TODAY: WECAN is releasing a set of recommendations and action steps to governments and financial institutions attending the global conference calling for ambitious action for our communities and the planet. More details are below!

TOMORROW: Please join us on June 2nd for WECAN's Stockholm+50 Event where we will hear from powerful women and feminist leaders about their strategies and solutions to protect nature and to secure resilient and healthy communities. We will also share the recommendations and our call to action during the event.

Global women and feminists are leading movements and projects to build a healthy and just world. During this event, grassroots women leaders and global advocates will discuss environmental degradation, the climate crisis, and present a diverse array of strategies and solutions to secure strong communities and a just planet for current and future generations including: Indigenous rights, Racial and Gender Equity, Rights of Nature, Women’s Leadership, Forest Protection, Food Sovereignty, and much more.

Since the 1972 Stockholm conference, civil society has played a vital role in pushing for the implementation of international policies and frameworks uplifting social justice and environmental projections. Right now, we need governments and businesses to listen to the demands of civil society and take immediate action in alignment with the goals of climate justice frameworks. WECAN will be engaging with governments and financial institutions at Stockholm+50, advocating for women's leadership, just climate action, rights-based approaches to systemic change, and the end of fossil fuel production through the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Today, in the lead up to Stockholm+50, the Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network (WECAN) is releasing a set of recommendations and action steps to governments and financial institutions attending the global conference to call for ambitious action for our communities and the planet. 

From June 2 - 3, governments, businesses, civil society, and global stakeholders will come together for the Stockholm+50 conference to commemorate 50 years since the first international UN summit on the environment, which led to the development of the 2030 Agenda and the global Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). As one of the most significant global gatherings of governments in 2022, the recommendations urge governments and financial institutions to advance the SDGs through immediate and ambitious policies and programs that uplift gender equity and advance climate justice. The action steps outlined in the recommendations call for comprehensive climate justice efforts including phasing out fossil fuels, uplifting human and Indigenous rights, gender and racial justice, and protecting global forests and biodiversity. 

“The warning signs have been visible for far too long,” states Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director. “As the climate crisis and environmental degradation escalates, our communities, and the earth are suffering. We need governments and financial institutions to immediately align with the calls of science and civil society and take bold and urgent action. We are at a choice point for humanity. We know solutions exist to mitigate the worst impacts of interlocking crises, and that women are leading the way and should be supported in their efforts."

The recommendations are based on frameworks of diverse global movements and represent those experiencing the brunt of impacts from the climate crisis, environmental degradation, and COVID-19 pandemic. The document highlights the need for significant systemic change, “We must transition from an extractivist, colonial paradigm to a sustainable, globally-conscious paradigm of respect, restore and replenish.”

At Stockholm+50, the Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty is holding a pre-summit in partnership with the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, and the Nordic Council. The pre-summit will be attended by Indigenous leaders, policy-makers, diplomats, the Stockholm+50 Youth Task Force and key civil society leaders from across the world in order to discuss how we can work together to manage a global just transition away from fossil fuels, including through supporting a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is an initiative to phase-out fossil fuels and fast-track climate solutions inspired by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We are honored that WECAN Executive Director Osprey Orielle Lake sits on the Steering Committee for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and we look forward to participating and advocating for the treaty during Stockholm+50.

Please join us at the Global Alliance for Rights of Nature (GARN) for this Stockholm+50 event uplifting the Rights of Nature Movement.

The aim of this event is to demonstrate how Rights of Nature is a transformative tool to halt transgressing the Planetary Boundaries and keep on track with the laws of Nature. 

A prominent group of Rights of Nature experts will demonstrate the growth of the Rights of Nature movement and the extension to which it has been applied and recognized in more than 37 countries at a national and local level, to ecosystems such as rivers, lakes, and natural biomes.

The event will be broadcast live on GARN’s social media profiles such as Facebook and YouTube.

WECAN is honored to be on the Executive Committee for GARN, and has been a key organizer for the Committee.