepal, working with the government to include traditional knowledge in initiatives against climate change. In Bangladesh, women's groups are also working with government officials to draft new environmental policies, especially on alternative crop productions. A female leader of one of these movements was elected as a member of the Village Committee in the southwest of Bangladesh, near the Sundarban mangrove forests. Photo credit: The Huffington Post

26 04, 2015

Unsung Heroines Who Take Action On Climate Change

2017-10-26T00:32:18-04:00Tags: |

The climate action campaign Women for Results is putting the spotlight on a global trend of women who are successfully addressing the impacts of climate change in urban and rural communities. Women are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change not only in rural regions but also in urban settings. They are also the best suited in pushing forward climate just solutions as they overwhelmingly manage water, food and energy supplies. This international wave of women is positioned on the frontlines of climate change adaptation initiatives including spearheading affordable and accessible low carbon technologies, and mitigation for droughts and serious flooding in specifically India, Thailand, and Indonesia. Photo credit: Medilyn Manibo

27 03, 2015

Local Woman Is Defending Her Islands From Climate Change

2017-10-27T10:50:02-04:00Tags: |

Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner is a poet and climate activist from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Her home has seen severe coastal erosion as a result of climate change, along with sea-level rise, storm surges, and droughts. Her community must rely on emergency teams delivery food and water at critical times. Kathy still has hope for her islands and continues her work as an activist with the desire that the situation will improve. Photo credit: Inez and Vinoodh

26 03, 2015

A Conversation With Natalia Greene About The Rights Of Nature In Ecuador

2017-12-26T16:28:32-05:00Tags: |

Natalia Green is an Ecuadorian environmental leader who played a significant role in the inclusion and recognition of Nature’s rights in the Ecuadorian Constitution. During a webinar presentation she explains how the country’s hgh levels of biodiversity led the country to shift the paradigm and recognize that human existence should coexist in harmony with Nature. However, as she explains, the implementation of the country’s new legal framework remains a challenge, and that there is an urgent need for real implementation and accountability in the face of continued rights violations.

7 03, 2015

Facing Violence, Resistance Is Survival For Indigenous Women

2017-10-06T19:31:52-04:00Tags: |

Throughout North, Central and South America, Indigenous women are fighting battles against fossil fuel extraction, mining and the sexual violence that accompanies these projects. For example, women elders from the Klabona Keepers are leading non-violent blockades to protect the Sacred Headwaters in British Columbia from mining contamination, while their peers participate in the Unist’ot’en blockade against fracked gas pipelines. In Panama, the first-ever woman chief of the Ngäbe Buglé people successfully led a grassroots resistance to halt the construction of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric project. In Ecuador and Peru, women are key leaders in blocking the construction of gold, silver and copper mega-mine projects. Photo credit: 15MBcn_Int/ mtmundo.org

21 01, 2015

Women Still Lag Behind In Non-Profit Leadership Roles

2017-07-20T19:13:45-04:00Tags: |

Women are still underrepresented on the boards of nonprofits, especially those with higher budgets. While the numbers are disappointing, Maggie Wilderotter, CEO and Chair of Frontier Communications, believes shareholders are starting to look more at diversity. Photo credit: ey.com

20 01, 2015

Mary Nichols, California’s Environmental Rock Star

2017-10-02T23:18:58-04:00Tags: |

Mary Nichols is chair of the California Air Resources Board, part of the California Environmental Protection Agency. An expert on air quality and climate change, Nichols advocates for stronger environmental regulations that will reduce CO2 emissions, such as California’s cap and trade program. She has been called a “rock star” by the LA Times and is considered one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Photo credit: California Air Resources Board

5 01, 2015

UN Report Highlights Women’s Role In Resource Management During And After Conflict

2017-07-20T18:29:35-04:00Tags: |

Women play an important role in conflict recovery and peacebuilding, yet peace agreements repeatedly neglect to consult women or make provisions for women’s needs in the reconciliation process. This report highlights the necessity of centering women’s needs and knowledge during and after periods of conflict. Photo credit: New Security Beat

26 12, 2014

Stories And Solutions From Climate Women In Lima During COP20

2018-03-01T12:26:45-05:00Tags: |

In Lima, Peru during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP20 - Indigenous women land defenders and community leaders from across the Americas and around the world gathered at a Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network to speak out against issues of social and ecological violation affecting their homelands, and to share their stories and calls to action for justice. Amongst many topics, presenters including Gloria Ushigua (President of the Association of Sapara Women in Ecuador); Hueiya Alicia Cahuiya Iteca (Vice President of the Huaorani nationality of Ecuador); Tantoo Cardinal (Native Canadian actress and activist); Nina and Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa Pueblo of Sarayaku); Mrinalini Rai (Indigenous advisor and gender expert from Nepal, working with the Global Forest Coalition); Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation elder and Counci lWoman); Sonia Guajajara (National Coordinator of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples); and Nino Gamisonia (Rural Communities Development Agency in Abkhazia, Georgia) discussed the impacts of oil extraction, mining and mega-dams on biodiversity, global climate and Indigenous territorial integrity.  Photo credit: Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network

24 12, 2014

All India Women’s Conference Initiatives At National Level To Abate Climate Change

2017-09-24T19:11:31-04:00Tags: |

Over the last decade, India has faced extreme weather situations ranging from flooding to brutal heatwaves that have cost both lives and property, with the poor and women bearing the biggest burden of these catastrophes. It is with this context in mind that the Kalyani Raj, of the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC), writes about her organization’s efforts to  train Indian women in both rural and urban areas on climate mitigation and adaptation activities, ranging from water management and water management, alternative and clean energy sources as well as disaster management and preparedness. Photo credit: Outreach

13 12, 2014

COP20 Closing Statement: You Have Negotiated Only Which Lives, Communities And Lands Will Be Lost

2017-12-13T14:03:08-05:00Tags: |

At the closing of COP20, Carmen Capriles delivered a statement prepared by Marina Parvin of the Asian Pacific Forum for Women in Law and Development in Bangladesh. The statement explains that during the negotiations, she was hoping to see a commitment that upholds human rights, gender equality, and the rights of future generations. Unfortunately, she and other women from most-impacted communities witnessed governments focused on putting prices and measures on the loss of ecosystems, displacement of communities and destruction of cultures..

7 12, 2014

Sônia Guajajara: A Voice For Biodiversity And Indigenous Rights In Brazil

2017-12-07T18:23:51-05:00Tags: |

Sônia Guajajara, Coordinator of the National Articulation of the Indigenous People of Brazil (APIB) is helping mobilize Indigenous communities across Brazil in defense of their rights, traditional lifeways and lands. As a voice for many thousands of constituents across the country, she has gone face-to-face with Brazils most powerful politicians to expose their hypocrisy, and demand real responses to the demands of the original peoples of the land. Corporate land grabs and violation of Indigenous land rights is a core area of Sônia’s advocacy with and for her people, alongside opposition to biodiversity protection, mining, and industrial farming, amongst other concerns. Photo credit: Vinícius Borba

28 11, 2014

Small Grants Help Frontline Women Promote Climate Solutions

2017-07-11T17:08:23-04:00Tags: |

Women are leading some of the most effective climate change projects and solutions across the world, however they receive disproportionately little attention and scant backing from funders and climate finance programs. Refusing to wait on anyone or anything in their often life-or-death struggles to protect the Earth and their communities, women such as Aleta Baun in West Timor are using small grants to protect their lands and implement solutions. Photo credit: Goldman Prize

2 11, 2014

Mapping Gender-Based Violence And Mining Infrastructure In Mongolian Mining Communities

2017-11-02T00:13:20-04:00Tags: |

Dr. Isabel Cane conducted research in South Gobi, Mongolia, on the extent of gender-based violence that women face in communities closest to the expanding mining industries in this area. Her findings suggest that social and cultural changes including family breakups, domestic violence, and prostitution are increasing around large-scale mining operations. She has prepared recommendations for policy makers to address violence in mining-adjacent communities.

