Today, we celebrate International Women's Day with women and feminists around the world! We also send our appreciation to all who are uniting for climate justice with respect for the rights of women, the earth, and our communities.
Globally, due to institutionalized patriarchy, women are experiencing the worst impacts of the climate crisis and many socio-ecological harms, including daily criminalization and violence for speaking out for the protection of our planet. Yet, women steadfastly rise in the face of interlocking systems of patriarchy, colonization, racism, and economic inequality, demonstrating the power, resilience, and ingenuity needed to tackle escalating climate and systemic disruptions.
We ask that you join us today in particularly honoring women defenders of the land - who put their bodies on the line everyday for human rights, forests, rivers, wildlife, traditional territories, the global climate, and the lives and futures of us all. We stand with women globally to simultaneously challenge oppressive government and corporate systems, while working fiercely and passionately together for justice, and a thriving and healthy planet.
Please explore our newsletter to read our newly published 2020 International Women's Day article and for more details on how you can participate in, support, and amplify the global movement of women for climate justice!
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Celebrating Climate Women on
International Women’s Day!
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"Even in these difficult times, people are finding ways to resist authoritarianism and an economic system that finds us disposable, the majority of us being women, being queer people, being farmers… We have to conceive our work in movements as a deeply political project. This is not the time to say we are neutral, to bring everyone to the big tent. As feminists, women and environmental defenders, we have to know that our work will be contentious… We have to build our movements with the aspirations of those on the margins of pipelines, coal power plants, corporations in their territories, and center the aspirations of those on the frontlines of the crisis we face."
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Ruth Nyambura, Kenyan Feminist speaking at a WECAN
COP25 UN Event
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Women across diverse sectors are collectively calling for climate justice and a feminist response to the climate crisis— and on this International Women’s Day, we are showcasing the breadth, depth, and strength of women’s climate leadership by highlighting some of the many outstanding women around the world (like Ruth Nyambura) who are working at the local, national, and international levels to take climate action. Please read our International Women's Day article where we feature just a handful of the many women leaders who are accelerating a global movement for the protection and defense of the Earth’s diverse ecosystems and our communities.
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For past International Women's Day articles written by the WECAN team, check out the links below:
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Stand with the Wet'suwet'en and Indigenous Land Defenders!
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In Northern British Columbia, Canada Indigenous land defenders are
protecting their unsurrendered territories from the construction of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline, owned by TransCanada (now known as TC Energy). The pipeline cuts through the traditional territories of the Wet'suwet'en and would pave the way for further fossil fuel expansion in the region and across
North America. Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs have not consented to the construction of this pipeline, and we stand with the Wet'suwet'en as they continue to fight for their rights and homelands!
In recent weeks,
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (
RCMP), on behalf of TC Energy, violently arrested Indigenous land defenders and matriarchs who were protecting their lands from further colonial invasion and destruction. RCMP and CGL employees both continue to operate illegally on Wet'suwet'en territory.
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Image by Christi Belcourt
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Actions across North America have erupted in support of the Wet'suwet'en, including Indigenous-led railway blockades throughout Canada and Indigenous youth occupying the B.C. Parliament building. However, RCMP continue to suppress the voices of Indigenous land defenders through ongoing arrests.
In the United States, organizations, including WECAN, are organizing together to hold the financial backers of the CGL pipeline responsible for their funding of Indigenous rights violations and climate chaos. Look for more information in the coming weeks as we demand key investors, JPMorgan Chase and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), pull their financing out of the CGL pipeline and TC energy.
Please join us in standing with the Wet'suwet'en and all Indigenous land defenders who are calling for the protection of their rights, sovereignty, and lands!
- FOLLOW the Wet'suwet'en on Facebook to stay up to date as their resistance continues!
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Commemorating the Adoption of the Escazú Agreement
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We are commemorating the second anniversary of the Escazú Agreement with Carmen Capriles, WECAN Representative from Bolivia and our advocacy lead for the Escazú Agreement. This Agreement is the First Multilateral Environmental Agreement for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region and first adopted on March 3, 2018 in Costa Rica.
