A Regional Call for Climate Justice on the Road to COP30
As we approach COP30 in Brazil, feminist, indigenous, Afro-descendant, and LGBTQI+ voices have come together to launch the Latin America and Caribbean chapter of the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC). This historic moment marks not just an organisational milestone, but a clear declaration that climate justice cannot exist without gender justice, territorial rights, and the leadership of those most impacted by the climate emergency.
From Extraction to Care: Confronting Colonial Violence in Climate Action
The launch event brought together diverse voices unified by a common understanding: Latin America and the Caribbean have been regions exploited by colonialism and imperialism that perpetuate dependency chains, treating our region as “the pantry of natural resources to satisfy the thirst of economic growth from the global north”, as gina cortés valderrama opened this press conference.
Txulunh Gakran, speaking from southern Brazil, brought the urgent reality of Indigenous women’s experiences to the forefront: “We need to think about race and gender when we speak about the climate emergency. We women, young people, are the ones suffering violence cycles, suffering when they extract fossil fuels in our region.” She powerfully articulated how this violence extends beyond immediate harm: “When we are pregnant, because of the toxins of mercury, this ends up affecting the babies. The violence does not start when we are born; our fight starts from the moment we create life. We fight to be born, we fight to stay alive”
Michelle Ferreti, from Instituto Alziras, made the profound connections between the exploitation of bodies and territories that underlie the climate crisis. She emphasised that “as we approach COP30 in Brazil, we are reminded that any conversation about a just transition must begin with one fundamental truth: there can be no climate justice without gender justice, environmental racism and the value of the invisible labor that sustains life—care work, most often carried out by women in all its diversity.”
From the Caribbean to the Amazon: Territorial Leadership
Claudia Rubio’s intervention, from WEDO, brought the specific vulnerabilities of the Caribbean into stark relief, highlighting how “the Caribbean has colonial powers that are still there.” She emphasised the existential threat facing island nations: “The rising sea will wipe our islands” and connected this directly to historical exploitation, asking “Why should we be left with the losses and damage caused by extraction models that we did not manufacture?”. Her call for regional solidarity was clear: “Bringing the richness of our voices to the table is critical. Our advocacy will be so more powerful.”
Xiomara Acevedo, representing Barranquilla+20 from Colombia, brought to the focus a reality of the region: Latin America and the Caribbean is not only the most biodiverse region on the planet—we are also the most unequal and the most dangerous place to defend the Earth.” Her words carried the weight of the reality from the region: environmental and land defenders are “criminalized, attacked, killed. Many of them are women—Indigenous, rural, Afro-descendant whose work sustains forests, mangroves, rivers, food systems, and care networks.”
Her message to the UNFCCC process was unequivocal: “Climate ambition cannot be reduced to mitigation targets or market-based solutions. For our region, ambition means protecting nature, not commodifying it.” She emphasised that if COP30 is to be the “Amazon, the nature COP,” then clarity is essential: “The Amazon is not a carbon sink—it is a living territory, a spiritual and cultural system, and it is under attack.”
Building Intersectional Climate Ambition
Diego from Out for Sustainability highlighted the region’s existing leadership while acknowledging ongoing challenges: “Latin America has shown strong leadership on gender and climate. Countries like Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico have developed progressive national gender and climate action plans. These are more than policy tools—they are acts of recognition and resistance.”
Yet he reminded us that “our rights are being challenged. From anti-rights movements to the shrinking of civic space, we are reminded that progress can be fragile.”
A Statement of Commitment
This launch represents more than regional organising—it’s a fundamental shift in how we understand climate solutions. As the speakers made clear, there can be “no climate ambition without nature, no transition without territories and people, and no future without feminist climate leadership.”
The Latin America and Caribbean WGC chapter emerges at a critical moment, carrying forward the understanding that climate justice must be intersectional, feminist, and grounded in the leadership of those most affected. From the halls of international negotiations to the forests of the Amazon, the rivers of Colombia, and the shores of the Caribbean, this taskforce is gathering, organising, and building the world we need.