2 11, 2014

Why Women Hold The Key To Fighting Pollution

2017-11-02T00:02:56-04:00Tags: |

Budi Susilorini, Pure Earth’s country director for Indonesia, explains how women are adversely impacted by pollution and environmental toxins. She is spreading the word about the multigenerational impact of pollution on families on the international stage and fighting for a cleaner environment at home. Photo credit: Pure Earth

30 10, 2014

Four Takeaways On How Women Are Using Grassroots Environmental Grants

2017-10-30T21:09:27-04:00Tags: |

Grassroots women leaders are leveraging Global Greengrants to fight on the frontlines of climate change. These efforts include advancing sustainable forest practices, protesting extractive industries, reducing urban emissions, and building solidarity across movements. Photo credit: Global Greengrants

30 10, 2014

Nalini Singh Of Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women At COP20

2017-10-30T21:06:01-04:00Tags: |

In this interview from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP20 meeting in Lima, Peru, Nalini Singh of the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) discusses the how climate change is negatively impacting women’s sexual reproductive health and human rights. For example, she shares how women often have more children than desired because they lack options or information on family planning. Photo credit: Climate Home

30 10, 2014

Gertrude Kenyangi Of Women’s Environment & Development Organization

2017-10-30T21:03:57-04:00Tags: |

In this interview from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP20 meeting in Lima, Peru, Gertrude Kenyangi of Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) discusses how government accountability and gender-just climate solutions are critical to transformative social change. She illustrates how climate change abuses the rights of women and how this inequality is exacerbated in fragile economies; however, women are also  leading climate change mitigation and sustainable development through strategies such as subsistence farming and fuel-saving technologies. Photo credit: Climate Home

30 10, 2014

Usha Nair, All India Women’s Conference

2017-10-30T21:02:21-04:00Tags: |

In this interview during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP20 meeting in Lima, Peru, Usha Nair of the All India Women's Conference (AIWC) discusses the importance of gender-responsive climate policy. She shares how women are more vulnerable to climate change impacts than men and are important agents of change, especially given their decision-making role at the domestic level. Photo credit: Climate Home

29 10, 2014

Linda Sheehan: Codifying Nature’s Rights In Human Law

2017-10-29T00:09:30-04:00Tags: |

Linda Sheehan was one of 45 leading scholars, authors and activists who convened at The Great Hall of Cooper Union, for the public presentation: "Techno-Utopianism and the Fate of the Earth." Speakers discussed the profound impacts—environmental, economic and social—of runaway technological expansionism and cyber immersion; the tendency to see technology as the savior for all problems. During her speech, she explained how modern environmental laws have limits and treat land as a commodity and not as a community in which we belong. Denying rights to Earth leads to separation and does not create communities where humans and Nature can coexist. The movement for Earth rights is going to shift the narrative where human superiority prevails and prove that it is illogical to recognize rights to humans and not to Nature. Photo credit: IntlForum

27 10, 2014

No Fracking In New York – Efforts Of Helen Slottje

2017-10-27T16:28:50-04:00Tags: |

Helen Slottje is the recipient of the 2014 Goldman Prize, from North American. Slottje provided legal help to communities in the New York states against the efforts of oil and gas companies to practice fracking in their local lands. She assisted in passing local bans on fracking, starting in 2009 as a volunteer for a community group in Tompkins about gas drilling. More than 170 towns of the state have banned fracking due to Slottje's legal framework.  Photo credit: The Goldman Environmental Prize

27 10, 2014

Young Indigenous Nepalese Woman To Speak At the UN Climate Summit

2017-10-27T12:10:33-04:00Tags: |

Alina Saba, a young woman from the Indigenous Limbu community of eastern Nepal, spoke at the UN Climate Summit on 23 September, 2014. She discussed the destructive impacts  of climate change affecting Indigenous women in least developed countries like Nepal. Along with that, she explored common problems with  mainstream development paradigms and their impact on marginalized women, and suggested ways in which advocates can center women in climate solutions. Photo credit: Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development

27 10, 2014

Those Who Own Little, Live On Little Carry Highest Burden Of Climate Change

2017-10-31T16:22:47-04:00Tags: |

Alina Saba, a Limbu Indigenous woman from Nepal, was one of four candidates selected by United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service to speak at the UN Climate Summit in 2014. She was surprised to see kind of disparity between the developed world and developing world as soon as she entered New York City. Unfortunately, women comprise 70% of the world’s poor and contribute the least to climate change, yet they are facing the brunt of climate impacts. Even so, Saba has hope that locally-driven equitable systems for creating sustainable world (which require funding from stakeholders) can promote gender equality. Photo credit: Alina Saba

27 10, 2014

Alina Saba Of Nepal And Agnes Kinaka Of Papua New Guinea Reflect On Their Participation In UN Climate Summit

2017-10-27T12:02:40-04:00Tags: |

Alina Saba, a young Indigenous women from the Limbu Indigenous community in Nepal and Agnes Kinaka, a single mother from the Cataret Islands in Papua New Guinea, were supported to attend the 2014 UN Climate Summit in New York by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development. In this article, they reflect on the experience of speaking to Bolivian President Evo Morales and the Prime Minister of Tuvalu. Both passionately advocated that climate change is a social justice issue. Photo credit: Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development

27 10, 2014

Hands On: Women : Climate : Change – Women Seeking Solutions

2017-10-27T11:11:41-04:00Tags: |

Local women in four continents are redefining the narratives of tackling climate change in policy, protest, education and innovation. For instance, Maheshvari in South India delivers satellite information on weather conditions to help protect fishermen’s livelihoods. Similarly, Jasmine Thomas is supreme force in preventing efforts to build tar sands pipelines threatening water security. These women are working at the grassroots level not only to protect our environment, but also to create sustainable life for future generations. Photo credit: IAWRT

27 10, 2014

Can Annie Leonard Help Greenpeace Broaden Its Reach?

2017-10-27T02:12:16-04:00Tags: |

As Greenpeace’s executive director, Annie Leonard has spent years helping others see the ways in which economic inequality, women’s rights, civil rights and environmental justice are systemically linked. For Annie, it is important that ordinary people and individual activists everywhere move from the present paralysis brought about by the grim political reality and actively build a collective voice through re-politicizing the work of environmental justice and effective organizing work. Photo credit: Erin Lubin

27 10, 2014

Our Lives Are Not For Sale: Dawei Special Economic Zone Project

2017-10-27T00:55:03-04:00Tags: |

The Dawei Special Economic Zone Project, a joint industrial venture of Thailand and Burma, threatens the livelihoods of local families, particularly women. Since the inception of the project, women have been excluded from the decision-making processes, experienced sexual harassment by project workers and suffered from income loss, land confiscation and food insecurity. As DSEZ is in violation of the rights of the local communities as enshrined in various international conventions, including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Tavoyan women are taking action to protect their rights through public protests and collective opposition. Photo credit: Tavoyan Women's Union

26 10, 2014

What Does Genuine, Legitimate Participation By Women Look Like?

