Dear Community,

The Women's Earth and Climate Action Network team and our Delegation will be traveling to the upcoming UN climate negotiations COP28 from November 30 - December 12. We are honored to be advocating with an outstanding Frontline and Indigenous Women's Delegation to demand world governments and financial institutions take bold, urgent, and transformative action for climate justice.

Building upon years of engagement in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), we know it is vital to ensure the participation and engagement of women leaders in all of their diversity throughout the negotiation and decision-making processes. Women continue to be underrepresented and excluded within the UN Climate Talks, with only having 35% women's participation on Party Delegations at COP27 in Egypt. This is unacceptable as women around the world are being impacted disproportionately, while also rising to address the worst effects of the climate crisis and leading innovative solutions grounded in climate justice. These powerful and successful women-led solutions are clearly needed at this moment in time.

The most recent Emissions Gap Report found that global greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.2% from 2021 - 2022, setting a new all-time record. Additionally, several international bodies continue to report that the climate crisis is only getting worse, leaving communities worldwide to deal with increasingly dangerous climate disasters and impacts. The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released earlier this year, made it clear that we are nearing the point of irreparable and irreversible damage to our climate and planet, yet country leaders continue to stall and delay real and much needed climate action.

All this said, along with many global allies, we are not giving up! There is real reason for hope, our struggle to continue, and our solutions to ripple out evermore. Scientists tell us that there is still time to limit warming to 1.5°C and protect our communities and planet, but we need radical and transformative action now!

In this moment of interlocking crises, the voices of grassroots, frontline, Indigenous, Black, and Brown women, feminists and global women advocates, could not be more important. Studies have shown the power of women's leadership in responding to the climate crisis— from strengthening disaster planning in communities to decreasing a country’s carbon emissions to forest protection and reforestation, and so much more. As we make our way to COP28, we are calling on governments to center the leadership of women, Indigenous peoples, and frontline communities!

WECAN reaffirms our commitment to bring women and feminist voices to the forefront, as well as unyielding action to expose the root causes of the climate crisis, and powerful efforts to usher in just climate solutions commensurate to the level of crises we face.

At COP28 we will be presenting a diverse array of visions, projects, reports, frameworks and strategies to build a healthy and equitable world. During COP28, we will be advocating for:

• climate justice
• an equitable, fair, fast and financed fossil fuel phaseout
• gender-responsive policies
• government commitments to loss and damage and climate finance
• Indigenous rights and sovereignty
• forest protection and restoration 
• just transition
• defending land defenders
• rights of nature
• the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
• feminist and beyond growth economics
• holding corporations and financial institutions accountable
• denouncing carbon offsets and false solutions
• uplifting community-led solutions for systemic change

Specifically, we will be joining partners globally to urgently call for the immediate phaseout of fossil fuels. Since WECAN’s founding, we have campaigned to end the era of fossil fuel extraction through divestment advocacy and resistance to fossil fuel infrastructure and projects.

The 2023 Production Gap Report revealed that governments, in aggregate, still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than what would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The need for a fossil fuel phaseout continues to grow, and during the negotiations we will be pushing hard for governments to commit to ending fossil fuel extraction and expansion.

In addition, we will be releasing several reports for governments and financial institutions to respond to the climate emergency by addressing false solutions and advocating for investment in a Just Transition within a climate justice framework.

As we do each year, we will also be advocating with the powerful Women and Gender Constituency, including centering the MENA Feminist Taskforce. Please read the MENA Women’s & Girls’ Demands for COP28 here.

While it is vital to engage within the formal UN climate negotiations process in order to advocate for policies that support people and planet above profit and false solutions - our deepest hope lies with the global climate justice movements organizing in magnificent diversity and strength across the world every single day of the year.

Additionally, though WECAN is focusing on vital work at COP28, we do not ignore the unspeakable violence in Gaza and Israel—as we have commented on in our previous newsletter and ongoing on our social media platforms. In every sphere of global society, we know deep systemic change is needed to stop interlocking root causes of oppression and egregious harms to people and planet.

Please explore our newsletter further to meet the WECAN COP28 Delegates, to learn about upcoming WECAN actions and events to date, and for report backs on recent campaigns and advocacy. You can also find updates on our COP28 delegation and events on our website here! We will be live-streaming events as is possible, and sharing posts daily on our social media platforms.

