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19 11, 2025

Women-led innovation and climate solutions take center stage at COP30

2026-05-25T23:24:06-04:00Tags: , |

A session titled “Women: Voices that Guide the Future” took place as part of the Action Agenda’s program at COP30 on November 19th. The event featured a video showcasing the progress and results of the “Voices of the Biomes” project, an initiative dedicated to capturing the stories of women leading efforts in sustainable solutions across some of Brazil’s major biomes. The project thoughtfully incorporated the voices of a diverse range of women, including farmers, Indigenous women, quilombola women, scientists, and entrepreneurs who, despite facing the disproportionate effects of climate change that women do, continue to lead in developing and implementing sustainable solutions that simultaneously combat the climate crisis and support their communities’ needs. As described by Juremas Werneck, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Brazil, throughout the project “We saw fire on wet land, we saw drought on flooded land, we saw hunger where there once was abundance. But we also saw the determination of women to rebuild life.” Denise Dora, a human rights lawyer and feminist activist, echoed a similar sentiment when recalling her experience living through and working with women who had lost their homes, memories, and belongings to severe flooding. She pointed to specific challenges that these women had struggled through, such as difficulties with access to food and shelter. By deliberately incorporating and centering these experiences, Dora compellingly emphasized the importance of explicitly including women in climate discussions and recognizing and learning from the solutions that they have developed at the local and national levels.

7 08, 2025

Indigenous Women March Against Ferrogrão Railway and “Devastation Bill” in Brazil

2026-10-30T17:56:31-04:00Tags: |

At the fourth Indigenous Women’s March, over 5,000 Indigenous women from across Brazil came together to highlight the increasingly dangerous threats that the proposed Ferrogrão railway and the “Devastation Bill” pose to Indigenous territories and the Amazon Rainforest. The railway would tear through the heart of the Amazon to transport soy and corn for export, threatening Indigenous communities and contaminating their water and soil. Irepoiti Metuktire, a Kayapó leader, emphasizes that her people do not even eat soy, yet the contaminants used to produce it are poisoning their communities and ecosystems. Under international law, communities have the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, yet they were never consulted about the project. Indigenous leaders, like Panh-ô Kayapó, a leader of the Baú Indigenous Territory, also highlighted how the “Devastation Bill,” which would fast-track destructive projects, shows that Congress is prioritizing profits over the Brazilian people. They are urging President Lula to veto the bill and protect Indigenous territories and the Amazon.

7 08, 2024

In Alaska, Advocates Say Reducing Prison Population Is a Key Climate Strategy

2026-03-27T15:34:21-04:00Tags: |

Jess Zhang from The Guardian discusses Alaska's rapidly ageing prison infrastructure which is failing under the pressure of the climate crisis. It was built for stable climate conditions but shifting weather patterns such as record rainfall and thawing permafrost have destabilized the foundations, revealing how the state is not prepared to protect its people from environmental hazards. This is most evident at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center, where the ground buckled in 2022 and the foundation sank. The Alaska Department of Corrections has responded with a $9.5 million plan to repair and expand facilities. However, advocates such as Megan Edge of the ACLU of Alaska contend that investing in 'climate-proofing' prisons is a misguided strategy. Instead, they propose decarceration as a primary climate mitigation tool. Despite an effort in 2016 to reduce the prison population and save $380 million which could go towards human and ecological services, the current state leadership has reversed course by reopening closed facilities and expanding capacity. Advocates insist that until Alaska addresses its high incarceration rate, it will remain trapped in a cycle of spending on unsustainable infrastructure, leaving thousands of people vulnerable to environmental catastrophe. These stories reinforce that our struggles are interconnected, and that abolition offers a pathway not only to dismantle carceral systems but to reimagine safety through investments in communities and ecological resilience rather than incarceration.

29 02, 2024

Climate Change Increases Women’s Unpaid Work

2026-05-29T12:01:52-04:00Tags: , , |

According to a 2024 UN Women report examining the links between climate change and unpaid work, women and girls do three times the amount of uncompensated care work as men and boys. Climate change disproportionately impacts those in the Global South, increasing care burdens, deepening existing gender inequalities, and leaving less time for childcare, education, and paid labor. Water scarcity provides an example of this dynamic. As finding water—a task that falls predominantly on women and girls—becomes more time consuming, the risks of sexual abuse and physical injury also increase. Droughts and floods also deplete natural resources, adding to the burden of sourcing and buying food and while forcing women to eat less and last. In Afghanistan, 61% of households reported in 2021 that women’s workload had increased due to drought. In the Central African Republic, crop failures linked to climate change place particular pressure on women tasked with feeding their families. Despite these realities, the increase in unpaid labour driven by the climate crisis is rarely accounted for in economic analyses. Instead, many climate adaptation projects rely on women’s work, branding them as “sustainability saviours.” The report argues that this approach treats women’s time as an unlimited resource while overlooking their health and wellbeing.