This vital policy contains key principles that require governments to support and protect land defenders across Latin America who are experiencing daily threats and violence as they take a stand for water, forests, land, and Mother Earth. The increase of violence against land defenders is growing, and as the climate crisis unfolds and exploitation of natural resources expands, we must strengthen our support and act in solidarity with land defenders, who are most often protecting critical biodiversity and resources necessary for mitigating the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. The Escazú Agreement acknowledges the role and risks of land defenders and is a critical piece of policy that seeks to ensure their rights, safety, and sovereignty. WECAN is dedicated to advocating for and supporting this work, with keen attention to women land defenders. For more information about the Escazú Agreement
please read this article and statement by Carmen Capriles.
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Support the First Indigenous Women's Caravan in Brazil
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Indigenous women march through Brasilia, Brazil in 2019 as part of the first Indigenous Women's March in Brazil. Women marched for their rights, bodies, and protection of their Indigenous territories.
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In May 2020, Indigenous leaders in Brazil will lead an Indigenous Women's Caravan that seeks to connect Indigenous women's struggles and solutions across the country. Over the course of 3 months, 15 Indigenous women leaders will travel across all regions of Brazil to hold 35 meetings with local women in different communities and tribes and discuss the issues that women are facing, including structural and cultural violence against Indigenous women and the role of Indigenous women in the mitigation and adaptation of climate change.
The caravan will also seek to increase political power by su
pporting Indigenous women to run for office in upcoming municipal elections, and organize collective groups in each region to support the struggles of Indigenous people. WECAN is working under the guidance of
Sônia Bone Guajajara, the Executive Coordinator of the
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil
(APIB), and in the near future, we will be sharing an
online portal from the women organizers, where people can directly donate to the Indigenous Women's Caravan. Please look for our next newsletter or follow us on our social media platforms for the announcement and link to this portal.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has worked to dismantle key protections and policies that protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and the Amazon in Brazil. His regime's devastating assaults on social and environmental protections has led to a surge in deforestation and Indigenous and human rights abuses. Last year, emboldened by Bolsonaro's anti-Indigenous rhetoric, farmers and ranchers lit fires with impunity across the Amazon in order to expand their enterprises. The Amazon is the lungs of the planet and keeping our forests intact, as well as defending and uplifting the voices of frontline forest defenders is fully necessary, and an effective and central part of the solutions needed to mitigate climate change and build the future we seek. This is a critical time to stand with courageous Indigenous women leaders in Brazil, like Sônia Bone Guajajara and many others, who are fighting every day to protect human rights, forests, water, climate, communities, and future generations.
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Divest Invest Protect, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network
and Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy File a Specific Instance
Against Credit Suisse
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Divest Invest Protect (DIP), the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, and the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program at the University of Arizona filed a “Specific Instance” with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regarding Credit Suisse and adverse impacts to Indigenous peoples and the environment through continued corporate finance to firms that built the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and Bayou Bridge Pipeline (BBP).
The filing by Indigenous women, comes after an almost two year period of WECAN and DIP exchanges with Credit Suisse involving letters, two in-person meetings with Credit Suisse representatives, ongoing correspondence to share information of violations and adverse impacts, and further documentation at the 2018 Credit Suisse Annual General Meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.
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Michelle Cook, Dine' (Navajo), Human rights lawyer, Founder of Divest Invest Protect, Co-Director of the Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegations outside Credit Suisse.
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April 23, 2020
Join Stop the Money Pipeline for Divestment Day of Action
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On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, young climate activists are calling on all generations to come together for a three-day Climate Strike, April 22-24, 2020.
2020 is an important year for climate action and we hope you will join us in taking action in solidarity with young climate activists calling for the defense of Mother Earth and our communities. On April 23, during the Earth Day Climate Strikes, WECAN as part of the Stop The Money Pipeline campaign, will be helping to organize hundreds of events across the U.S. targeting the financiers and insurers of climate change. We must stop the flow of money from Wall Street to the world’s coal, oil and gas companies as well as big agriculture companies that are destroying forests.