2017-10-26T23:16:25-04:00Tags: |

This powerful piece written from the frontlines of the People’s Climate Summit in Lima by Leny Olivera examines what authentic inclusion of women in the climate movement looks like. She offers a true-life example of a just transition to a sustainable and more inclusive system in the form of Community María Auxiliadora, in Bolivia. Furthermore, the author points to that inextricable link between extractive industries (or the causes of climate change) and the violence against and subjugation of women. Photo credit: The Democracy Center

26 10, 2014

Indigenous Women: Earth Defenders Speak Out From The Front Lines Of Climate Change

2017-11-01T00:11:21-04:00Tags: |

This event was hosted during the “Gender Day” by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network. The panel was comprised of Indigenous women from around the world who met to share their solutions to climate change. Speakers included Indigenous women leaders on the front lines of defending the Earth from exploitation by fossil fuel companies such as Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa; Sarayaku, Ecuador), her niece, Nina Gualinga, Tantoo Cardinal (Native Canadian from the tar sands region of Canada), Sonia Guajajara (state of Maranhão, Brazil), and Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation, Turtle Island, United States). They call us to resist and act against corporations and governments that keep on destroying Mother Earth as this is not only about Nature, it is our destruction as well. Photo credit: Democracy Now

25 10, 2014

Identifying Opportunities For Action On Climate Change And Sexual Health

2017-10-25T23:03:29-04:00Tags: |

This study released by Arrow, a women’s sexual and reproductive rights group, provides guidance for addressing gender equality as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the context of climate change. This study reveals that gender equality objectives are being mainstreamed and incorporated in national level adaptation plans and policies. However, the degree to which these gender equality objectives are being operationalised, through appropriate and sustained allocation of human and financial resources along with political leadership and commitment, remains uncertain. Arrow offers solutions such as continuing the collecting of data and information, building and adapting on existing progress, and supporting women seeking support in these matters.

29 09, 2014

Breaking The Gridlock Of Climate Change Negotiations: Learning From Allies

2017-10-16T23:37:08-04:00Tags: |

Women across the world are pushing back on the essentialist, NGO-ized, bureaucratic and technocratic narrative that permanently positions them as victims of climate change and in need of constant “capacity building” in order to rescue themselves from this tragedy. Women on the frontlines of climate change, such as peasant farmers or Indigenous women resisting mining operations on their lands, are not only providing radical solutions, but are also actively engaging within other cross-cutting justice movements and frameworks. Women have long understood the dangers of silo movements and politics, and in a world where their oppressions are increasingly interconnected, we need bolder transversal and transnational frameworks/movements for justice. Photo credit: WECAN International

29 09, 2014

Women March With The Message “No Climate Justice Without Gender Justice”

2017-06-19T21:47:52-04:00Tags: |

Women are on the front lines of climate justice advocacy, and they demonstrated their passion during the historic People’s Climate March in New York City. A diverse group of women and organizations gathered for the march and despite the diversity, one coherent message rings clear– there are inseparable links between the climate crisis, the prevailing economic model, and women’s marginalization. The depth of the movement and the strength of women’s voices are undeniable. Photo credit: Julie Gorecki

26 09, 2014

Mugal Women On What Climate Change Means For Indigenous People

2017-07-17T17:46:37-04:00Tags: |

The impacts of climate change, from melting glaciers to changing monsoons, have damaged crops and added to the daily work burdens of the Indigenous Mugal women of Nepal. Alina Saba of the Mugal Indigenous Women Upliftment Institute has worked for several years to document the impacts of climate change on Indigenous women through participatory action research, which facilitates women’s empowerment in both local and international advocacy for climate adaptation in their communities. Photo credit: Toma Lama

19 09, 2014

Kelsey Juliana On Climate Change: The Next Generation

2021-03-03T19:55:34-05:00Tags: |

In this video, 18 year-old Oregonian Kelsey Juliana is interviewed about her life-long journey of activism on climate change issues. Following in her parents’ environmental activist footsteps, she was invited by Our Children’s Trust to take part as co-plaintiff in a major lawsuit that could force the state of Oregon to take stronger action against carbon emissions, the cause of global warming and natural disasters. This legal strategy aims to protect the atmosphere based on the public trust doctrine developed by Mary Christina Wood in her book Nature’s Trust. Wood advocates that government should be accountable for any failure to protect the environment and resources that are held in public trust and needed for citizens to survive. Besides the legal route, Kelsey took part in the Great March for Climate Action across America, reaching Washington on 1st November for the UN global summit on climate. Video Capture: Bill Moyer

11 09, 2014

Voices Of Hope/Elizabeth Yeampierre: “There’s Nothing More Sustainable Than A Poor Person”

2023-04-16T16:28:45-04:00Tags: |

Elizabeth Yeampierre is a Puerto Rican attorney with African and Indigenous ancestry who has been an integral part of New York City's environmental justice efforts. She is highly experienced in community organizing, adaptation and resilience. At the Voices of Hope symposium, Yeampierre draws on her years of activism and lived experience to identify the biggest challenge to addressing the climate crisis: privilege. Throughout her speech, Yeampierre speaks to many ways in which power and privilege is hindering the transformative change to climate justice as well as solutions from the perspective of a frontline, grassroots level. Yeampierre poses questions for the listeners to reframe/redefine what they think of as community, place, potential, and being an American. 

8 05, 2014

Why Effective Climate Policy Needs Women

2017-10-16T23:39:50-04:00Tags: |

One of the most dangerous outcomes of climate change is the way in which it rapidly exacerbates the already existing inequalities and entrenching of toxic power relations especially between men and women. While it is laudable that the UNFCCC negotiations have integrated gender equity principles within the agreements, it is important that a robust understanding of women’s experiences in their totality in addition to rejecting essentialist tropes over their lives is the foundation for any meaningful outcome. The common ‘add and stir’ approach to gender justice work must be rejected. Photo credit: UN Photos/Martine Perret

23 04, 2014

Empowering Women In Renewable Energy: Interview With Rabia Ferroukhi

2017-10-22T00:10:27-04:00Tags: |

In this interview, Rabia Ferroukhi, senior policy advisor at the International Renewable Energy Agency, discusses how governments and businesses should amplify women’s participation in the renewable energy sector. She highlights how women—often suffering from extreme poverty—can gain relief from long hours of household labor, reduced vulnerability to indoor air pollution, and employment through renewable energy. She shares recent government efforts to enable women’s success, such as gender audits in the energy sector, access to funding and training, and gender equity in the labor market. Photo credit: IISD Reporting Services

1 03, 2014

Meet Some Of The Women Warriors Of Greenpeace USA

2017-11-01T03:48:15-04:00Tags: |

On International Women's Day, Greenpeace USA honored some of its powerful woman leaders. Deepa Isac, Deputy General Counsel, discusses being a lawyer and a woman of color who is working for climate justice, while Melissa Thompson, Senior Video Producer, explains how she got started as a videographer via the reproductive rights movement. Nicky Davies, Campaigns Director, discusses her work managing the entire campaign program of Greenpeace USA, while Amy Moas, Senior Forest Campaigner, reflects on her transition from academia to activism. Njambi Good, Grassroots Director, is committed to building people-power to counteract the negative influence of organized money, while Monica Embrey, North Carolina Field Organizer shares her experience advocating for justice to Duke Energy and Molly Dorozenski, Media Director, remembers battling the BP oil spill while being diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer. Photo credit: Jason Miczek/Greenpeace

3 02, 2014

Noelene Nabulivou’s Speech At The OWG 8 Morning Session: Oceans And Seas

2018-10-17T18:36:22-04:00Tags: |

Noelene Nabulivou, representative of the Diverse Voices and Action for Equality Fiji, DAWN, and the Women's Major Group, speaks to the eighth session of the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals in New York. She calls for urgent action on the impacts of global warming and environmental degradation on our oceans and seas. Nabulivou recommends a biosphere approach—recognizing the interconnectedness of air, land, and sea—to working on oceans and sustainable development. She also emphasizes the importance of gender equality, human rights, and effective governance.

