Dear Community,

As we enter the month of September, WECAN is preparing for Climate Week in New York City, where we will continue our calls for governments and financial institutions to take urgent climate action. 

This year governments will convene in New York for the annual UN General Assembly but also the Summit of the Future. This high-level event aims to bring world leaders together to forge international consensus on safeguarding the future and taking action in the present, which will be reflected in the outcome document: the Pact of the Future. In the lead up to the Summit of the Future, many sectors of society have been demanding that governments include addressing the threats of fossil fuels— language that was not in the original Pact agenda.

In response to these demands, the third revision of the Pact for the Future now includes strengthened text explicitly focused on fossil fuels. This critical revision comes after a bloc of nation-states, hundreds of civil society organizations, including WECAN, 77 world leaders and Nobel laureates, and over 45,000 individuals united to express their grave concerns that earlier drafts of the Pact did not even mention fossil fuels despite the significant risk they pose to our future. Learn more here.

Government leaders must heed the calls of movements globally: End the era of fossil fuels and invest in a Just Transition! At the forefront, women and feminists in all of their diversity are championing just and resilient community-led solutions.

We invite you to join us, both in-person in New York City and virtually for our Women for Climate Justice Forum! We are convening women leaders in all of their diversity from around the world for a series of public events, actions, and advocacy opportunities— all are welcome!

Please find details below, and stay up to date by visiting our website here. We are together in the movement for climate justice!

In-Person Forum — Women on the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis: Ending the Era of Fossil Fuels and Implementing Solutions

Wednesday, September 25, 4:45 - 8:00 PM Eastern Time

UN Church Center, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY

Please join us in-person during Climate Week in New York City for an inspiring and strategic WECAN forum, “Women on the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis: Ending the Era of Fossil Fuels and Implementing Solutions.” Due to security in this area, registration is required.

​During this event, women leaders in all their diversity will come together to share comprehensive and intersectional approaches and strategies to stop fossil fuel extraction, accelerate community-led climate solutions, and lead a Just Transition grounded in a climate justice framework. Critical topics include fossil fuel resistance; food sovereignty; forest protection; gender-responsive climate policies; Indigenous and human rights; Rights of Nature; strategic preparations for COP29 and COP30; uplifting care economies; community-led solutions; and transformative policies for our collective future. Women are leading the way!

Speakers include:

• Federal Deputy Célia Xakriabá (Xakriabá), Member of the Brazil Chamber of Deputies from Minas Gerais State, and Co-founder of The National Association of Indigenous Ancestral Women Warriors (ANMIGA), Brazil
• Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Environmental Ambassador for the Ponca Nation, Board Member and Project Coordinator for WECAN, Turtle Island/USA
• Olivia Tirko Bisa (Chapra), President of the Chapra Nation of the Peruvian Amazon, Peru
• Jacqui Patterson, Founder and Executive Director of The Chisholm Legacy Project, 2024 TIME Women of the Year, and Earth Award recipient, Turtle Island/USA
• Secretary Puyr Tembé (Tembé), Secretary of Indigenous Peoples of the State of Pará in Brazil, and Co-founder of The National Association of Indigenous Ancestral Women Warriors (ANMIGA), Brazil
• Roishetta Ozane, Founder of Vessel Project of Louisiana, and Gulf Fossil Finance Coordinator for the Texas Campaign for the Environment Fund, Turtle Island/USA
• Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action, Turtle Island/Canada
• Farhana Yamin, Coordinator for the Climate Justice & Just Transition Donor Collaborative, United Kingdom
• Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa), Spokeswoman for Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva, Project Coordinator in Ecuador for WECAN, Ecuador
• Tzeporah Berman, Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Turtle Island/Canada
• With moderation and comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Turtle Island, USA

This event will be shared live on Facebook and Instagram.

Virtual Event — Transforming Global Economies:

From Extraction to Regeneration in a Just Transition

Thursday, September 26, 11:00 - 12:30 PM Eastern Time

Virtual via Zoom, register at the button below!

Our current economic system relentlessly extracts resources from the Earth, fueling climate chaos and exploiting both people and the planet. It's time for bold, regenerative solutions to transform global economies! To secure a healthy and equitable future, we must change our global economic system and champion a regenerative, rights-based approach that prioritizes communities and nature, tackling the root causes of our intertwined social, economic, and climate crises.

Join us for an inspiring event where global women leaders will shine a light on a Just Transition and innovative economic models, solutions, and frameworks. Topics include community-led initiatives, feminist economics, Indigenous wisdom, beyond-growth economies, and traditional practices of reciprocity with the Earth. We will engage in dynamic discussions on emerging, socially just, place-based, and ecologically enriching economic models that offer a clear path to a thriving future for all.

