Dear Community,

This coming week, the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) will be in Antalya, Türkiye for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP31 climate negotiations from November 7–23, with WECAN engagement and delegation activities taking place throughout the two weeks. 

At this urgent moment for climate action, we will be advocating for a fair and fast fossil fuel phaseout, a Just Transition, gender-responsive climate policy, Indigenous rights and leadership, forest protection, Rights of Nature, and climate finance for frontline communities. We look forward to sharing updates from COP31 and highlighting the leadership and solutions of women in all their diversity, Indigenous Peoples, and frontline communities working for climate justice around the world.

Big on our agenda this week: WECAN along with millions of allies nationally and internationally are celebrating loudly the 2026 United States Midterm Elections results, which mark a vital turning point not only in the US political context but in the global fight for democracy, rights, and a healthy future for all. Read WECAN's statement here. 

Please see below for an overview of WECAN’s COP31 advocacy, priorities, events, and delegation. We will continue sharing updates from Antalya through our Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn channels. We will never give up on our beautiful communities and Nature!

Building on years of engagement in the UNFCCC process, WECAN will be advocating alongside women leaders in all of their diversity, Indigenous Peoples, frontline communities, and climate justice movements for the urgent action needed to address the climate crisis and protect a livable future.

COP31 comes at a critical moment for international climate action. As the world faces the growing reality of 1.5°C overshoot, communities are already experiencing escalating impacts from a warming climate, while fossil fuel extraction and expansion continue. For WECAN, an overshoot cannot become accepted as the new normal. We must fight for every fraction of a degree—for the lowest possible peak temperature and the shortest possible period above 1.5°C. This requires countries to urgently develop and implement clear roadmaps to phase out fossil fuels, transition to renewable energy, and improve energy efficiency.

The continued expansion of coal, oil, and gas makes the need for action even more urgent. New fossil fuel projects continue to be proposed, financed, and built despite the need for rapid emissions reductions. WECAN will continue to challenge this contradiction and call for a fair, fast, and funded fossil fuel phaseout. The transition away from fossil fuels must happen alongside a rapid expansion of renewable energy and energy efficiency, while ensuring that workers and communities are supported throughout, and that human and Indigenous rights are at the center of the transition.

A Just Transition must also address the inequalities created and reinforced by extractive economic systems. Women in all of their diversity, Indigenous Peoples, workers, and frontline communities must have meaningful decision-making power, secure rights and territories, and access to the resources needed to lead locally grounded climate solutions. Mitigation and adaptation must advance together, with adequate, accessible, and equitable climate finance reaching the communities most affected by the climate crisis.

At COP31, WECAN will bring a feminist, climate justice, and rights-based approach to these discussions. We will advocate for climate policies that address the root causes of the crisis and support a transition toward a just and regenerative future.

WECAN Advocacy at COP31

WECAN will engage across negotiations, policy discussions, civil society spaces, and public advocacy around the following priorities:

• A fair, fast, and funded fossil fuel phaseout
• Just Transition Mechanism
• Keeping 1.5°C within reach and minimizing the scale and duration of overshoot
• Gender-responsive and gender-just climate policy
• Implementation of the Gender Action Plan
• Indigenous rights, sovereignty, and leadership as essential to climate action
• Robust, accessible, and just climate finance
• Forest and biodiversity protection
• Rights of Nature
• Protection and support for women environmental and land defenders
• Challenging carbon markets, offsets, and other false solutions, Article 6
• The Fossil Fuel Treaty and international cooperation on fossil fuel phaseout
• Community-led climate solutions and regenerative economic approaches
• Accountability for governments, corporations, and financial institutions

Across these negotiations we will be asking:

Are climate commitments translating into meaningful action that addresses the root causes of the crisis, protects human and Indigenous rights, and delivers resources and decision-making power to the communities most affected?

As a proud member of the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC), WECAN is honored to stand alongside feminist movements and partners in advancing the WGC’s COP31 Key Demands for gender-responsive and transformative climate action. 

Please continue on in this newsletter to meet our COP31 delegates and learn about upcoming WECAN actions and events!

WECAN is organizing, co-hosting, and speaking at many events during COP31. In addition to participating in the negotiations with the Women and Gender Constituency, there will be WECAN events held inside and outside of the formal UNFCCC venue. For WECAN’s full COP31 events schedule, visit our website here. Check back on our website for more events soon as we are continuously updating our agenda! 