11 12, 2013

An Interview With A Believer In Local Production, Distribution And Consumption

2017-08-26T10:54:40-04:00Tags: |

An anthropologist and environmentalist by profession, Reetu Sogani is a grassroots practitioner and activist in Himachal Pradesh, India. Her work focuses on promoting people’s rights over their natural resources via policy and advocacy, protecting cultural and biological diversity, and improving community food security. She hopes to develop alternatives to the current definition of “development” which endorses liberalization, globalization and privatization. She promotes the principle of local production using sustainable and organic methods, local distribution and local consumption as the way to combat climate change. Photo credit: 1 Million Women

7 12, 2013

Maldives Activist Says Democracy Is Essential For Credible Leadership On Fighting Climate Change

2017-12-07T18:06:50-05:00Tags: |

Thilmeeza Hussain of Voice of Women, Maldives, speaks with Between the Lines News during the International Women's Earth and Climate Initiative Summit on the connection between democracy, strong, free electoral systems, and climate leadership. Thilmeeza reflects on the toppling of the Maldives first democratic government, and what this has meant for the country's ability to respond to pressing climate impacts. Photo credit: Between the Lines

29 10, 2013

Women At CSW 57 Confronting Unsustainable Development

2017-10-29T01:12:29-04:00Tags: |

During the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, feminists from all over the world raised their concerns about environmental degradation due to unsustainable production and consumption. For instance, in Guatemala, according to Norma Maldonado from NGO Tierra Verde, Indigenous women are deprived of their basic right to enjoy life because they have to walk long hours in order to get the drinking water primarily because extractive/mining industries are using their water recklessly. Isis Alvarez, young environmentalist from the Global Forest Coalition in Colombia, raised the issue of growing agro fuels in Latin America, which is impacting rural and Indigenous women. Similarly, Elina Doszhanova, a Kazakh woman from the NGO Social-EcoFun, observed that the nuclear arms race is poisoning the land of Kazakhstan in context of radiation and uranium mining. Lastly, Noelene Nabulivou of Development Alternatives for a New Era (DAWN) and DIVA for Equality in Fiji called for strong action against unsustainable development and violence against women in every form impacting women of the world.

29 10, 2013

Lessons From The Women Who Are Leading The Sustainable Cities Movement

2017-10-29T00:56:44-04:00Tags: |

Young women are holding the reigns of sustainable transformation in municipal government. Via associations like the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, women are coming together to share best practices. Gayle Prest, Sustainability Director for the City of Minneapolis, and fellow leaders Susan Torriente (Fort Lauderdale) and Vicki Bennet (Salt Lake) describe commonalities in their work using local cultural norms and habits to introduce sustainability. Photo credit: Grist/Shuttershock

29 10, 2013

Patricia Siemen At TEDxJacksonville: The Rights Of Nature

2017-10-29T00:11:26-04:00Tags: |

Patricia Siemen is a Dominican Sister from Adrian, Michigan and a civil attorney licensed in the states of Florida and Michigan. She argues that just as human rights are protected by legal systems, the rights of the rest of creation must be protected by Earth jurisprudence. She also explains that human rights cannot cancel out the rights of other beings. Siemen proposes to grant basic rights for all Earth’s systems and creatures such as the right to exist, to habitat and to flourish. Photo credit: TEDxJacksonville

27 10, 2013

Interview With Carmen Capriles of Reacción Climática, Bolivia

2017-10-27T16:18:14-04:00Tags: |

Senior Advisor on Climate and Energy at WECF, Claire Greensfelder interviews Carmen Capriles,the co-founder of Reacción Climática, an NGO in Bolivia that focuses on raising awareness to climate change locally and engages mostly young people in climate action. Capriles talks about her path as a young activist in college and her partnership with 350.org before founding Reacción Climática. Her organization understands the importance of the more vulnerable groups to climate change, such as indigenous peoples, youth, and women, and acts on it by conducting research at the COPs and on the ground in Bolivia.

27 10, 2013

Interview With Nino Gamisonia On Experience As Woman Leader In Georgia

2017-10-27T16:16:58-04:00Tags: |

This is an interview by Claire Greensfeld, Senior Advisor on Climate and Energy at WECF, with Nino Gamisonia, from Georgia. Gamisonia works for the Rural Communities Development Agency (RCDA), which focuses on agriculture, and was founded by her father. She mentions RCDA's projects with partners such as WECF and the United Nations Development Programme. Nino Gamisonia talks about the impacts of climate change in Georgia and the experience of being at COP19 in Warsaw.

27 10, 2013

Interview With Olga Djanaeva Of ALGA

2017-10-27T16:14:58-04:00Tags: |

This is an interview by Claire Greensfeld, Senior Advisor on Climate and Energy at WECF, with Olga Djanaeva, from Kyrgyzstan. She is co-founder and director of the organization ALGA, which means "Moving Forward, Being Ahead" which she helped found when women from her village got together and decided to create something so they could share their own problems and improve each other's lives. ALGA works on Sustainable Livelihoods and has succeeded in securing land rights for women and starting  a programme for rural women to get loans for their small enterprises.

27 10, 2013

Statement for Endorsement: We Will Not be Mainstreamed Into A Polluted Stream: Feminist Statement On The 2015 Development Agenda, Bonn 22 March 2013

2017-10-27T15:57:17-04:00Tags: |

This statement was read at the international conference on “Advancing the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda: Reconfirming Rights – Recognising Limits – Redefining Goals” where several gender focused organizations from around the globe cautioned against the creation of another set of goals that ignore the changes required to address the failure of the modern development system which exacerbates gender, race and class inequities. They called for the enactment of new policies that recognize the unequal burdens of women and girls in sustaining societal well-being and economies.

27 10, 2013

We Won’t Solve Climate Change Without Women’s Knowledge

2017-10-27T15:16:30-04:00Tags: |

Katrina Rabeler published this piece in Yes! Magazine and explains why society cannot hope to mitigate the impacts of climate change if they ignore women’s voices. Women’s rights and equality go hand-in-hand with implementing climate policies, she argues. On one hand, women are often primary victims of climate and natural disasters; on the other hand they also have greater control over sustainable economies through their purchasing power as consumers. Women’s ideas of solutions  position them to assist in developing a more sustainable future for everyone and thus their voices cannot be ignored. Photo credit: Pablo Tosco/Oxfam/Flickr

26 10, 2013

Indigenous Women Changemakers: Vicky Tauli-Corpuz

2017-10-26T16:55:27-04:00Tags: |

In this radio interview hosted by Cultural Survival, Vicky Tauli-Corpuz of the Igorot Kankanaey Indigenous community discusses her work as UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and formerly the Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. She shares her experience resisting projects of then-president Ferdinand Marcos, including stopping the construction of the Chico River Hydroelectric Dam. She encourages Indigenous activists to reach out to international community and demand Indigenous rights so they can maintain their communities and cultures.