Speakers include:

• Lidy Nacpil, The Asian People’ Movement on Debt and Development, Philippines
• Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Author, and Co-President The Club of Rome, Belgium
• Faith Lumonya, Economic Justice and Climate Action Lead, Akina Mama Wa Afrika, Uganda
• Monique Verdin (Houma Nation), WECAN Food Sovereignty Program Coordinator in the Gulf South, Director of Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange, Turtle Island/USA
• Monica Chuji Gualinga (Kichwa), Deputy Director for Latin America for the Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI); Former Minister of Communication and Constituent Assembly Member for Ecuador; Member of the Sarayaku Community of Sucumbios and a part of the Tukui Shimi & All Voices organizations, Ecuador
• Helena Norberg-Hodge, Founder and Director of Local Futures, United Kingdom
• Zukiswa White, Coordinator for the Women and Gender Constituency, South Africa
• With moderation and comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Turtle Island/USA

The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis

Wednesday, September 18

Closed event at Columbia University

To live in a healthy and equitable world, we must fundamentally change how we respect and interact with the Earth and one another. To change the present and future, it is imperative to change the narrative and amplify worldviews and stories of solutions that transform the dominant worldview from an extractivist, colonial paradigm of exploit and extract to a thriving, globally-conscious one of respect and restore.

During this event with students at Columbia University WECAN founder and author Osprey Orielle Lake will discuss the themes above and share a special presentation of her new book "The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice can Remake a World in Crisis."

"The Story is in Our Bones," was recently listed by Yale Climate Connections as one of the 12 books for a summer read.

Women & Feminists for Climate Justice Contingent

at the Fridays for Future March

Friday September 19

March starts at 2:00 PM ET, meet up at 1:15 PM ET

Meet up location: the sidewalk outside of the City Clerk's Office (141 Worth St, New York, NY 10013) on the northeast corner of Centre Street and Worth Street. RSVP here to join us!

On September 20, 2024 thousands of people will march in New York City for a Global Climate Strike to demand action from governments to end the era of fossil fuels. Learn more about the action here.

Please be welcome to join us and walk together with other women and feminists who are calling for an end to fossil fuels and for gender-just climate solutions! All organizations, feminists, women, and gender justice advocates are welcome to join the contingent as we march, sing and raise our voices in community.

We will meet at 1:15 PM Eastern Time on the sidewalk outside of the City Clerk's Office (141 Worth St, New York, NY 10013) on the northeast corner of Centre Street and Worth Street. Then, as a group, walk over to the march starting location (Foley Square). More details coming soon. If you are interested in walking with us, please RSVP here so we can stay in touch with any updates as we get closer to the action.

6th International Rights of Nature Tribunal

End of the Fossil Fuel Era -1st session-

Sunday, September 22, 2024, 8:30am - 4:00PM Eastern Time

The New School Starr Foundation Hall, University Center Room UL102 63 Fifth Avenue (at 13th Street)

The International Rights of Nature Tribunal will join Climate Week in New York in calling for a transition from fossil fuels and advocating for the Rights of Nature as a key response to the climate crisis. An expert panel will address global cases where the fossil fuel industry has violated Nature’s rights, harmed human rights and environmental defenders, and pushed the planet towards catastrophe. Cases will cover false climate solutions, pipeline projects, oil spills, and sacrifice zones. Learn more about the cases and tribunal here.

Register to attend in-person at the button above. If you would like to join virtually, register here. 

​​

The Tribunal aims to create a forum for people from all around the world to speak on behalf of nature, to protest the destruction of the Earth, destruction that is often sanctioned by governments and corporations, and to make recommendations about Earth’s protection and restoration. Learn more about previous tribunals here. The Tribunal is organized by the Global Alliance for Rights of Nature (GARN), WECAN, and other partner organizations. 

Gender and Environment Data Alliance: 

Bridging Data and Action in the Lead-up to COP29

Co-hosted by Population Council, WEDO, WECAN, IUCN, and other groups on behalf of GEDA

Thursday, September 26, 6:00-8:00 PM ET Time

Population Council, 3rd floor, 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY

During this event hear from members of the Gender and Environment Data Alliance (GEDA) about the importance of data to advance and monitor gender-response climate action, particularly with a focus on the UNFCCC gender and transparency processes. 

Katherine Quaid (Confederated Tribes of Umatilla), WECAN Communications & Outreach Coordinator will be joining the panel of GEDA members and small grant winners. We hope you can join us!

Please see below a selected highlight of climate week events being hosted by WECAN partners.

We will share more partner events as they are announced on our website!

FOSSIL FUEL NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY

During New York Climate Week, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty team will be coordinating a series of online and in-person events that will bring together world leaders, policymakers, civil society, and experts to advocate for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and chart a path toward a sustainable, fossil-free future.

Please find a full list of Fossil Fuel Treaty events here: fossilfueltreaty.org/events

Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director is a member of the Steering Committee for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and we are honored to continue advocacy efforts for the Treaty.

GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR THE RIGHTS OF NATURE (GARN)

This September, the Rights of Nature (RoN) are taking center stage at Climate Week New York, and GARN will be present to advocate for a just transition and immediate climate action.

In addition to the International Rights of Nature Tribunal session mentioned above, GARN will host several engaging GARN hub events, and much more. Don’t miss this crucial opportunity to engage in discussions that could shape Mother Earth's future of our planet. 