Any events inside the UNFCCC Blue Zone venue require UN accreditation. Alternatively, you can join us online for livestreams and recordings of selected COP31 events for our worldwide network. All events will be listed in Türkiye (TRT) Time Zone, so please check your time zones to join us!

Events are listed in order of dates. Partner events will be listed on our website.

COP31 Civil Society Roundtable on Rights of Nature

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

​DATE AND TIME

Thursday, November 12, 2026

13:00 - 14:30 TRT

LOCATION

Blue Zone, UNFCCC, COP31

This roundtable is a strategy meeting that will bring together civil society groups for a focused discussion toward a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Nature. 

This will be an informal strategy conversation rather than a general conversation about the Rights of Nature, emphasizing updates from advocates, identifying shared priorities, and determining opportunities for collaboration to advance the Universal Declaration.

REGISTER HERE

COP31 Government Roundtable on Rights of Nature

Co-hosted by Fiji's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and WECAN

​DATE AND TIME

Thursday, November 12, 2026

15:30 - 17:00 TRT

LOCATION

Blue Zone, UNFCCC, COP31

This invitation-only roundtable will convene government representatives and select partners to exchange experiences and perspectives on Rights of Nature and explore its potential contribution to climate, ocean, and biodiversity governance. The conversation will provide an open space for governments to learn from emerging legal and policy approaches, discuss opportunities and questions around international recognition of Rights of Nature, and explore the growing discussion around a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Nature and potential pathways for continued dialogue among interested governments.

Formal UN Side Event: Women Leading Climate Solutions on the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis

Hosted by WECAN

DATE AND TIME

Monday, November 16, 2026

11:30 - 13:00 (TRT)

LOCATION

Side Event Room 9 – SAFRANBOLU

Grassroots and Indigenous women leaders and global advocates will present climate solutions and just transition strategies, including forest and biodiversity protection and restoration, climate justice finance and policy, rights of nature, fossil fuel phase-out, and women land defenders.

Speakers include:

• Brianna Fruean, Samoan environmental advocate, Member of the Council of Elders for the Pacific Climate Warriors, Independent State of Samoa
• Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/United States 
• Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), President of Indigenous Climate Action (ICA), and Founder of The Woven Project, Turtle Island/Canada
• Mela Chiponda, Director of SHINE Collab, Zimbabwe
• Gillian Cooper, Political Director of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, England
• Bárbara Tupinikim (Tupiniquim), Territorial Council of Indigenous Tupinikim and Guarani Women, Bem Viver Coordinator, and National Association of Indigenous Women's Warriors of Ancestry (ANMIGA), Brazil
• Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Governing Council of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN), and Steering Committee for the Fossil Fuel Treaty, Turtle Island/USA
• Moderated by Ivory Vogt, Policy and Communications Manager of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Republic of Palau

Press Conference | Women Leading a Fossil Fuel Phaseout and Just Transition

Hosted by WECAN

DATE AND TIME

Monday, November 16, 2026

17:30 - 18:00 TRT 

LOCATION

Press Conference Room 2, Area D4, “Yunus Emre”, Blue Zone, UNFCCC COP31

As countries prepare to implement commitments to transition away from fossil fuels, women leaders are advancing bold strategies that center justice, equity, and community resilience. Women leaders in all their diversity will discuss pathways to accelerate a fossil fuel phaseout, democratize renewable energy, advance a Just Transition, and ensure implementation includes care workers, Indigenous Peoples, frontline communities, and ecosystems.

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

Hosted by WECAN

DATE AND TIME

Tuesday, November 17, 2026

17:30 - 18:00 TRT

LOCATION

Press Conference Room 2, Area D4, “Yunus Emre”, Blue Zone, UNFCCC COP31

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.

Pavilion Event | Frontline Women's Health in the Climate Crisis

Hosted by WECAN

DATE AND TIME

Wednesday, November 18

10:30 - 11:30 (TRT)

LOCATION

WHO Pavilion, Blue Zone, UNFCCC

During this panel, frontline community leaders, health advocates, and leaders from climate justice organizations will delve into the horrific toll the climate crisis and fossil fuels are taking on women’s health, and the subsequent impacts, including increased economic and caretaking strains.