WECAN and women for climate justice are on the move, and your continued engagement and support is essential. Please consider supporting the WECAN Delegation as we head to COP28, and support the leadership of frontline and Indigenous partners, who are bringing their own calls for action and climate justice. Thank you for your contributions!

CASEY CAMP-HORINEK

Ponca Nation, Turtle Island, USA

Casey Camp-Horinek of the Ponca Nation is a community leader, long-time Native rights activist, environmentalist and actress. She is the Ponca Environmental Ambassador and a WECAN Board member. She has been at the forefront of grassroots community efforts to educate and empower both Native and non-Native community members on environmental and civil rights issues. 

CÉLIA XAKRIABÀ

Xakriaba, Brazilian Amazon

Célia Xakriabá is a teacher and Indigenous activist of the Xakriabá people in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In 2022, she became the first Indigenous woman to be elected federal deputy for Minas Gerais. She has a Master’s degree in sustainable development from the University of Brasilia, and is part of the Articulation Rosalino Gomes, present in the North of Minas Gerais, being one of the founders of the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA).

XIYE BASTIDA

Otomi-Toltec from Central Mexico, based in USA

Xiye Bastida is a 21-year-old climate justice activist based in New York City. She is an organizer with Fridays For Future and the co-founder of Re-Earth Initiative, an international youth-led organization that focuses on highlighting the intersectionality of the climate crisis. Bastida was born in Mexico and was raised as part of the Otomi-Toltec Indigenous community. Bastida was the recipient of the 2018 UN Spirit Award and currently attends the University of Pennsylvania.

BRAULINA BANIWA

Baniwa, Brazilian Amazon

Braulina Baniwa is the Executive Director for the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Ancestrality Warriors (ANMIGA) in Brazil. She is an Indigenous rights activist and anthropologist, focusing on the need for Indigenous women to organize and defend their territories and rights.

TAILY TERENA

Terena, Brazil

Taily is a young Indigenous woman from the Terena nation of Brazil and a passionate advocate for the environment and Mother Earth. Since a young age, Taily has been an advocate for the rights of Indigenous women in Brazil. She belongs to the Enlace Continental de Mujeres Indígenas (Continental Network of Indigenous Women of Americas) and is the President of the General Assembly of the ACT-Brasil. She is a WECAN Coordinator in Brazil.

DANIELA BOBADILLA

Colombia

Daniela Bobadilla is a Colombian Chemical+Biomedical Engineer and climate advocate who works as a campaign coordinator at the youth-led organization Re-Earth Initiative, with whom she’ll be presenting the short film “Home is Always Worth It” at COP28 in Dubai this year, which she co-produced.

OSPREY ORIELLE LAKE

USA

Osprey Orielle Lake is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International. She works nationally and internationally with grassroots and Indigenous leaders, policy-makers and scientists to promote climate justice, resilient communities, and a just transition to a clean energy future. 

KATHERINE QUAID

Confederated Tribes of Umatilla, Turtle Island, USA

Katherine Quaid is the Communications Coordinator for the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN). She was born and raised in rural central Oregon and is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla. Her dedication to climate justice is tied to the lands of her ancestors and the many communities nationally and around the world that are fighting for a healthy future.

Please see below for a list of events that WECAN is organizing, co-hosting, or speaking at during COP28. To attend events in person you will need UN accreditation. Alternatively, you can join us online as we plan to livestream all events for allies around the world, via Facebook Live!

All events are listed in Gulf Standard Time (GST), please check your time zone for each event here. 

More events will be added, please follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date with our COP28 events and Delegation, or check out our website for regular updates: https://www.wecaninternational.org/cop28

A Global Movement Advancing Systemic Change for Real Climate Solutions

Friday, December 1, 10:00 - 11:45 AM

One Planet Pavilion, Blue Zone, COP28

Co-hosted by the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN), WECAN, and other organizations



This event will feature esteemed speakers at the forefront of the environmental movement, including Natalia Greene, co-founder of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN), Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Tom BK Goldtooth, Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, and Nnimmo Bassey, Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation. The panel will be joined by Great Grandmother Mary Lyons, Danielle Kehler, Gloria Ushigua, Alberto Saldamando, Leo Cerda, and Susana Borras. Together, these diverse voices will explore the urgent need for systemic change through the Rights of Nature to address climate challenges. 

