SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, Calif. (September 12, 2018) – Today, members of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International and allied organization delivered a bold set of demands and calls to action from global women for climate justice to the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS).

 

The GCAS has brought international political, business, and other representatives to San Francisco to discuss efforts to accelerate the goals of the Paris Climate Accord. Aware of the dangerous gap between rhetoric and reality,  leaders from women’s rights, human rights, environmental, and Indigenous rights organizations have seized upon the moment to call out false and inadequate solutions, and to put forward an uncompromising vision for the equitable and healthy future that they seek.

 

The ‘Call For Climate Justice and Immediate Action; A Message from Women for Climate Justice to the Global Climate Action Summit Steering Committee, Government Representatives and Participants’ (click to download) states in its opening: 

 

“We call on elected officials to steadfastly commit to keep global warming below 1.5°Celsius, as stated in the Paris Climate Accord, via policies that simultaneously prioritize social, racial and economic justice for all. In order to do this, we are calling for a transformation of how we relate to the natural world and to one another. We must transition from an extractivist, colonial paradigm of “exploit and extract” to a sustainable, globally-conscious one of “respect, restore and replenish.” We must rapidly halt the extraction and burning of coal, oil and gas, while simultaneously building a new economy predicated on community-led solutions and women’s rights, Indigenous rights, the rights of nature and the rights of future generations.”

 

The ‘Call For Climate Justice and Immediate Action; A Message from Women for Climate Justice’ presents six core demands, including a call for assertive plans to keep remaining fossil fuels in the ground and ban new extractive energy projects; the centering of women’s leadership; the protection of the rights of Indigenous Nations; the promotion of decentralized and democratic renewable energy systems; the upholding of the Rights of Nature; and the protection of biodiversity and food and seed sovereignty.

 

The Call has been endorsed by organizations representing tens of thousands of people worldwide - including the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, Indigenous Climate Action (Canada), Indigenous Environmental Network, Greenpeace, Global Grassroots Justice Alliance, Women’s Environment and Development Organization, Women In Solar Energy, Amazon Watch, Global Forest Coalition, Voice of Women (Maldives), Australian Earth Laws Alliance, TierrActiva (Peru), Adéquations (France), Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment (Uganda) - and many others.

 

The ‘Call For Climate Justice and Immediate Action; A Message from Women for Climate Justice’ was delivered to the GCAS on Wednesday September 12th at 2:30 pm by a contingent of women, and was received by Nick Nuttall, Director of Communications, Global Climate Action Summit.

 

The delivery of the Call comes one day after the presentation of the ‘Women’s Assembly For Climate Justice’, a full day public event, which brought together over 30 outstanding women leaders from around the world to share their stories, analysis and solutions. A full livestream from the Women’s Assembly is available via Facebook livestream - facebook.com/WECAN.Intl/videos/2262822120413090 - and provides a powerful, direct illustration of the analysis put forth in the Call To Action document. 

 

Download the ‘Call For Climate Justice and Immediate Action; A Message from Women for Climate Justice’ here.