Speakers include:

• Viva Tatawaqa, Co-Executive Director, Management Collective member, and Political Coordinator, DIVA, Fiji
• Colette Pichon Battle, Esq., Vision and Initiatives Partner for Taproot Earth, Lawyer and Climate Justice Activist, Turtle Island/USA
• Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/United States 
• Noemi Grütter, Head of Advocacy and Partnerships, Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA), Switzerland
• Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Turtle Island/USA
• Moderated by Katherine Quaid (Confederated Tribes of Umatilla), Strategic Advisor for Policy and Communications, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Turtle Island/USA

Press Conference | Women Protecting and Restoring Forests as a Climate Solution

Hosted by WECAN

DATE AND TIME

Wednesday, November 18, 2026

14:00 - 14:30 TRT

LOCATION

Press Conference Room 2, Area D4, “Yunus Emre”, Blue Zone, UNFCCC COP31

Forests are critical for global climate and community health, yet continue to be gravely threatened by deforestation, extractive industries, false solutions, and worsening extreme weather events fueled by the climate crisis. As governments shift from climate commitments to implementation, frontline, Indigenous, and global women leaders continue to lead some of the world’s most effective strategies for protecting and restoring forests, biodiversity, and the global climate. Frontline and Indigenous women leaders, alongside representatives from international environmental organizations, will address the root causes of deforestation and forest loss, and showcase successful women-led forest strategies, policies, and solutions. 

People's Climate Summit | Women Building a Resilient World: Implementing a Just Transition and Fossil Fuel Phaseout

Hosted by WECAN

DATE AND TIME

Wednesday, November 18

16:00 - 17:30 TRT

LOCATION

Mimar Sinan Kültür Merkezi, Earth Hall, People’s Climate Summit

During this event, frontline women in all of their diversity, Indigenous leaders, policymakers, and climate justice advocates will come together to explore the bold actions and solutions needed to accelerate a Just Transition and an equitable phaseout of fossil fuels. Through gender-responsive climate policy dialogue, frontline experiences, and community-led solutions, speakers will examine how to translate climate commitments into meaningful implementation while raising ambition to meet the urgency of the climate crisis at COP31 and beyond.

Virtual Event | Global Voices and Women-Led Calls to Action in Response to COP31

Hosted by WECAN



DATE AND TIME

Thursday, November 19

17:00 - 19:00 TRT 

LOCATION

Zoom, virtual participation only

REGISTER HERE

Join WECAN for a virtual gathering that will feature women leaders in all of their diversity, frontline communities, and climate justice advocates from around the world to report on COP31 negotiations, share highlights, release findings, issue calls-to-action, and present solutions.

WECAN is honored to organize and advocate with an outstanding Frontline and Indigenous Women's Delegation to demand world governments take bold and transformative action for climate justice.

For any media or speaker inquiries for delegates, please contact ivory@wecaninternational.org.

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 and Project Coordinator. Casey is the Chair of the Indigenous Council for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN). 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. 

SECRETARY PUYR TEMBÉ

(Tembé), Brazil

Puyr Tembé, is a prominent Indigenous activist of the Tembé Indigenous peoples from Alto Rio Guamá in the Brazilian Amazon, and the Former First Secretary of Indigenous Peoples of the State of Pará. She is also a Co-founder of The National Association of Indigenous Ancestral Women Warriors (ANMIGA). Puyr's advocacy is featured in the award-winning film “We Are Guardians,” which highlights the efforts of Indigenous forest guardians and Earth Defenders in protecting the Amazon from illegal logging and mining. 

JULIA HORINEK

(Ponca Nation), Turtle Island/USA

Julia Horinek, a citizen of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma, has worked extensively alongside her family in both the Rights of Nature and Human Rights Movements for the entirety of her life. A seasoned “activist”, organizer, and administrator, Julia holds tight to the traditional knowledge passed to her from her Mother and Grandmother. Through her work Julia supports the continuation of Indigenous traditions, values, and Cosmology. Julie is a WECAN Coordinator of the Ponca Earthen Lodge Project, and also serves as the Global North Organizer for the Indigenous Council for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) and is the Indigenous Programs Director for Movement Rights. 