If you would like to watch the event online, please register here.

Pavilion Event: Tackling the Maternal and Reproductive Health Harms of Fossil Fuels and Petrochemicals

Friday, December 1, 3:15 - 4:30 PM

WHO Pavilion, Blue Zone, COP28

Co-hosted by Center for Biological Diversity, RISE St. James, Human Rights Watch, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Amazon Watch, Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB), and Women’s Earth and Development Organization (WEDO) 

The health benefits of climate action for maternal and reproductive health begin with a fast, fair, and equitable fossil fuel phase out. Worldwide, the increased risk of maternal and reproductive health harm from exposure to fossil fuel and petrochemical operations has been well-documented, though, like most health harms experienced by women, receives inadequate attention from policy makers, health care providers, researchers, and advocates. Increased risks of preterm birth, low-weight birth, miscarriage, and early infant death have been documented among people living near or working in oil and gas production sites, petrochemical plants, oil refineries and power plants burning fossil fuels. Economic systems tied to fossil fuel dependence drive increased militarism and a mounting toll on women and people’s reproductive health. A fair and fast phase out of fossil fuels and related petrochemicals and plastics (derived from fossil fuels) to a less extractive and exploitative economic model will reduce exposure and support maternal health and reproductive justice. This panel will provide new ground-breaking research, and strategies to confront these crises from frontline communities and advocates.

​Speakers include: Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons (Band of Ojibwe), Ojibwe Elder, Women of Wellbriety, International, United Nations Observer on Women/Indigenous Issues; Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN); Juliana Kerexu Mariano, Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples, Executive Coordinator representing the Guarani Yvyrupa Commission (CGY); Shamell Lavigne, RISE St James; Antonia Juhasz, Human Rights Watch; Tara Daniels, WEDO, SRHR and Climate Justice Coalition; Karuna Jaggar, Center for Biological Diversity; and Kelley Dennings, Center for Biological Diversity.​

Pavilion Event: Indigenous Women's Time: Weaving strategies to stand together against the climate crisis

Saturday, December 2, 2023, 10:00 - 11:00 AM

Indigenous Peoples Pavilion, Blue Zone, COP28

Hosted by the Women of the Métis Nation featuring WECAN delegates, Braulina Baniwa (Baniwa), Executive Director, the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Ancestrality Warriors (ANMIGA), Brazil; and Katherine Quaid (Confederated Tribes of Umatilla), Communications & Outreach Coordinator, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Turtle Island/USA.

Press Conference – Accelerating Feminist Solutions to the Climate Crisis

Saturday, December 2, 2023, 3:30 - 4:00 PM 

Press Conference Room 2, Blue Zone, COP28

Co-hosted by the Feminist Green New Deal (FemGND) Coalition ​

​To address root causes of the climate crisis it is imperative to ensure the inclusion of feminist principles in a Just Transition. Speakers will discuss feminist policies and frameworks that are necessary for advancing just climate policies, focused in the United States with global implications. Speakers include organizational representatives from the FemGND Coalition. WECAN is a founding member of the FemGND.

Press Conference – Indigenous Women from the Amazon: Calls for Urgent Action

Saturday, December 2, 5:00 - 5:30 PM 

Press Conference Room 2, Blue Zone, COP28

Hosted by WECAN​

Indigenous women are continuing to powerfully mobilize to protect Indigenous rights and biodiversity in the Amazon. Speakers from the Amazon will bring forth calls to action and advocacy efforts to uplift Indigenous rights and protect forests, water, communities, and the global climate.

​Confirmed speakers to date: Célia Xakriabá, Indigenous Activist and Member of the Chamber of Deputies from Minas Gerais, Brazil; Fany Kuiru Castro, General Coordinator of the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), Colombia; Elaine Shajian Shawit, President of the Regional Coordinating Committee of Indigenous Peoples of San Lorenzo (CORPI SL), Peru; with moderation by Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA.

