As global leaders gathered for the UN Climate Ambition Summit on Wednesday, September 20, WECAN hosted an event, right across the street from the UN, bringing together women leaders to call on

As global leaders gathered for the UN Climate Ambition Summit on Wednesday, September 20, WECAN hosted an event, right across the street from the UN, bringing together women leaders to call on governments to reckon with their role in fueling climate chaos, and harm against communities and the planet by continuing the extraction of fossil fuels. Governments must invest in and deploy a Just Transition that is grounded in a climate justice framework and uplifts care economies, community-led solutions, Indigenous rights, and a different vision than business as usual. During the event, we hosted two panels detailed below.

In the first panel, “Women Ending the Era of Fossil Fuels," speakers shared expertise and frameworks for transitioning away from extraction and ongoing policy advocacy and campaigns that seek to phase out fossil fuels and other harmful extractive practices.

Speakers included: Sharon Lavigne, Founder and President of RISE St. James, Turtle Island/USA; Farhana Yamin, Coordinator, Climate Justice & Just Transition Donor Collaborative, United Kingdom; Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action, Canada; Tzeporah Berman, Chair, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Canada; moderation and comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, WECAN.

In the second panel, "Women-led Climate Solutions Are Central to a Just Transition and Thriving Future," leaders shared how to implement and support solutions that are advancing a Just Transition, and recent successes and victories for community-led climate just solutions!

Speakers included: Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, Turtle Island, USA; Helena Gualinga (Kichwa from Sarayaku), Indigenous Youth Climate Leader, Ecuador; Ozawa Bineshi Albert (Yuchi and Anishinaabe), Climate Justice Alliance Co-Executive Director, Turtle Island/USA; Elizabeth C. Yeampierre, Executive Director, UPROSE, Turtle Island/USA; Zukiswa White, Coordinator, Women and Gender Constituency, South Africa; moderation and comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, WECAN.

To close out our advocacy efforts at Climate Week, WECAN hosted our final event, "How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis," where we heard from movement leaders and

To close out our advocacy efforts at Climate Week, WECAN hosted our final event, "How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis," where we heard from movement leaders and change-makers who wove together stories, worldviews, experiences and victories of restoration and justice that demonstrate the healthy and equitable world we know is possible and needed.

Speakers included: Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, Turtle Island, USA; Helena Gualinga (Kichwa from Sarayaku), Indigenous Youth Climate Leader, Ecuador; Jacqui Patterson, Founder and Executive Director of The Chisholm Legacy Project, USA; Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN); moderation by Antonia Juhasz, Senior Researcher on Fossil Fuels, Human Rights Watch, and Investigative Journalist.

At the closing of the event, Osprey Orielle Lake also shared a preview of her forthcoming book "The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis," to be released in January 2024. Learn more about the book here: https://ospreyoriellelake.earth/

During COP28, WECAN hosted a series of events highlighting the powerful voices of women leaders in all of their diversity from around the world!
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Press Conference –

During COP28, WECAN hosted a series of events highlighting the powerful voices of women leaders in all of their diversity from around the world!
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Press Conference – Women for Climate Justice Leading Solutions, COP28; Sunday, December 10, 2023, 3:30 - 4:00 PM

​International women leaders shared the impacts of international climate policies, and discussed the urgency for transformative strategies and solutions to address the climate crisis and advance a just transition. ​​

Speakers included:
✨ Taily Terena (Terena Nation), Indigenous rights activist, WECAN Coordinator in Brazil, member of IITC - International Indian Treaty Council and IIYFCC - International Indigenous youth forum on climate change, Brazil
✨ Zukiswa White, Coordinator, Women and Gender Constituency, South Africa
✨ Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, Turtle Island, USA
✨ Brianna Fruean, Youth Climate Activist and Environmental Advocate, Samoa
✨ Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA

During COP28, WECAN hosted a series of events highlighting the powerful voices of women leaders in all of their diversity from around the world!
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Women Leading Fossil Fuel

During COP28, WECAN hosted a series of events highlighting the powerful voices of women leaders in all of their diversity from around the world!
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Women Leading Fossil Fuel Phaseout and A Just Transition, Press Conference, COP28; Saturday, December 9, 2023, 5:30 - 6:00 PM

Women leaders shared vital reports and critical strategies to advance a fossil fuel phaseout and accelerate a Just Transition while supporting communities and ecosystems impacted by extractive industries and human and Indigenous rights violations.

Speakers Included:
💥 Tzeporah Berman, Chair, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Canada
💥 Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Convenor and International Spokesperson for Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), Philippines
💥 Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action, Canada
💥 Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA

Press Conference – Accelerating Feminist Solutions to the Climate Crisis, Saturday, December 2, 2023, 3:30 - 4:00 PM

During COP28, WECAN hosted a series of events highlighting

Press Conference – Accelerating Feminist Solutions to the Climate Crisis, Saturday, December 2, 2023, 3:30 - 4:00 PM

During COP28, WECAN hosted a series of events highlighting the powerful voices of women leaders in all of their diversity from around the world! This event was co-hosted by the Feminist Green New Deal (FemGND) Coalition, of which WECAN is a founding member.