OLIVIA BISA TIRKO

(Chapra), Peru

Olivia Bisa Tirko is the first woman president of the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Chapra Nation in the Peruvian Amazon. Her leadership has broken down barriers in the governance of the Chapra people, inspiring women and youth to take pride in their Chapra identity and to stand up against predatory oil companies. In 2025, Olivia Bisa received the Latin America Environmental and Climate Justice Award for her outstanding leadership in protecting the Amazon rainforest and opposing oil exploitation.

JOZILÉIA KAINGANG

(Kaingang), Brazil

Joziléia Kaingang is the co-founder and current Executive Director of the National Association of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestry (ANMIGA). She is also a geographer and professor with a PhD in Social Anthropology.

WATATAKALU YAWALAPITI

(Xingu), Brazil



Watatakalu Yawalapiti is a Brazilian Indigenous activist, creator and artist, born in the Xingu National Park and a female leader of the Yawalapiti. She has dedicated her life to elevating the voices of Indigenous women and paving the way for their political articulation, offering training so that women from the Xingu can definitively occupy a space in governance. Elected leader of the Women's Movement of the Xingu Indigenous Territory (MMTIX), which represents 16 peoples who live in 200 villages located in the Xingu Indigenous Land (TIX) in the Amazon, she is also the founder of ATIX-Mulher, which is the secretariat for Indigenous women of the MMTIX, which seeks to articulate and unite Indigenous women, promote the empowerment of Indigenous women in the context of their own cultures and customs, fostering greater acceptance within their communities and driving genuine progress in female emancipation and participation in political decisions, both inside and outside their villages. As a Woman of the Earth, Guardian, Defender of the Earth, activist and protector, she is part of and founded several groups that fight for the protection of Indigenous peoples and the Amazon, including the National Association of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (ANMIGA).

LUCIMARA PATTÉ

(Xokleng), Brazil



Lucimara Patté is an Indigenous leader of the Xokleng people, from the Atlantic Forest region of south of Brazil. She is a Co-Founder and the Technical Advisor of Political Advocacy of the National Association of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestry (ANMIGA), contributing to the collective struggle for Indigenous women's rights, territorial protection, and climate justice. Her work strengthens the political participation of Indigenous women and the recognition of their ancestral knowledge in the defense of their territories and communities.

OSPREY ORIELLE LAKE

Turtle Island/USA

Osprey Orielle Lake is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN). Osprey works internationally with grassroots, BIPOC and Indigenous leaders, policymakers, and diverse coalitions to build climate justice, resilient communities, and a Just Transition. She sits on the Governing Council for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and on the Steering Committee for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Osprey’s writing about climate justice, relationships with nature, women in leadership, and other topics has been featured in many publications, and she is the author of the award-winning book, “The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis.” 

IVORY VOGT

Republic of Palau

As WECAN’s Policy and Communications Manager, Ivory leads the organization’s policy analysis, advocacy strategy, and external communications. She supports WECAN’s policy engagement at the national and international level, and ensures alignment between policy goals and communications strategy. Ivory Vogt is a climate and ocean justice advocate dedicated to intersectional work on Indigenous rights and women’s leadership. Ivory’s career has focused on creating sustainable policies and programs with island and frontline communities, advocating for equitable solutions, land ownership rights, environmental protection, and cultural preservation. She is also the co-author of the United Nations’ Coastal Tourism Breakthrough, a Climate Advisor with SEASTORIA, and a former Climate Negotiator for the Government of Palau.

KATHERINE QUAID

(Confederated Tribes of Umatilla), Turtle Island/USA

Katherine Quaid is the Strategic Advisor for Policy and Communications for the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN). 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. As part of her work at the UNFCCC, she engages in the Women and Gender Constituency Just Transition working group, supports strategic communications, and speaks out on Indigenous rights, climate justice, and a feminist Just Transition.

As COP31 brings governments, movements, and civil society together to address the climate and biodiversity crises, WECAN will be releasing our new report Reimagining Forest Restoration and Protection: Dismantling Extractive Approaches while Building Just Community-Led Forest Solutions, along with policy briefs. The report examines gaps in forest governance, finance, and policy and calls for a shift away from extractive, market-based approaches toward rights-based, community-led forest protection and restoration.