Civil Society Engagement with Financial Institutions

December 3, 2023

Private Meeting at COP28

Hosted by WECAN​

As part of our advocacy at COP28, WECAN will convene a high-level engagement bringing together representatives from global financial institutions and frontline and Indigenous leaders who will share how their communities and ecosystems are disastrously impacted by the financing of fossil fuel projects in their regions. Central to the engagement will be what actions must be taken to ensure adherence to human and Indigenous rights, due diligence, and accountability.

Formal UN Side Event: Women Implementing Climate Justice Solutions to Mitigate and Adapt to the Climate Crisis

Tuesday, December 5, 4:45 - 6:15 PM

SE Room 1, Blue Zone, COP28

Hosted by WECAN​

Grassroots, Indigenous and frontline women, and representatives of global organizations, will present climate justice strategies and solutions, including forest and biodiversity protection, Indigenous rights, agro-ecology, renewable energy and a Just Transition, fossil fuel phase out and divestment, and protection of women land defenders.

Confirmed speakers to date: Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, Turtle Island, USA; Lucy Mulenkei (Maasai), Executive Director, Indigenous Information Network, Kenya; Braulina Baniwa (Baniwa), Executive Director, National Articulation of Indigenous Women Ancestrality Warriors (ANMIGA), Brazil; Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director, Indigenous Climate Action, Canada; Taily Terena (Terena Nation), Indigenous rights activist, WECAN Coordinator in Brazil, Brazil; and Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA.

With special appearances by Sonia Guajajara, Minister of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil, and Célia Xakriabá, Federal Deputy to the Chamber of Deputies in Brazil.

Press Conference – Rights of Nature: A Systemic Solution to the Climate Crisis

Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 5:30 - 6:00 PM 

Press Conference Room 2, Blue Zone, COP28

Hosted by WECAN and GARN​

Rights of Nature articulates a new legal framework and economy based on living in balance with Earth’s natural systems. Presenters will share successes from the Rights of Nature movement, and how it can offer a systemic framework for defending biodiversity, communities, and our climate.

​Confirmed speakers to date: Nnimmo Bassey, Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nigeria; Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, Turtle Island, USA; and Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) and Executive Committee, Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, USA.

Press Conference – Women Leading Fossil Fuel Phaseout and A Just Transition

Saturday, December 9, 2023, 5:30 - 6:00PM 

Press Conference Room 2, Blue Zone, COP28

Hosted by WECAN​

Women leaders will share vital reports and critical strategies to advance a fossil fuel phaseout and accelerate a Just Transition while supporting communities and ecosystems impacted by extractive industries and human and Indigenous rights violations.

​

Confirmed Speakers to Date: Tzeporah Berman, Chair, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Canada; Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Convenor and International Spokesperson for Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), Philippines; Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action, Canada; and Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA.

Press Conference – Women for Climate Justice Leading Solutions

Sunday, December 10, 2023, 3:30 - 4:00 PM 

Press Conference Room 2, Blue Zone, COP28

Hosted by WECAN​

​International women leaders will share the impacts of international climate policies, and discuss the urgency for transformative strategies and solutions to address the climate crisis and advance a just transition. ​

Confirmed Speakers to date: Taily Terena, (Terena Nation), Indigenous rights activist, WECAN Coordinator in Brazil, Brazil; Zukiswa White, Coordinator, Women and Gender Constituency, South Africa; Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, Turtle Island, USA; Brianna Fruean, Youth Climate Activist and Environmental Advocate, Samoa; and Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA.

Virtual Event: Global Voices and Women-Led Calls to Action in Response to COP28

Monday, December 11, 7:00 - 9:00 PM

Virtual, register here for this event!

Hosted by WECAN​

​Around the world, peoples’ movements are responding to the escalating climate crisis, rising to address the urgency and needs of people and the planet. Please join us for a wide ranging conversation from women on the ground at COP28 to report out on negotiations, share highlights, report releases, calls to action, and demands from women globally. Speakers to be announced!

Please see this update from WECAN Coordinator Neema Namadamu, who leads WECAN’s Forests and Food Sovereignty programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo:

“Hello from Itombwe, here the world looks different. All Women from different tribes are working together for malnutrition for families and community! After 4 years in Mikenge Camp in Mwenga territory South Kivu province in DRC, we Mama Shujaa have been working with our Partner WECAN for reforestation and Food Security! Thank you Hero Women Rising and WECAN, without your collaboration and partnership, we would not be able to do this big work! Much better to be together!”