15 10, 2013

Women In The World: Interview With Rosemary Enie

2017-10-16T23:42:30-04:00Tags: |

Rosemary Enie is a Cameroonian geologist and director of Women’s Environment Climate Action Network (WECAN), based in Tanzania. Enie works to make the connections between economic, socio-cultural rights and ecological justice, and for her, just like countless other women environmental activists, there is no climate justice without gender justice. As an African woman living on the continent, she sees firsthand the devastation that climate change is leaving and the growing need for a global solidarity of women committed to robust and holistic ideas of justice that not only center women’s lives and experiences but that also put them in the driver’s seat of these solutions. Photo credit: 1 Million Women

6 10, 2013

Kenyan Women Become Champions For Climate Change Policy

2017-10-16T23:09:37-04:00Tags: |

Kenya’s rural women are undergoing serious challenges around the changing climate, especially in the area of food production. The Kenya Climate Justice Women Champions (KCJWC), a non-profit organization, is working tirelessly to not only offer a space for Kenyan women to understand better the issues around climate change, they are also engaging at the national policy level by recruiting Kenyan women parliamentarians to champion climate-related policies that will benefit Kenyan women. Photo credit: Isaiah Esipisu

27 09, 2013

Women Of The World Call For Urgent Action On Climate Change And Sustainability Solutions

2017-10-27T11:36:02-04:00Tags: |

From September 20th-23rd, 2013, women leaders from over 35 countries gathered in New York to craft a Women’s Climate Action Agenda at the first International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit.On this episode of Voice of America Go Green Radio, Founder and Co-Director of the International Women’s Earth and Climate Initiative, Osprey Orielle Lake, discusses the insights gleaned from this meeting of grassroots women. For example, approximately 60-80 percent of food production in developing countries can be attributed to women. Since agriculture is a very essential key point in climate change, integrating women in the whole process is important to recognize the motivations and challenges faced by women every day. The concrete solutions to tackle the climate change from feminist perspectives are radical ones, with women coming together to heal the disconnect between the head and heart.

25 09, 2013

Women And Climate Change: Supporting And Uplifting Women In Africa

2017-10-25T23:10:33-04:00Tags: |

In this compelling interview, Thom Hartmann, Osprey Orielle Lake and Rosemary Enie of Women’s Earth and Climate Action discuss the impact of climate change on women in Africa after the International Women's Earth and Climate Summit (2013). Women bare the brunt of the work when it comes to food and agriculture, as well as water and the growing cases of environmental changes, such as desertification, only increase the risks women face on a daily basis. Lake and Enie call for women to be seen as agents of change, rather than being seen as victims. Photo credit: The Big Picture RT

7 09, 2013

Why Are Women Left Out Of Climate Change Policy Making?

2017-12-07T18:05:06-05:00Tags: |

The first International Women’s Earth and Climate Initiative Summit, organized by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, brought to the forefront vital questions about women’s leadership in climate decision making. Over 100 women leaders collaborated to draft a Women’s Climate Action Agenda, which addressed women’s disproportionate climate vulnerability, and explores the ways women are taking action to build strong solutions in response.  Photo credit: Oxfam Hong Kong

6 09, 2013

Female Leaders Gather At Summit To Push For Action On Climate Change

2017-12-06T14:36:48-05:00Tags: |

NBC News reports on the International Women's Earth and Climate Initiative summit, which united women from 35 countries for a multi-day summit to build strength, strategize and share stories and plans for women-led action on climate change. Osprey Orielle Lake, representing the event organizer, the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, shares analysis on women and climate as an ‘untold story’, which holds vital solutions to address both environmental and social degradation. The work of summit participants, including renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams, marine biologist Sylvia Earle, former Brazilian Minister of Environment Marina Silva, and leaders from the Global Gender Climate Alliance and the Women's Environment and Development Organization, are highlighted.

23 08, 2013

African Regional Meeting On Gender And Climate Change

2017-10-16T23:31:57-04:00Tags: |

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has organized n recent years regional meetings on gender and climate change, bringing together policy-makers, gender practitioners and negotiators in order to share capacity and knowledge over these intersections. These meetings most importantly cover gender equality in the context of climate change, the pitfalls and possibilities of gender mainstreaming strategies within the UNFCCC platform and finally, how to develop better tools, knowledge and research to specifically support African women’s work on climate-related matters. Photo credit: WECAN International

27 04, 2013

International Women’s Earth And Climate Summit Declares Climate Emergency

2017-10-27T12:00:02-04:00Tags: |

The International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit declared climate emergency at the first International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit held in Suffern, New York. Over 100 women from the northern and southern hemisphere came together to discuss the solutions to prevent climate change at the local and international level. There are major hurdles to overcome in preventing climate change, such as the tar sands in Canada and gas pipelines like the Keystone XL in the United States.

16 04, 2013

Lori Gibbs Advocated For Health, Against Toxic Dumping For Decades

2017-07-20T17:32:43-04:00Tags: |

Lois Gibbs’ children started showing signs of illness after her family moved to Love Canal, New York and attended a school built above a landfill and toxic waste site. Gibbs mobilized the community in order to demand for fair compensation and cleanup, and formed the Center for Health, Environment and Justice to help communities advocate for themselves to industry and the government. Photo credit: Associated Press

24 01, 2013

Pacific Women In Climate Change – Meet Ms. Ashwini Prabha From Fiji

2018-01-24T11:59:50-05:00Tags: |

Ashwini Prabha, currently International Communication Coordinator for the Climate Action Network, has worked with various non-governmental organizations and efforts, including National Geographic Magazine, the Ministry of Agriculture (Fiji), the United Nation Development Program, and Worldwide Life. After giving birth to her son Mana, she started working as consultant from home, developing climate change communication strategies, campaigns, articles and media-skills trainings for various organization. Photo Credit: SPREP

1 01, 2013

AWEPON Advocates For Gender And Climate Justice In Africa

2017-09-13T11:18:46-04:00Tags: |

The African Women’s Economic Policy Network (AWEPON), which is also an executive member of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) has been organizing climate change tribunals aimed at contributing to debates and dialogues of the Conference of the Parties (COP) in different community spaces in Africa and with a diverse audience of key groups such as women, youth and persons with disabilities. AWEPON’s work continues to be instrumental in making visible locally and nationally the dialogues and processes held in international policy spaces such as the UNFCCC. Photo credit: AWEPON

7 12, 2012

Asian Indigenous Women’s Strategy on Forest/Land Tenure and Climate Change

2017-12-07T18:00:04-05:00Tags: |

Indigenous women from across Asia, such as Norairri Thoungmuengthong of the Karen community in Thailand, are leading and encouraging fellow women in efforts to manage and protect local forests, through the reclaiming of their voice in local politics, where they are pushing for policies and initiatives that support both sustainable traditional harvesting practices and economies, and regenerative forests for climate stability and generations to come. This report from Rights and Resources Initiative shares handful of case studies demonstrating how Asian Indigenous women are protecting their lands, forests and community rights through growing involvement in local and international politics. Photo credit: Rights + Resources

5 12, 2012

Vandana Shiva: Everything I Need To Know I Learned In The Forest

2017-06-20T07:37:11-04:00Tags: |

Vandana Shiva is an internationally-renowned activist for biodioversity and against corporate globalization. Vandana has been responding to deforestation and attacks on nature since the 1970s, when peasant women in her region of the Himalayas rose up together in defense of their forest. Logging in the area led to landslides, floods, and scarcity of water and fuel, with the burden falling heavily on local women. Since that time, Vandana says that biodiversity and biodiversity-based living economies became her life’s mission, acting as a documentarian and activist, spreading the message that the failure to understand biodiversity and its many functions is at the root of the impoverishment of nature and culture. Photo credit: Suzanne Lee

1 11, 2012

Beverly Wright: Justice And Equity In The Face Of Climate Change

2017-11-01T18:01:56-04:00Tags: |

Beverly Wright is the Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. A powerful environmental justice advocate, she spoke to about justice and equity in relationship to climate change at the Commission for Environmental Cooperation's (CEC) Joint Public Advisory Committee workshop entitled "Resilient Communities in North America" in New Orleans. Photo credit: CECweb

