Please join WECAN on March 23rd for our upcoming virtual event, "Women for Climate Justice Leading Protection of Water," which has been accepted as a formal side event at the UN Water Conference in New York City.

Continue on in the newsletter for more details about how to join us online, and to learn about other events, actions, and updates to protect people and planet!

WECAN is honored to co-host this upcoming in-person event, "Rights of Nature: The missing connection to enhance and implement the SDGs on Water," held at the UN Water Conference in New York City.

This event will explore why the Rights of Nature framework presents a powerful legal, non-anthropocentric, holistic tool for water restoration and protection, and how an Earth Rights-based approach to Nature can help meet and complement the global goals and objectives of restoration and protection of water ecosystems, as well as ensure water for the environment, effective governance and the maintenance of the ecosystem’s life cycle in benefit of Nature. This will be presented through several cases of rights-bearing aquatic ecosystems.

WECAN will have a livestream of the event available on our Facebook page here:

On Monday, March 13, despite the strong opposition from Indigenous leaders, environmental groups, and climate justice coalitions, the Biden Administration announced its approval of the ConocoPhillips' Willow Oil Drilling Project — a massive oil drilling development in Alaska’s western Arctic that threatens local communities and wildlife, and the global climate.

Willow will lock us into another 30+ years of fossil fuel extraction at a time when we need to immediately phase out fossil fuels. As reported by CNN, “the project would generate enough oil to release 9.2 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon pollution a year – equivalent to adding 2 million gas-powered cars to the roads.”

Led by frontline Indigenous leaders at Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic (SILA), opposition to the Willow project has risen over the past several weeks, including a change.org petition with 3.9 million signatures, and a letter from 22 lawmakers calling on President Biden to reject the project.

On March 4, ahead of the decision, WECAN was on the ground with Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic (SILA), Alaska Wilderness League, and People vs Fossil Fuels in Washington D.C. for a rally to pressure President Biden and the Department of Interior to deny the Willow Master Development Project. Please see photos here and our live stream here to learn from powerful Indigenous leaders from Alaska.

"Approving the Willow Project will lock communities into further climate chaos, environmental degradation and harm. The science is clear from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to the International Energy Agency: fossil fuel expansion must stop in order to halt the escalation of the climate crisis.

Today's decision is in direct opposition to President Biden's campaign promises to preserve public lands and take climate action. Biden’s decision does nothing to protect biodiversity, to advance calls for climate justice, or uplift Indigenous and human rights. Instead the Administration's decision is yet another chance for ConocoPhillips to burn down our planet for profit.

We will not be deterred by the efforts of fossil fuel companies and governments to propel us further into the climate crisis — we will keep fighting. Biden must stand with frontline communities as we work collectively to stop Willow and all fossil fuel expansion for good. There must be no more sacrifice people or sacrifice zones as we build the future we know is desperately needed for the health of people and planet.”

Take action and join us in telling the Biden Administration we do not want this project to go forward! The White House comment line is (202) 456-1111. 

This fight is not over, this project will be litigated.

In March, WECAN is collaborating with BankTrack to host a series of workshops for the Equator Principles Association (EPA) focused on deforestation, fossil fuels, human rights, divestment from harmful projects and investment in a Just Transition.

The EPA promotes and encourages the adoption and implementation of the Equator Principles, which provide a framework for financial institutions to identify, assess and manage environmental and social risks when financing Projects. 128 financial institutions in 38 countries have officially adopted the Equator Principles and are part of this consortium.

The upcoming workshops are designed to create open discussion to further progress useful knowledge exchange, enabling civil society organizations to articulate their expectations from EPA financial institutions based on the Equator Principles as the climate crisis escalates.

These workshops are a continuation of ongoing workshops and dialogue with the EPA facilitated by WECAN and BankTrack since 2021. WECAN is organizing frontline women to participate directly in these workshops to speak about their impacted communities and frameworks for a Just Transition.

Join us on March 21 for a National Day of Action to #StopDirtyBanks. We’re banding together with organizations and individuals across the country to tell Chase, CitiBank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo that if they don’t move out of fossil fuels, we’ll move our money out of their banks.

WECAN will be on the ground in New York City and San Francisco.

Be welcome to join an action or submit your own here: https://thirdact.org/national-day-of-action/