Since 2014, women in South Kivu Province have been organizing through the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) to raise awareness about women’s rights and leadership; the long-term harm of industrial deforestation and illegal logging; protection of the Itombwe Rainforest in relation to climate change solutions; the importance of learning hands-on reforestation techniques; defending the rights of Indigenous women and the local communities living in and around forest areas, and renewing cultural practices connected to land respect.

Learn more about our program here: https://www.wecaninternational.org/drc

On Sunday, November 12, WECAN was on the ground in San Francisco with partners across the climate, labor, and global justice movements calling on global leaders to not trade away our climate future!

From November 11-17, thousands of corporate CEOs, government leaders, and lobbyists met for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to negotiate trade deals that cover 60% of global energy systems - and impact some of the most climate-vulnerable areas of the world.

At the summit the United States and thirteen other countries announced the conclusion of large parts of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) trade agreement, which will set binding rules governing approximately 40% of the global economy, and also become the template for subsequent trade pacts. The IPEF will have major impacts on climate policy, worker rights, human and Indigenous rights, and more for decades to come.

Our concern is that this trade agreement will allow corporations to supersede national climate and environmental policies to further fast-track extractive projects that harm communities and ecosystems while worsening the climate crisis. Additionally, civil society was completely shut out of these discussions, while corporate CEO’s and lobbyists joined panels with world leaders. 

As we prepare for COP28 in Dubai, it is imperative that global peoples' movements have a voice in these trade agreements that are not in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement and the 1.5C guardrail. Our future is non-negotiable, and we took action to demand an end to trade deals that put profit over people and fuel the climate crisis!

Thousands gather at the Oceti Sakowin camp in 2016 to support Indigenous-led efforts to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Photo Credit: Emily Arasim / WECAN International

The fight to stop the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) continues! Right now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking public comments on DAPL’s fatally flawed Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Originally the deadline to comment was November 13, but due to Indigenous-led advocacy, the comment period has now been extended to December 13!

The Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and grassroots Water Protectors have led the resistance against the dirty Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) since the beginning. Now, thanks to continued resistance and leadership, thousands of us have a chance to go on the record with our support and submit official public comments with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers against this dirty oil pipeline.

This is a key opportunity to let the United States government know that we stand with Standing Rock and all the Water Protectors who put their bodies on the line to protect their communities, ecosystems, and our global climate. WECAN was on the ground at Standing Rock, and we will never give up on this fight! We must continue taking action in solidarity with Indigenous leaders to stop this pipeline from causing any further harm. 

Demand that the Corps shut the pipeline down and conduct a proper environmental review, not one prepared by the fossil fuel industry. This is our best chance to end DAPL!

Please see the links below to draft and submit a comment before December 13:

• https://standingrock.org/dapl-eis/
• https://tinyurl.com/pwa9cuum

Please be welcome to join us for this inspiring event: “How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis,” a fundraiser for Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and book launch for “The Story is in Our Bones.”

REGISTER HERE: https://tinyurl.com/4x6vpcnc

The event will be in-person at the David Brower Center in Berkeley, CA on February 1, 2024! 

Speakers to date include: Corrina Gould (Ohlone), Tribal spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan and Director of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust; Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca), Environmental Ambassador for the Ponca Nation and Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) Board Member; Leila Salazar-Lopez, Executive Director Amazon Watch; and Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) and author of "The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis.".

At this event, movement leaders and change-makers will weave together stories, worldviews, and experiences of restoration and justice that demonstrate the world we know is possible and needed.

We knew in our bones this time was coming. And now we must act in solidarity more than ever, as we continue building a powerful movement founded on principles of justice, love, and a fierce dedication to our planet and our communities.

This event is both a fundraiser for Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the launch of the book by Osprey Orielle Lake, "The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis." All book sales at this event will be donated to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust to support the powerful work of Corrina Gould and her leadership in the urban Indigenous women-led land trust based in the San Francisco Bay Area that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people. There will be a program with speakers followed by hors d’oeuvres and a book signing. All are welcome!

To learn more about the book: https://ospreyoriellelake.earth

To learn more about Sogorea Te’ Land Trust: https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/

Please stay tuned as we continue to uplift the leadership and solutions of women worldwide fighting for climate justice and the defense of the planet for current and future generations.