1 11, 2012

La Via Campesina Booklet: Stop The Violence Against Women

2017-11-01T00:48:30-04:00Tags: |

Within the Global Campaign to End Violence Against Women, started in 2008 by La Via Campesina, this booklet on violence against women, available for downloading, was produced. It aims at informing and sharing discussions, events and progress from the campaign and offers a guide to understanding what violence against women is, what kind of attitude can consist in violence against women, what kind of consequences it has, and also how this appears and happens within the agribusiness and capitalist systems. Finally, it also debates ways of fighting to end gender violence. Photo credit: La Via Campesina

31 10, 2012

Queen Quet Steps Away From The Keyboard To Become Gullah/Geechee Head Of State

2017-10-31T22:36:54-04:00

After earning her degrees in math and computer science at Columbia University and Fordham University, Queen Quet though she would spend her life in front of a computer. However, she felt pulled to preserve the culture and people of her native Gullah/Geechee Nation on St. Helena Island in South Carolina. In 1996, Quet founded the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, and she spoke at the United Nations in Geneva about Gullah/Geechee human rights and land protection issues. She was elected as head pun de bodee and official spokesperson for the newly established Gullah/Geechee Nation in 2000. These days she is a powerful woman leader in her community, speaking about the convergence of Indigenous peoples' rights and climate justice. Photo credit: Charleston City Paper

29 10, 2012

Momentum For Change: Women for Results

2017-10-29T00:36:36-04:00Tags: |

The United Nations project Momentum for Change: Women for Results is recognizing the necessary leadership and significance of  women’s climate solution-based initiatives, and shares several examples in this video, from El Salvador, Colombia, Morocco, and Guinea -  amplifying the reality of women as catalysts to mitigating genuine environmental sustainability, while also advocating for the scaling up and replication of their successful projects. Photo credit: Momentum for Change: Women for Results

27 10, 2012

Governments Gamble With Our Future; South Feminists Demand Responsible Action Now

2017-10-31T15:44:25-04:00Tags: |

Even though the Rio principles are reaffirmed at Rio+20, the outcome is imbalanced regarding sustainable development without sufficient attention to gender, social justice and women’s rights. In addition, systemic inequities and economic growth are prioritized over ecology and equity. Feminists in the global South demand the governments to start addressing the structural transformations that are required in order to move towards an efficient sustainable development.

27 10, 2012

Recognize The Strength Of Women And Girls In Reducing Disaster Risks

2017-10-27T14:46:09-04:00Tags: |

Women are usually represented or portrayed as “victims” of disasters, ignoring their ability to contribute to risk reduction. With the increasing vulnerabilities in South East Asia, especially Vietnam, it is important to recognize the women as active agent in coping strategy of Climate change by competent authorities. This book from UN Women aims to spread the awareness about how woman had been and is acting as Change maker. Photo credit:  United Nations in Vietnam/Doan Bao Chau, Aidan Dockery

19 10, 2012

Women At The Frontline Of Climate Change: Gender Risks And Hopes

2017-10-19T23:06:31-04:00Tags: |

An analysis of power relations is key to understanding just how women in the various spaces they occupy are both disproportionately affected by climate change but are also actively defying the gendered stereotype of ‘victimhood’ by providing leadership over this crisis in ways that subvert both patriarchy and capitalist economies. Photo credit: GRID Arendal

17 10, 2012

Food Rebel Annie Novak Of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm

2023-03-29T12:20:36-04:00Tags: |

The cofounder and head farmer at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn, New York, Annie Novak acknowledges the importance of urban farming and its mass revitalization seen in recent years. Novak explains the ways putting soil back into an urban environment can radically transform the community, and the ways in which local farming initiatives have the capacity to further connect residents to themselves, their greater community, and their food systems. Photo Credit: FoodForwardTV

11 10, 2012

This Environmental Activist Is Taking The Canadian Government To Court

2017-07-17T18:04:59-04:00Tags: |

Crystal Lameman, a member of the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation, Canada, feels a powerful responsibility to speak out against the exploitation of oil sands on her people's land. Crystal’s advocacy efforts have succeeded in holding the Canadian federal government responsible for lands usurped by the oil and tar sands industry. The Beaver Lake Cree Nation has filed a statement of claim taking the Government of Canada to court for over 17,000 treaty violations and have been granted a trial, establishing an important precedent for First Nations communities in Canada. Photo credit: Nobel Women’s Initiative

31 08, 2012

Women Spend 40 Billion Hours Collecting Water

2017-10-31T19:25:53-04:00Tags: |

According to the U.N. Development Programme, women in sub-Saharan Africa collectively spend an average of 200 million hours per day and 40 billion hours per year collecting water. Although women perform most water-related tasks, their participation in decision-making processes on water and food management remains very low. Lakshmi Puri, deputy executive director of U.N. Women, discusses projects in sub-Saharan Africa and other areas aimed at reducing women’s water-carrying burdens and expanding their participation in policy making.

18 06, 2012

Women’s Major Group Members At Rio+20 Call For End To Nuclear Power

2017-10-24T19:39:26-04:00Tags: |

Makiko Imai of the Japan Civil Network for the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, Sascha Gabizon of Women in Europe for a Common Future, Kaisha Atakhanova of the Social-Ecological Fund of Kazakhstan, Svetlana Slesarenok of the Black Sea Women’s Club of Odessa, Ukraine, and Christine von Weizsäcker of Ecoropa are among the representatives of the Women’s Major Group at Rio+20 advocating for an end to nuclear power and the irreversible harm of radioactive materials, and pushing for an international commitment to safe, clean energy development.

25 04, 2012

In Japan, A Mothers’ Movement Against Nuclear Power

2017-07-17T23:39:00-04:00Tags: |

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japanese mothers are leading the anti-nuclear movement in Japan, challenging norms about Japanese women and social activism in the process. The mothers regularly organize marches, petition government officials, fast, and hold months-long sit-ins and other public actions. Photo credit: Olivia Sydney Fine  

1 04, 2012

Noelene Nabulivou Analyzes The Concept of Additionality In Climate Change Responses

2017-09-24T18:14:18-04:00Tags: |

Noelene Nabulivou, Executive Committee Member of DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era), questions the climate response systems in the Pacific in terms of their ignorance of human rights as a key factor of climate justice. Noelene presents DAWN's project, called GEEJ (Gender Economic and Ecological Justice), which consists of trainings and consultations on gender and development in the Pacific, Africa, Latin America, Caribbean and Asia. The author of the article points to the paradox of women acting as leaders of advocacy campaigns on climate change, yet being subjected to violence and the lack of access to basic rights such as sanitation. Gender equality needs to be mainstreamed in every aspect of climate policy. Photo Credit: WECAN International

1 12, 2011

Climate Wise Women: Meet Ursula Rakova

2017-07-17T18:15:09-04:00Tags: |

An Indigenous member of the Carteret Islands in the Southwestern Pacific, Ursula Rakova works as the Executive Director of Tulele Peisa ("Sailing the waves on our own") in Papua New Guinea, relocating the entire island community of the Carterets to the nearby mainland of Bougainville because of the severe impacts of climate change. Following the call of her Elders, Ursula is telling the world what is happening to her island and her community because of climate change. Photo credit: Climate Wise Women

2 11, 2011

Fisherwomen’s Adaptation Strategies In Rural Sri Lanka

2017-11-02T00:15:08-04:00Tags: |

The findings of research conducted by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) in the Puttalam and the Kalmunai districts of Sri Lanka explore the consequences of social and cultural barriers fisherwomen face while adapting to climate change. The rise of ocean water, loss of biodiversity and extreme weather conditions have compelled fisherwomen to look for strategies for their family’s survival, such as using available resources to prevent water intrusion in their land. A major barrier to adaptation is the lack of knowledge about climate change, lack of women leaders at the local and national levels, and the limitations of gender roles. Photo credit: Use Default

