Published

12 months ago

March 7, 2025

Alice Rush

Climate change has a habit of exploiting weaknesses. Existing problems are made worse and new ones are created in its wake.

How the climate crisis unequally impacts women is well-documented – but no less shocking. According to the UN, women and girls make up 80% of the people displaced due to climate change. This often forces them into extreme poverty and a heightened threat of violence.

Researchers attribute this disparity to a range of factors. Women are typically among the majority of the world’s poor, with fewer decision-making powers and a greater reliance on their country’s natural resources for survival. The crisis brings deeply entrenched inequalities to the surface and makes them hard to ignore.

This year’s International Women’s Day takes up the issue with the theme of “For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”.

Many women in Peru, for example, are experiencing these inequalities firsthand as climate change forces them to adapt.

But they aren’t alone in the effort. Profonanpe, the Peruvian environmental fund, was established in 1992, and is at the forefront of conserving the country’s globally significant biodiversity.

As part of this work, the fund empowers women to take a central role in their future, by moving into new roles in their communities, and contributing vital local knowledge to adaptation responses.

Business leaders

Profonanpe is spearheading two climate projects, financed by the Adaptation Fund, and women’s rights are a main priority throughout. One of these initiatives, located in the Andes, is about to get underway, while another on the coast has recently reached completion.

Both present different challenges. In the mountains, women often participate in the same activities as men. The new project will increase adaptive capacity and reduce the vulnerability of forests, grasslands and wetlands using an inclusive approach that combines ecosystem monitoring and resilience-building.

A tale of two women: What climate vulnerability actually looks like

Along the coast it is uncommon to find women who work on fishing boats, but they play a crucial role in processing and marketing the day’s catch. Acknowledging this fact and finding alternative lines of work was a key consideration.

Peru’s significant fishing industry accounts for an estimated 10% of all fish captured around the world, but as fish stocks plummet, local communities need to diversify fast. Profonanpe’s approach was to help women create their own community associations, and run their own businesses.

New industries popped up using fish waste as a biofertiliser, aquaponic plants were created to cultivate fish stocks, and eco-tourism was promoted in marine protected areas.

José Zavala, a general coordinator on the project, explained: “The work of women within the productive chain of artisanal fishing was invisible for a long time. That is why it was decided, in a participatory way, to include activities exclusively for them and that would adapt to their way of life.”

Gloria Tarazona, president of the Women’s Association of Aquaponics in Huacho, said many women in Peru – particularly mothers of young children – can’t work because they have to take care of their family. The project changes this dynamic by allowing them to join part-time with manageable schedules. “We are generating food and jobs for many people,” Tarazona said.

“The food is natural and organic, and little by little with climate change and pollution these products are becoming more necessary. The positive change that I’ve seen in all the women of the project is that they like what they have learned. I always tell them they have to continue forward because this is a project of the future,” Tarazona added.

Inspiring change

Claudia Godfrey, Profonanpe’s director of innovation and strategic management, told Climate Home how women’s stories from the project are a strong motivator.

“Daughters have seen the change in their mothers, and felt inspired. They realise that their mothers can be leaders and entrepreneurs,” she said.

“Seeing younger generations inspired by their mothers reminds us how important it is to include women in climate adaptation.”

Strong gender policies, including setting high targets for female leadership on projects, have helped embed women’s rights in other organisations. These policies ensure fewer women are overlooked for leadership positions.

The Adaptation Fund’s own social and gender policies are aimed at empowering women and marginalised groups. They do this by providing equitable access to resources and livelihoods, and inclusive decision-making.

Sustainable fishing offers lifeline to communities hit by climate crisis

“It’s moving to see how women have grown in confidence and recognition within their communities. Many of them have told us that they now have a voice in decision-making and how their lives have changed. Not just economically, but socially,” Godfrey added.

She added that climate change is increasing awareness of women’s roles and pushing them to have a stronger voice on the issue. The crisis has been a catalyst for changing how women within the environmental sector are viewed.

“In Peru, there has been great progress in recognising women’s role in environmental management. But there is still a lot to do,” Godfrey said.

Women leaders at the closing of the marine coastal adaptation project.

Tracking progress

Mikko Ollikainen, head of the Adaptation Fund (AF), said the fund’s gender policies and monitoring approaches are continually being enhanced.

“For me, this resonates deeply with the fund’s ongoing efforts to promote gender equality and empower women and girls.”

“Women are a vulnerable group at risk of being overlooked in the design and implementation of adaptation projects. We need to actively ensure that women’s specific adaptation needs are duly considered. This in turn improves adaptation work on the ground,” he added.

“Lessons learned about considering the needs of women and girls will help us address the needs of other vulnerable groups.”

“We are continuously tracking progress on our gender work. We will continue to increase gender responsiveness so no one is left behind.”

Sponsored by the Adaptation Fund. See our supporters page for what this means.

Adam Wentworth is a freelance writer based in Brighton, UK.

The post Advancing women’s rights and empowerment in climate adaptation appeared first on Climate Home News.

Advancing women’s rights and empowerment in climate adaptation

Climate Change

A Tiny Caribbean Island Sued the Netherlands Over Climate Change, and Won

Published

7 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Alice Rush

The case shows that climate change is a fundamental human rights violation—and the victory of Bonaire, a Dutch territory, could open the door for similar lawsuits globally.

Interview by Paloma Beltran, Living on Earth

From our collaborating partner Living on Earth, public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by Paloma Beltran with Greenpeace Netherlands campaigner Eefje de Kroon.