This report will highlight the leadership of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, women, and forest communities, calling on governments and policymakers to enact and support stronger land rights and decision-making power for communities and women, protection for women environmental defenders, reparation-based and accessible forest finance, and action to phase out deforestation-linked activities and harmful subsidies. The report will share examples of how communities closest to forests are among their most effective stewards, and their rights, knowledge, leadership, and solutions are critical to achieving global forest protection.

WECAN will bring the report’s findings and recommendations into COP31 through press conferences, policy discussions, side events, and other advocacy spaces, connecting forest protection with climate justice, Indigenous rights, gender justice, climate finance, Rights of Nature, and a Just Transition. 

Follow WECAN throughout COP31 to hear directly from women leaders, Indigenous Peoples, and frontline forest defenders and stay tuned for the report release here.

In a historic presidential election, Brazil reelected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, marking a pivotal international moment for the defense of democracy, the planet, and rights!

Across Brazil, mobilizations for just futures, Indigenous and human rights, and democratic leadership organized powerful voting participation and resistance against far-right threats to the environment, territories, and freedoms. This momentous victory holds powerful ripples that resonate with movements for justice, rights, and life around the world.

WECAN celebrates this moment with partners, Indigenous peoples across Brazil, and communities worldwide. We stand in solidarity with all those in the ongoing fight for a healthy and just future.

On October 28th, the world felt the great loss of the remarkable Dolores Huerta—Chicana activist and civil rights leader who dedicated her 96 years of life to fighting for rights for farm workers and women. 

In 1962, as Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers, Huerta organized against the exploitation of agricultural workers while tirelessly fighting asserting the inseparable fight for women’s equality within labor justice. Through Huerta’s coined rally cry, “¡Sí, se puede!” (“Yes, we can”), we are emboldened to persist against oppression in all forms. 

“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.” - Dolores Huerta

Dolores Huerta’s legacy is one of courage, conviction, and strength, and we honor her as we continue to fight for a better future for all. 

Rest in power. 

Dear Community, 

The 2026 United States Midterm Elections results mark a vital turning point— away from a period which has been defined by fear-mongering, attacks on rights and safety, authoritarianism, and exacerbated environmental harms. We now proceed into the next two years equipped with a foundation rooted in change, a grounded understanding of what may lay ahead, and an emboldened and brighter torch than ever.

The voter participation, community solidarity, and results of this election serve as a reminder that the power belongs to the people, and inside and out of government, the people are not only imagining but enacting a world that respects rights, ecosystems, and the health of communities and nature. 

Against intimidation tactics, voter elimination acts, misinformation campaigns, and attempts to strike fear into communities, voters and communities stood together in collective defense of democracy, civil rights, and a livable future for all generations.  

As we move forward, we know our work is far from over, yet there is strength and healing in listening to what our bodies, hearts, and minds need–-be it a breath, rest, or care—as we rise again with collective resolve. Steadfastly, we remain resisting, dismantling, and rebuilding a world that is deeply entrenched in intertwining systems of patriarchy, racism, colonization, and capitalism. Together, we continue to organize, mobilize, and bring about a just world, including holding government leaders accountable to upholding and strengthening our democracy and protecting the living world. 

In these moments, we honor the frontline communities and women in all their diversity who lead our communities and movements with great care, resilience, and strength through treacherous waters. As the current Administration will undoubtedly continue to put profit above the wellbeing of the people and our planet, we remain steady as stone and let waves of extremely uncertain and difficult times wash over us, but never break us.

As we prepare for COP31 in Antalya, Turkiye, we continue to draw attention to the root causes of interlocking crises, and uplift transformative solutions to build a just and healthy future. While the U.S. administration has been absent from global climate summits, failed to fulfill multiple climate obligations, and perpetuates destructive systemic injustices—from bolstering a militarized fossil fuel economy, to surging rollbacks on environmental and human health protections, and attacking renewable energy—we stand alongside our global partners in the fight for meaningful and transformative action to bring about climate justice and protect human rights.

Around the country and worldwide, the fight for liberation, justice, and wellbeing for all persists on—a steady drumbeat guiding our path. We stand with the global community in this commitment and hold this political shift of power in the United States as a moment to bring forward ripples of change and actualize a world built by and for all people. 

With deep care for each of you and our world,

The WECAN Team

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.