1 11, 2011

Silent Forests And Famine In East Africa

2017-11-01T03:22:23-04:00Tags: |

In this piece, Nobel Prize winner, Green Belt Movement leader and feminist Wangari Maathai discusses the tendency of the REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiative to promote the planting of exotic trees at the expense of indigenous varieties. Maathai argues that as indigenous forests regulate climate and rainfall patterns, and as the destruction of the world's indigenous forests is responsible for emitting about 17% of climate-warming carbon dioxide, governments should take more care to promote the conservation of indigenous forests to properly respond to climate change. This action is crucial not just maintaining indigenous forests, but also to preserving the livelihoods of rural and forest-dependent people around the world. Photo credit: Ken Oloo/Red Cross and Red Crescent/HO/EPA

1 11, 2011

Launch In Africa Of The Vía Campesina Campaign Condemning Violence Against Women

2017-11-01T01:18:39-04:00Tags: |

The African peasant members of La Via Campesina gathered during the 2011 World Social Forum, in Dakar, Senegal, to launch an African campaign of the international movement to fight violence against women, originally launched in 2008. Women farmers, besides suffering from the violence women face on a daily basis, also face social and economic exclusion and oppression. Being a farmer’s movement, the campaign in Africa set out to conduct activities regional and nationally at the legal advocacy level, to ensure legal protection for women, raise awareness regarding violence against women, strengthen partnerships in multiple levels, especially with the World Women’s March, and claim more female participation in political and public processes. Photo credit: La Via Campesina

30 10, 2011

Ulamila Kurai Wragg – Gender Justice And Global Climate Change Research Network Interview

2017-10-30T20:58:27-04:00Tags: |

Ulamila Kurai Wragg, Executive Coordinator of the Pacific Gender Climate Coalition, argues that it is important to include gender impacts within climate change responses to ensure that both men and women have the capacity to cope with consequences of climate change. Apart from negotiating with UNFCCC along with her government, she also ensures new policies capture the participation of both men and women. Photo credit: Rock Ethics Institute

30 10, 2011

Sharmind Neelormi – Gender Justice And Global Climate Change Research Network Interview

2017-10-30T20:56:52-04:00Tags: |

Sharmind Neelormi, an Associate Professor at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, argues in this interview with the Gender Justice and Global Climate Change Research Network that to create meaningful climate policy, it is important to include women and marginalized people. Neelormi works on action-oriented research, reviewing climate change papers with a gender lens and advocating for the rights of female farmers with special focus on food security. She is also promoting gender-sensitive adaptation strategies at the community level and plays an active role in Gender CC. According to her, capacity-building and education are sure to promote sustainability. Photo credit: Rock Ethics Institute

30 10, 2011

Meet Climate Wise Woman, Thilmeeza Hussain, Co-Founder Of Voice Of Women

2017-10-30T20:44:16-04:00Tags: |

Thilmeeza Hussain, Deputy Permanent Representative to the Permanent Mission of the Maldives to the UN, is a young woman bringing the voice of a new generation of women in developing world who see climate change as a fundamental obstacle for their future well-being. She has also served as the Minister of State for Home Affairs - North Province of the Maldives. She believes is also co founder of the   non-governmental organization “Voice of Women.” Photo credit: Climate Wise Women

27 10, 2011

Project Survival Media Reports On Women, Gender, and Climate Change

2017-10-27T12:19:53-04:00Tags: |

Maria Theresa Lauron, a member of People’s Movement on Climate Change from the Philippines, worries that despite efforts by the Green Climate Fund, low funding may still deter developing countries to act on climate change. Anju Sharma, a member of International Institute for Environment and Development, and  Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a member of the Indigenous Peoples Africa Coordinating Committee from Chad, promote the necessity for money to aid in the implementation of gender-sensitive policies, not simply workshop or trainings. Photo credit: Project Survival Media

26 10, 2011

DAWN Advocates Against Land Grabbing With Pacific Allies

2017-11-01T23:29:58-04:00Tags: |

The women-led organisation Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) draws attention to the illegal land-grabbing for logging by the private sector in Papua New Guineau and advocates for strong public pressure to bring justice for landowners and communities.

28 06, 2011

Women Excluded From Climate Change Projects In Africa, UN Experts Warn

2017-09-24T18:47:10-04:00Tags: |

While millions of dollars are being provided in Africa for climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, the majority of it is being allocated to financing large-scale technology and infrastructure projects, which are traditionally male-dominated sectors in the formal economy, while little trickles into small-scale projects that directly benefit women and their livelihoods in the informal economy. This situation then runs the possibility of exacerbating already existing inequalities that climate change perpetuates, for as long as these policy decisions keep being made. Photo credit: Jacob Silverberg/Getty Images

20 11, 2010

Strengthening Policy On Gender, Economic And Climate Justice In Africa

2017-11-14T21:34:10-05:00Tags: |

Third World Network-Africa (TWN-Africa) and Development Alternatives With Women for a New Era (DAWN) organized a regional consultation and training institute on the intersections of gender, economy and ecological justice in Accra, Ghana. As the deepening food, energy, financial and climate crisis since the 2007 global economic recession has hit African women particularly hard, this meeting analyzed the expressions of these structural distortions and the potential for African women to work for the creation of a more equitable continent. Photo credit: WECAN International

27 10, 2010

Lynn Henning Exposes Factory Farm Pollution

2017-10-27T16:21:57-04:00Tags: |

Lynn Henning is the recipient of the 2010 Goldman Prize, from North America. Henning is an activist who successfully exposed livestock factory farms that pollute the land and water in Michigan. She first started as a volunteer for the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club, and was able to call on the state government to deal with the issue of water quality violations in these farms, as well as officials from the Environmental Protection Agency. Photo credit: The Goldman Environmental Prize

27 10, 2010

Thuli Makama Stands For Public Voice In Swaziland Environmental Policy

2017-10-27T14:40:35-04:00Tags: |

Thuli Makama, Executive Director of Yonge Nawe Environmental Action Group, struggled for three years to include NGO representation in the Swaziland Environmental Authority. Swaziland, landlocked by South Africa and Mozambique, has unique mountain geography and population. An amendment in the Swaziland Environment Authority Act of 1992 damaged the spirit of public participation spirit when NGO representation was outlawed. Makama challenged this amendment in High Court of Swaziland and won the case after three years of rigorous legal battle. Photo credit: Goldman Environmental Prize

24 01, 2010

Statement On Gender, Economic And Ecological Justice By Young Africa Women Activists

2018-01-24T12:17:06-05:00Tags: |

Young African women played an important role in the “African Women’s Decade”, including through a gathering of women activist in Accra, Ghana for the Regional Consultation and Training on Gender, Economic and Environmental Justice. As part of the 5 year anniversary of the Maputo Protocol around women’s rights, the women participants issues a statement raising calls for inclusion of sexual rights, and urged the national legislations to adopt inclusive and sustainable strategies to prevent climate change. Lastly, they demanded from different governments to ensure women’s right to land and property, and end discriminatory practices and laws around land rights.