23 08, 2023

Ecuadorians Vote To “Keep The Oil In The Soil” In The Amazon

2026-05-30T10:22:09-04:00Tags: |

Antonia Juhasz, an environment and human rights researcher for Human Rights Watch, discusses a pivotal vote for forests. After decades of organising led by Indigenous peoples, youth, and activists from across the country, the people of Ecuador have voted to halt all current and future oil drilling in the heart of Yasuní National Park in the Amazon Rainforest. In a second referendum, citizens also voted to ban all mining in the Chocó Andino Forest near the capital, Quito. Yasuní is a United Nations World Biosphere Reserve, one of the most biodiverse places on earth and home to nearly one million hectares of tropical rainforest. Oil exploration and production has caused extensive damage to the Ecuadorian Amazon and its inhabitants. Indigenous peoples have faced harassment, repression, and even death as they defended the Amazon. This historic vote—the first time a nation-wide referendum has achieved a moratorium to both halt new and roll back existing fossil fuel operations—demonstrates the national consensus in Ecuador and means that millions of barrels will remain in the ground, protecting the rights of the Taromenane, Tagaeri, and Dugakaeri Indigenous peoples. Ecuador’s people have shown the world how to confront the climate crisis, protecting both people and the planet. To uphold human rights obligations, governments must phase out fossil fuels and protect forests and their protectors everywhere.

6 07, 2021

The Irma Diaries: Hurricane Irma Survivor Stories Should Be a Climate Change Wake-Up Call

2021-07-06T17:27:45-04:00Tags: |

In September of 2017, the Caribbean was hit by a series of deadly hurricanes, including the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane recorded in history. The storms had devastating impacts on human lives, infrastructure and the environment and might cause a serious setback to Caribbean economies in the future, many of which are based on tourism and agriculture. In her book “The Irma diaries: Compelling Survivor Stories from the Virgin Islands”, author Angela Burnett tells the story of 25 hurricane survivors. She warns that unless ambitious climate action is implemented, the series of hurricanes might offer only a first glimpse of what is to come in the future. Photo Credit: MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images.

10 10, 2018

Are Females The Future Of Western North Carolina Farming?

2021-01-27T20:44:10-05:00Tags: |

Women have historically played important roles in the Western North Carolina (WNC) farming industry. In more modern times, many WNC women are pursuing careers in agriculture and continuing the legacy of female farming in North Carolina. Prominent women in the WNC farming agriculture community include Susan English of English Dairy and English Farmstead Cheese, and Annie Louise Perkinson of Flying Cloud Farm. Both of these women manage farms that have been in their families for multiple generations. On the other hand, Gabi White of Patchwork Urban Farm and Lauren Rayburn of Rayburn Farm found careers in farming after studying agriculture-related subjects in college. Although many female WNC farmers hesitate to label themselves as farmers or as primary operators of the farm, together they are reshaping the traditionally masculine “farmer” stereotype. Photo Credit: Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP)

31 05, 2018

Colonialism And The Lost Indigenous Housing Designs

2023-04-16T16:20:54-04:00Tags: |

Kayla DeVault, an Anishinaabe/Shawnee woman and Master’s candidate in American Indian studies at Arizona State University, discusses the relationship between colonialism and architecture. DeVault describes Sky City, a village in the Pueblo of Acoma that has existed in (what is now known as) Arizona for about 2,000 years. Presently, the federal government controls a large portion of the Pueblo’s tribal housing program, with most of the funding coming from a grant program embedded in Western design principles that do not account for traditional cultural needs. DeVault highlights Wanda Dalla Costa, a Saddle Creek Cree woman and visiting professor at Arizona State University, whose work engages with the Gila River Indian Community to learn about traditional Indigenous building techniques/architecture, and the importance of these practices to cultural continuity. DeVault elaborates on the importance of traditional architecture, as it not only provides social and cultural benefits, but is also important for climate resiliency. Traditional construction methods have been developed over thousands of years and are well-adapted for local climates. Through her work, Dalla Costa hopes to integrate the teaching of these important traditional values into Western architectural programs, while also reviving traditional architecture throughout Arizona. Photo Credit: Illustrations by Julie Notarriani

17 10, 2016

Land For The Women Who Work It: Struggles In Latin America

2021-01-27T20:41:31-05:00Tags: |

In Latin American, women own less land and less productive land, even though they make up an integral part of the agricultural workforce and collective agricultural knowledge. The disregard for the work of peasant women stems from a gendered division of labor that creates a stark inequality between male and female land rights. Across Latin America, indigenous women and peasants have risen up against these disparities: in Brazil, the women of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) and The Peasant Women’s Movement of Brazil (MMC) have both carried out campaigns; and La Vìa Campesina’s Jakarta Declaration highlights the need for female land rights and integral agrarian reform. Additionally, Bolivia’s government recognizes the harmful effects of patriarchal, capitalist structures in regards to female labour, and Zapatista communities include subsistence agriculture in their political beliefs. The nurturing relationship between women and land is essential to food sovereignty and integral agrarian reform. Photo Credit: grain.org

1 09, 2016

Exploring How And Why Trees ‘Talk’ To Each Other

2018-07-13T17:03:50-04:00Tags: |

Ecologist Suzanne Simard brings a feminine lens to her research on forest communication networks, recognizing the limits of traditional scientific frameworks and emphasizing holistic ecosystems thinking. Using phrases like “forest wisdom” and “mother trees,” she elucidates how trees communicate with each other by sending nutrients via below-ground fungal networks. She is also exploring how these cooperative systems respond to environmental threats, such as climate change, pine beetle attacks, and clear-cutting. Her research will inform Canadian forest renewal practices with a focus resilience and regeneration. Photo credit: Yale Environment 360

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