​During this press conference, women and feminist leaders spoke to the root causes of the climate crisis as it is imperative to ensure the inclusion of feminist principles in a Just Transition. Speakers discussed feminist policies and frameworks that are necessary for advancing just climate policies, focused in the United States with global implications. Speakers included organizational representatives from the FemGND Coalition

💥 Tzeporah Berman, Chair, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Canada 💥 Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Convenor and International Spokesperson for Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), Philippines 💥 Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action, Canada 💥 Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA

Press Conference– Rights of Nature: A Systemic Solution to the Climate Crisis; COP28, Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM

During COP28, WECAN hosted a series of

Press Conference– Rights of Nature: A Systemic Solution to the Climate Crisis; COP28, Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM

During COP28, WECAN hosted a series of events highlighting the powerful voices of women leaders in all of their diversity from around the world!
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Rights of Nature articulates a new legal framework and economy based on living in balance with Earth’s natural systems. Presenters shared successes from the Rights of Nature movement, and how it can offer a systemic framework for defending biodiversity, communities, and our climate.

Speakers included:
🌿 Nnimmo Bassey, Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nigeria
🌿 Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, Turtle Island, USA
🌿 Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) and Executive Committee, Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, USA

On December 5, WECAN hosted our formal UN Side Event at COP28, “Women Implementing Climate Justice Solutions to Mitigate and Adapt to the Climate Crisis.” During the side event,

On December 5, WECAN hosted our formal UN Side Event at COP28, “Women Implementing Climate Justice Solutions to Mitigate and Adapt to the Climate Crisis.” During the side event, grassroots, Indigenous and frontline women, and representatives of global organizations presented climate justice strategies and solutions, including forest and biodiversity protection, Indigenous rights, agro-ecology, renewable energy and a Just Transition, fossil fuel phase out and divestment, and protection of women land defenders.

Speakers included: Lucy Mulenkei (Maasai), Executive Director, Indigenous Information Network, Kenya; Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director, Indigenous Climate Action, Canada; Braulina Baniwa (Baniwa), Executive Director, National Articulation of Indigenous Women Ancestrality Warriors (ANMIGA), Brazil; Taily Terena (Terena Nation), Indigenous rights activist, WECAN Coordinator in Brazil, Brazil; Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, Turtle Island, USA; Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA

During the event we also had a special appearance by Sonia Guajajara, Minister of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil, who shared a powerful testimony to the leadership of women in Brazil and globally. We are honored to have worked with Minister Guajajara for the past several years, and to see her continue her advocacy efforts in her newly appointed position.

The Great Lakes are under attack, and Indigenous women and allies are rising to shutdown Line 5!

Operating 20 years past its engineered life span, Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline is

The Great Lakes are under attack, and Indigenous women and allies are rising to shutdown Line 5!

Operating 20 years past its engineered life span, Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline is threatening 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater at a time of climate crisis, putting at risk sacred ecosystems, clean drinking water, treaty territories, and our global climate.

Tribal leadership, Indigenous leaders, environmental groups and allies are calling for the immediate shutdown and decommissioning of Line 5. Instead of shutting down Line 5, Enbridge is proposing to expand the pipeline, despite strong opposition.

Enbridge's proposed new route will cut through hundreds of waterways that flow into the Bad River Reservation, their extensive fisheries, the navigable waters of Lake Superior, and the Straits of Mackinac.

The existing Line 5 pipeline must be shut down and decommissioned, not simply re-routed and expanded. As climate catastrophes impact communities world wide, it is imperative to stop the expansion of all fossil fuels now!

Learn more about WECAN's current campaign to stop Line 5 here:
https://www.wecaninternational.org/stop-line-5

On International Women's Day 2024 we are releasing a new WECAN video that highlights the advocacy of global women leaders fighting to end the era of fossil fuels while advancing a Just Transition

On International Women's Day 2024 we are releasing a new WECAN video that highlights the advocacy of global women leaders fighting to end the era of fossil fuels while advancing a Just Transition and advocating for climate solutions, Indigenous and human rights, rights of nature, and thriving communities and planet.

On March 13, WECAN was in Washington D.C. outside the Army Corps of Engineers offices with the Indigenous Women’s Treaty Alliance to deliver a petition calling on the Army Corps of Engineers

On March 13, WECAN was in Washington D.C. outside the Army Corps of Engineers offices with the Indigenous Women’s Treaty Alliance to deliver a petition calling on the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a robust environmental review of the Line 5 crude oil pipeline reroute.

Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline has continued to operate illegally through the Bad River Band’s land in northern Wisconsin and the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan. Despite strong opposition, Enbridge is moving forward with a proposed reroute and expansion of the pipeline. The existing Line 5 pipeline must be shut down and decommissioned, not simply re-routed and expanded. At a time of climate crisis, Line 5 is putting at risk sacred ecosystems, clean drinking water, treaty territories, and our global climate!

The petition was delivered by members of the Indigenous Women’s Treaty Alliance, alongside allies from WECAN, Sierra Club, and the broader community. Since 2022, WECAN has been honored to facilitate the Indigenous Women’s Treaty Alliance, a group of Indigenous women leaders from the Great Lakes region.