A Tiny Caribbean Island Sued the Netherlands Over Climate Change, and Won

Climate Change

Greenpeace organisations to appeal USD $345 million court judgment in Energy Transfer’s intimidation lawsuit

Published

12 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Alice Rush

SYDNEY, Saturday 28 February 2026 — Greenpeace International and Greenpeace organisations in the US announce they will seek a new trial and, if necessary, appeal the decision with the North Dakota Supreme Court following a North Dakota District Court judgment today awarding Energy Transfer (ET) USD $345 million.

ET’s SLAPP suit remains a blatant attempt to silence free speech, erase Indigenous leadership of the Standing Rock movement, and punish solidarity with peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Greenpeace International will also continue to seek damages for ET’s bullying lawsuits under EU anti-SLAPP legislation in the Netherlands.

Mads Christensen, Greenpeace International Executive Director said: “Energy Transfer’s attempts to silence us are failing. Greenpeace International will continue to resist intimidation tactics. We will not be silenced. We will only get louder, joining our voices to those of our allies all around the world against the corporate polluters and billionaire oligarchs who prioritise profits over people and the planet.

“With hard-won freedoms under threat and the climate crisis accelerating, the stakes of this legal fight couldn’t be higher. Through appeals in the US and Greenpeace International’s groundbreaking anti-SLAPP case in the Netherlands, we are exploring every option to hold Energy Transfer accountable for multiple abusive lawsuits and show all power-hungry bullies that their attacks will only result in a stronger people-powered movement.”

The Court’s final judgment today rejects some of the jury verdict delivered in March 2025, but still awards hundreds of millions of dollars to ET without a sound basis in law. The Greenpeace defendants will continue to press their arguments that the US Constitution does not allow liability here, that ET did not present evidence to support its claims, that the Court admitted inflammatory and irrelevant evidence at trial and excluded other evidence supporting the defense, and that the jury pool in Mandan could not be impartial.[1][2]

ET’s back-to-back lawsuits against Greenpeace International and the US organisations Greenpeace USA (Greenpeace Inc.) and Greenpeace Fund are clear-cut examples of SLAPPs — lawsuits attempting to bury nonprofits and activists in legal fees, push them towards bankruptcy and ultimately silence dissent.[3] Greenpeace International, which is based in the Netherlands, is pursuing justice in Europe, with a suit against ET under Dutch law and the European Union’s new anti-SLAPP directive, a landmark test of the new legislation which could help set a powerful precedent against corporate bullying.[4]

Kate Smolski, Program Director at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “This is part of a worrying trend globally: fossil fuel corporations are increasingly using litigation to attack and silence ordinary people and groups using the law to challenge their polluting operations — and we’re not immune to these tactics here in Australia.

“Rulings like this have a chilling effect on democracy and public interest litigation — we must unite against these silencing tactics as bad for Australians and bad for our democracy. Our movement is stronger than any corporate bully, and grows even stronger when under attack.”

Energy Transfer’s SLAPPs are part of a wave of abusive lawsuits filed by Big Oil companies like Shell, Total, and ENI against Greenpeace entities in recent years.[3] A couple of these cases have been successfully stopped in their tracks. This includes Greenpeace France successfully defeating TotalEnergies’ SLAPP on 28 March 2024, and Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International forcing Shell to back down from its SLAPP on 10 December 2024.

-ENDS-

Images available in Greenpeace Media Library

Notes:

[1] The judgment entered by North Dakota District Court Judge Gion follows a jury verdict finding Greenpeace entities liable for more than US$660 million on March 19, 2025. Judge Gion subsequently threw out several items from the jury’s verdict, reducing the total damages to approximately US$345 million.

[2] Public statements from the independent Trial Monitoring Committee

[3] Energy Transfer’s first lawsuit was filed in federal court in 2017 under the RICO Act – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a US federal statute designed to prosecute mob activity. The case was dismissed in 2019, with the judge stating the evidence fell “far short” of what was needed to establish a RICO enterprise. The federal court did not decide on Energy Transfer’s claims based on state law, so Energy Transfer promptly filed a new case in a North Dakota state court with these and other state law claims.

[4] Greenpeace International sent a Notice of Liability to Energy Transfer on 23 July 2024, informing the pipeline giant of Greenpeace International’s intention to bring an anti-SLAPP lawsuit against the company in a Dutch Court. After Energy Transfer declined to accept liability on multiple occasions (September 2024, December 2024), Greenpeace International initiated the first test of the European Union’s anti-SLAPP Directive on 11 February 2025 by filing a lawsuit in Dutch court against Energy Transfer. The case was officially registered in the docket of the Court of Amsterdam on 2 July, 2025. Greenpeace International seeks to recover all damages and costs it has suffered as a result of Energy Transfers’s back-to-back, abusive lawsuits demanding hundreds of millions of dollars from Greenpeace International and the Greenpeace organisations in the US. The next hearing in the Court of Amsterdam is scheduled for 16 April, 2026.

Media contact:

Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace organisations to appeal USD $345 million court judgment in Energy Transfer’s intimidation lawsuit

Climate Change

Former EPA Staff Detail Expanding Pollution Risks Under Trump

Published

12 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Alice Rush

The Trump administration’s relentless rollback of public health and environmental protections has allowed widespread toxic exposures to flourish, warn experts who helped implement safeguards now under assault.

By Liza Gross

In a new report that outlines a dozen high-risk pollutants given new life thanks to weakened, delayed or rescinded regulations, the Environmental Protection Network, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group of hundreds of former Environmental Protection Agency staff, warns that the EPA under President Donald Trump has abandoned the agency’s core mission of protecting people and the environment from preventable toxic exposures.