12 01, 2010

Wangari Maathai And The Green Belt Movement

2018-01-12T14:45:20-05:00Tags: |

Wangari Maathai, Nobel Prize Winner, Kenyan environmentalist and political activist founded Maathai Foundation in 1970s. Challenges like governance didn’t deter her. She started with changing and collaborating with decision making bodies to successful build the momentum of environmental conservation and reducing poverty. The Green Belt Movement she helped to develop trains rural women to grow tree seedlings for reforestation efforts. Gakanga Tree Planting site, Central Province, Kenya is one such example where the barren land was turned into lush green valley due to the efforts of the Green Belt Movement. Not only has this movement increased the amount of greenery and biodiversity, but it has also helped the people to generate income by planting and living in relationship with the trees. Photo Credit: Strides in Development

1 11, 2009

Goldman Environmental Prize Winner Olga Speranskaya Of Russia Protecting People And Land From Toxic Waste

2017-11-01T02:45:20-04:00Tags: |

Olga Speranskaya is a Russian scientist and Director of the Chemical Safety Program at the Eco-Accord Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (Eco-Accord). She leads a coalition of organizations, government representatives and academics in 11 countries from the former Soviet Union. This network is focused on identifying and eliminating toxic chemicals from the environment and diminishing exposure that can harm people’s health. Her campaign works towards a toxic-free environment and convinced nine national governments to accept the Stockholm Convention forbidding the dumping of pollutants into the environment. Photo credit: The Goldman Environmental Prize

30 10, 2009

Women And Climate Change: Vulnerabilities And Adaptive Capacities

2017-10-30T21:11:11-04:00Tags: |

In this article, International Union for the Conservation of Nature gender adviser Lorena Aguilar describes how climate change impacts are unevenly distributed across gender lines, and how women are key agents of change. Grassroots women are important drivers of community revitalization, natural resource management, forest preservation, and sustainable agricultural practices. The Global Gender and Climate Alliance aims to better integrate a gender-responsive framework in global, regional, and local climate discussions and decision-making.

30 10, 2009

Constance Okollet Of Uganda: Climate Change Is Killing Our People

2017-10-30T20:55:05-04:00Tags: |

Constance Okollet, Chairperson of the Osukuru United Women's Network in Eastern Uganda, writes about how increasing temperatures are eroding the consistent pattern of seasons in Uganda. Natural disasters like floods are destroying villages at unprecedented rate, making Ugandans vulnerable to diseases like malaria and diarrhea. She notes that with the help of Oxfam, she is now part of women’s group where she can advocate for swift action on climate change to global leaders.

27 10, 2009

Rizwana Hasan Leads Legal Fight To Protect Bangladesh Marine Ecosystems

2017-10-27T16:27:09-04:00Tags: |

Rizwana Hasan is a recipient of the 2009 Goldman Prize, from Asia, more specifically, Bangladesh. Hasan is an environmental attorney who led a legal fight about the issues of ship breaking, a common practice in her country, including toxic contamination of the waters and health threats for the thousands of workers in this industry. Hasan is the executive director of the public interest law firm Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association. Photo credit: The Goldman Environmental Prize.

11 10, 2009

After Hurricane Katrina, Sharon Henshaw Founded Coastal Women For Change

2017-05-07T10:16:02-04:00Tags: |

Sharon Henshaw became a leader on climate change after Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home, her beauty parlour, and the homes and livelihoods of her neighbours. Henshaw and several dozen women met regularly to discuss how to meet the community’s needs in the context of climate change and the increased risk of natural disasters. They founded Coastal Woman for Change, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the community and the local economy recover, providing emergency preparedness training and gaining government support. 

24 09, 2009

Women, Gender Equality And Climate Change

2017-09-24T18:36:59-04:00Tags: |

UN WomenWatch is getting the facts right with this gender and climate change information sheet. Acting as a digital gateway for issues of women’s empowerment and gender equality, UN WomenWatch educates about how gender justice is dependent on climate justice. They advocate for the necessity of gender focused solutions to the impacts of climate change, especially in the domains of agriculture, food security, biodiversity, human settlements, and migration patterns — all arenas where global warming hits women the hardest. Women as drivers and leaders of energy and new technology and adaptation are fundamental in closing the gap between these climate and gender-related inequalities. Photo credit: UN WomenWatch

3 08, 2009

Women’s Participation Will Be Important For Influencing Climate Change

2017-10-16T23:21:04-04:00Tags: |

Liberian president President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf hosted a high-level meeting, the International Colloquium on Women’s Leadership, whose purpose was to strengthen women’s leadership particularly in Africa. The meeting adopted a call to action on gender and climate change which calls upon governments, non-governmental organizations, citizens and other stakeholders to create an enabling environment for women’s participation in the decision making levels on climate related issues as well as support women’s existing roles as climate leaders in their homes, communities and public spaces at large. Photo credit:  WECAN International

1 11, 2008

Declaration Of The Third Assembly Of The Women Of La Via Campesina

2017-11-01T00:46:57-04:00Tags: |

During the fifth International Conference of the La Via Campesina, in Maputo, Mozambique, 2008, women from all over the world gathered to make a joint declaration. In this text, they reaffirm their fight against gender norms that violate the human dignity of women worldwide - as well as the neoliberal economic system that perpetuates such practices, which affect women and girls in rural areas the most. Not only that, but they also claim their right to nondiscrimination and their sexual and reproductive rights. The women of the Via Campesina commit themselves to reach a violence-free rural world, with justice, solidarity and with food security. Photo credit: La Via Campesina

19 10, 2008

Gender Perspectives: Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction Into Climate Change Adaptation

2017-10-19T23:23:59-04:00Tags: |

This reports highlights two main issues: the ways in which women in the developing world and on the frontlines of the climate crisis feel the impacts of climate change, and the positive change these women are  making in their communities. The report challenges the stereotypes that permanently place women as victims without agency, and emphasizes the importance of crafting and resourcing disaster risk reduction policies that put women firmly as solution providers. Photo credit: WECAN International

1 11, 2005

Kaisha Atakhanova Challenged A Government Plan To Import And Store Foreign Radioactive Waste In Kazakhstan

2017-11-01T01:57:37-04:00Tags: |

Founder and director of the Karaganda Ecological Center, an organization that promotes citizen democratic processes and environmental protection, Kaisha Atakhanova is a biologist that led a campaign to prevent a legislation that would have allowed nuclear waste to be imported commercially in Kazakhstan. Atakhanova organized a network of over 60 NGOs to fight the legislation and organized the campaign that stopped it from happening. With her efforts, the visibility of nuclear contamination issues increased and Kazakh civil society was strengthened. Photo credit: The Goldman Environmental Prize

8 01, 2005

Gender Equality And State Environmentalism

2025-01-25T11:39:57-05:00Tags: |

In this empirical study from a large sample of nation-states, Kari Norgaard and Richard York analyse the correlation between gender equality within state organs of government and state environmental policy. They find that countries with greater gender equality and women in power (e.g. government, parliament) are more likely to support ecological protection and ratify international environmental treaties. The authors posit that gender and eco-feminist theories can help better understand state environmentalism, and inform the relationship between society and nature more positively. Since women tend to be more risk-averse, engage in social movements and suffer disproportionately from environmental disasters, the authors argue that gender equality and pro-environmental values could be factors for ecological reforms. They conclude that feminist theories can contribute greatly to further empirical work on environmental sociology, and that global environmental efforts would be more effectively supported through elevating the status and representation of women in politics. 

1 11, 1997

Terri Swearingen Recieves Goldman Environmental Prize For Waste Safety Work

2017-11-01T01:50:08-04:00Tags: |

Terri Swearingen is a former nurse and environmental activist who, since the 1990s, has been fighting against waste incinerators industries, bringing about many important changes regarding environmental safety and waste management throughout the United States. Through her fight against the company Waste Technologies Industry (WTI) in Ohio, she and the Tri-State Environmental Council, a grassroots coalition of citizens from three states that she co-founded, are given credit for bringing attention to the debate about waste incinerators, prompting the governor of Ohio, the EPA, Congress and even the Clinton administration to start reviewing waste incineration laws and rules. Photo credit: The Goldman Environmental Prize

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