We invite you to join in and take action this April for our communities and our planet! Interested in hosting or participating in a Divestment Day of Action event on April 23?
Check out this toolkit to get started!
Billions of dollars each year are poured into the fossil fuel industry, and already in 2020 we've seen how people's movements disrupting this money-to-oil pipeline can and does have an impact. Recently,
Wells Fargo joined
JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs in announcing it will not finance oil and gas projects in the Arctic region, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR); earlier this year
the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock,
announced new policies
focused on climate change and sustainability; and a few days ago,
UBS Group just announced it will no longer finance Arctic oil, thermal coal or tar sands projects.
Through the Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegations, Divest Invest Protect and WECAN have held several in-person meetings with UBS advocating for these policy changes and more.
We know that these policy announcements are small victories in measure to the crisis at hand and the damage these institutions are responsible for, and yet, along with our allies working ceaselessly
, we are encouraged that financial institutions and insurance companies are beginning to hear us and make changes. People power is working and we must press on!
WECAN will continue to apply pressure to ensure that big banks and financial institutions stop funding, insuring and investing in climate destruction.
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The Stop the Money Pipeline campaign will be leading a webinar tonight, March 8, at 5:00pm PST/8:00pm EST to prepare people to take action in April - please consider joining at the button below.
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Throughout the year we will join our Stop The Money Pipeline coalition partners to target JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Liberty Mutual, top funders of the climate crisis, and demand they divest from the fossil fuel industry.
Learn more about the campaign here!
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Civil Society Groups Send a Message to Royal Bank of Scotland
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WECAN International joined our colleagues in running an ad in the Scotland Herald calling on Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) CEO, Alison Rose to take climate action and commit to fossil fuel free financing - please see the advertisement below!
The next day,
RBS announced a set of climate initiatives
to reduce financing for fossil fuel companies, increase climate and sustainable finance, and cut its GHG emissions. As with many banks, we will see if these recent initiatives go beyond statements and greenwashing attempts, and we will continue to apply pressure to do so.
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Report Backs and Calls to Action from the
WECAN International Network Wide Call
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On February 5, the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network hosted an International Network Wide Call via Zoom, opened by Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director, who facilitated the call from the Coastal Miwok lands in California. We had people join us from all around the world including Uganda, Germany, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, the UK, and the Tlingit/Haida territories in Alaska.
During the call we shared some of WECAN’s campaigns and programs for 2020, report backs on the COP25 climate negotiations, heard from some of WECAN's regional coordinators, introduced WECAN's Regional Action Exchange, and heard from many of you about the work you are passionate about in your community. Please read the full blog post for a summary and how you can get involved in 2020!
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Help Organize for a Feminist Green New Deal
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Some of the coalition members for the Feminist Green New Deal in Washington D.C. where they spoke to legislators about
the Feminist Principles for a Green New Deal. Photo via WECAN International/Katherine Quaid
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In early 2019, WECAN International along with several other organizations kick-started a coalition of women’s rights and climate justice organizations in recognition that feminist analysis must be part of our discourse on a Green New Deal. The Feminist Agenda for a Green New Deal (FemGND), thus was borne from collective generation. The FemGND is cross-cutting in its approach, steadfast in feminist principles, and strives to combat historical oppression by centering the leadership of women and frontline, impacted communities – especially women of color, Black women, Indigenous women, people with disabilities, LGBTQIAP+ people, people from the Global South, migrant and refugee communities, and youth.
Please read all 10 principles here.
In 2020, we look forward to further actualizing the Feminist Green New Deal, and invite you and your networks to join us in the coalition! If you are interested, sign up for the coalition listserv here:
http://feministgreennewdeal.com/
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Thank you for your support of WECAN!
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For the Earth and All Generations,
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The Women's Earth and Climate Action Network
(WECAN) International Team
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S T A Y C O N N E C T E D
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