FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Emily Arasim
Communications Coordinator
Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network
+1 (505) 920-0153
emily@wecaninternational.org
From 50 Countries Worldwide, Women Rise Up For Global Women’s Climate Justice
Day of Action
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., October 1, 2015 – On Tuesday, September 29th, 2015 women from fifty
countries around the world took action for climate justice, gender equality, bold climate policies
and transformative solutions as part of the Global Women’s Climate Justice Day of
Action organized by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN International).
From Sudan to the Philippines, from Ecuador to France, women raised their voices collectively to
show resistance to social and environmental injustice and to present their solutions and
demands for a healthy, livable planet.
In Port Harcourt, Nigeria women organized the ‘African Women Uniting for Energy, Food, &
Climate Justice Exchange’, during which they shared struggles and solutions around oil
extraction in the Niger delta and led a march through the city. In Swaziland, women united to
sign the Women’s Climate Declaration and dialogue about why women experience
disproportionate climate impacts and what can be done to address this injustice.
In Scotland, women collected trash from the beach and ocean to create an art installation
highlighting the plight of threatened Arctic ecosystems. In Odisha, India, women united to speak
out against deforestation fueled by the mining industry, taking direct action by planting trees
and writing a memorandum to local government officials calling for communitywide reforestation
programs led by women. Many worldwide participants voiced their demands for their
governments to keep fossil fuels in the ground and immediately finance a just transition to
100% renewable energy.
Action recaps, photos, and statements from worldwide participants have been compiled on a
central Day of Action gallery, from which they are being shared and amplified across the globe.
While women held decentralized actions in their communities, WECAN International convened a
September 29th hub event, ‘Women Speak: Climate Justice on the Road to Paris & Beyond’ at
the United Nations Church Center in New York City, directly across the street from where world
leaders gathered for the annual United Nations General Assembly.
The event featured presentations and declarations of action by outstanding leaders including
Indigenous activist and Greenpeace Canada campaigner Melina Laboucan-Massismo, May Boeve
of 350.org, Jacqui Patterson of the NAACP, Patricia Gualinga, Kichwa leader of Sarayaku
Ecuador, Thilmeeza Hussein of Voice of Women Maldives, and a special video message from
Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and President of the Mary Robinson FoundationClimate Justice. The event concluded with a historic announcement and presentation of the
'Indigenous Women of the North and South - Defend Mother Earth Treaty Compact 2015'.
As the day drew to a close, WECAN International and allies united for a direct action outside of
the United Nations Headquarters.
"Women around the world are well aware that what is happening in the 'halls of power' is not
nearly enough given the degree of climate crisis that we face and the injustices and impacts felt
by women on the frontlines across the globe,” explained Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and
Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, “On September 29th,
women across the world mobilized for bold, transformative climate change solutions and
demonstrated the strength, diversity, and vitality of the women’s movement for climate justice.
Women have always been on the frontlines of climate change, and now we are taking action to
make sure that our voices and decision-making power are at the forefront as well. The stories,
struggles, and solutions shared as part of the Global Women’s Climate Justice Day of Action will
be carried forward to COP21 in Paris and beyond.”
Photo: Women standing for climate justice outside of the United Nations in New York City during
the General Assembly on Tuesday, September 29. Credit: Emily Arasim
-# # #About The Women's Earth & Climate Action Network (WECAN International)
www.wecaninternational.org
@WECAN_INTL
The Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN International) is a solutions-based,
multi-faceted effort established to engage women worldwide as powerful stakeholders in climate
change, climate justice, and sustainability solutions. Recent work includes the 2013
International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit, Women’s Climate Declaration, and
WECAN Women’s Climate Action Agenda. International climate advocacy is complemented with
on-the-ground programs such as the Women’s for Forests and Fossil Fuel/Mining/Mega Dam
Resistance, US Women’s Climate Justice Initiative, and Regional Climate Solutions Trainings in
the Middle East North Africa region, Latin America, and Democratic Republic of Congo. WECAN
International was founded in 2013 as a project of the 501(c)3Women’s Earth and Climate
Caucus (WECC) organization and its partner eraGlobal Alliance.