Find a full line up of Rights of Nature events here: https://www.garn.org/climate-week-2024/

Specifically, we want to highlight a special Rights of Nature meeting being hosted by the GARN Indigenous Council, please see below:

GARN Indigenous Council Gathering

When: Tuesday, September 24, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET

Location: Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, NYU Law, Seminar Room, 5th Floor

139 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

During the event, GARN Indigenous Council leadership will discuss how Rights of Nature intersects with traditional knowledge and indigenous sovereignty. RSVP here today!

Virtual Report Launch: The Gendered and Racial Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Industry in North America and Complicit Financial Institutions

Thursday, September 12, 1:00 PM Eastern Time

Virtual Launch event via Zoom

Join the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) on September 12 for the powerful launch of the report, "The Gendered and Racial Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Industry in North America and Complicit Financial Institutions (Fourth Edition).” During the online event, we will hear from frontline women leaders, health experts, and advocates who are demanding accountability from financial institutions to take action for the health of our communities, ecosystems, and the climate. 

From rising cancer rates to escalating violence, the report details the numerous disproportionate health and safety risks and impacts women in all their diversity are experiencing due to fossil fuel extraction, which is also perpetuating Indigenous and human rights violations. The report highlights regional case studies from Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-income communities in North America, and the corresponding financial institutions that are contributing to these egregious harms. The report outlines recommendations for the banks to move toward accountability and a just transition. It is time to end the era of fossil fuels.

​Featured speakers include:

• Roishetta Sibley Ozane M.S., Founder of Vessel Project of Louisiana and Gulf Fossil Finance Coordinator, Louisiana
• Rene Ann Goodrich (Bad River Ojibwe), Native Lives Matter Coalition and Wisconsin Department of Justice Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Task Force Member, Wisconsin
• Sharon Lavigne, Founder of RISE St. James, and 2021 Goldman Prize Winner, Louisiana
• Patricia Garcia-Nelson (Oraricha Tribes of Mexico and the Chichimeca), Colorado Fossil Fuel Just Transition Advocate for Green Latinos, Northern Colorado
• Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Environmental Ambassador for the Ponca Nation, and Board Member and Project Coordinator for WECAN, Oklahoma
• Antonia Juhasz, Senior Researcher on Fossil Fuels, Environment and Human Rights, and Investigative Journalist and Writer, Washington D.C. 
• Dr. Nneoma Nwachuku Ojiaku, MD, MPH Obstetrician-Gynecologist, Climate Health Now
• Osprey Orielle Lake, Report Co-author, and Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)

Indigenous Women's Treaty Alliance members and allies in Washington D.C. for a petition delivery to stop the Line 5 pipeline in the Great Lakes region. Photo Credit: Ashley Guardado/WECAN

This summer the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held an open public comment period for the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of Enbridge’s Line 5 Wisconsin Segment Relocation project. As part of our collective efforts to stop the Line 5 pipeline project, we are glad to share that over 150,000 comments were submitted to the US Army Corps of Engineers opposing the proposed Line 5 pipeline reroute in northern Wisconsin. This number shows overwhelming opposition to the plan, which threatens the Great Lakes, Indigenous sovereignty, climate, and regional economies.

Project opponents have outnumbered supporters at in-person and virtual hearings, including by a two-to-one margin during a USACE hearing this June and by a three-to-one margin during a state agency hearing in August. Learn more in the press release here.

Rene Ann Goodrich, Bad River Ojibwe, Native Lives Matter Coalition, and member of the Indigenous Women’s Treaty Alliance, facilitated by WECAN, shared why it is vital that we shutdown Line 5 for good: “As a Bad River tribal member our way of life, historical homelands, cultural resources, subsistence, wildrice, medicines, fisheries, and water are in direct jeopardy of an imminent catastrophic oil spill. We call for the Army Corp to shutdown Line 5 permanently and to deny all permits for the proposed Wisconsin reroute project. We reject the reroute and we stand with the water — we will always stand with the water.”

Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN): “Rejecting the permit for the Line 5 Wisconsin reroute is an opportunity to champion climate justice, and to act in solidarity with Tribes calling for the permanent shutdown of Line 5, and the 150K people who oppose the new permits. Together, we can create a powerful force to safeguard the Great Lakes, the climate, and future generations.”

WECAN is honored to facilitate and support the Indigenous Women’s Treaty Alliance and to amplify the demands of the Bad River Band. Please learn more about our Stop Line 5 advocacy here. Stay tuned as the campaign continues!

During the International Yasuni Summit in Ecuador, the Waorani Nation formally joined the call for a Fossil Fuel Treaty.

Juan Bay, President of the NAWE, made the announcement in Spanish and Wao, in front of hundreds of community members and leaders, as well as international allies. The inhabitants of one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems join the growing group of 10 Indigenous nations, 13 countries, thousands of scientists, institutions, civil society organizations and many more, fighting for a new legal framework that allows for a just and equitable transition away from all forms of extractivism!

The resistance of the Waorani people is an example and a hope for the world, learn more here:

www.fossilfueltreaty.org/nawe

Please consider supporting WECAN 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.