Insight
Dec 1, 2023
2023 March to End Fossil Fuels. Photo by Neha Gautam.
At COP28, feminists around the world are raising their voices to demand an end to the era of fossil fuels.
A Feminist Reflection on Fossil Fuels Ahead of COP28
2023 March to End Fossil Fuels. Photo by Neha Gautam.
At COP28, feminists around the world are raising their voices to demand an end to the era of fossil fuels.
In September, we marched for a Global Day of Action to build momentum towards these critical climate talks, to say loud and clear: Feminists Demand a Fossil Free Future!
For decades, civil society has raised the alarm that a fossil fuel economy is incompatible with real climate action and a transition to a regenerative, care-based economy that sustains life and well-being for all.
A complete phase-out of fossil fuels is critical for the future of the planet — as well as for climate and gender justice.
Advocates have long understood fossil fuel infrastructure, corporate greed, and fossil fuel executives’ influence over major climate decisions to be a critical place of resistance for climate justice.
Communities living near fossil fuel extraction and production sites often have devastating health consequences, including for reproductive health. The connection between the oil boom and gender-based violence is undeniable, including between fossil fuel sites and the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit peoples (MMIWG2S). A recent report by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) called attention to the ways extractive industries endanger women’s health and well-being, with “fossil fuel derived air, water, and soil pollution impact[ing] women’s fertility, mental health, and daily work and responsibilities.”
Fossil fuel executives have exercised unbelievable influence over global and national climate policies, with last year seeing an unprecedented 636 lobbyists from oil and gas industries.
We have raised our voices with the Kick Polluters Out campaign for years, demanding that fossil fuel lobbyists have no place in the negotiations determining our futures. Feminist civil society has organized for meaningful participation and leadership for women and communities most impacted by the climate crisis for decades, and the outsized impact of these fossil fuel representatives is an affront to the negotiations we need.
COP28 being hosted by the major oil-producing country and presided over by oil executives only underscores the urgent need for systemic change in how entrenched fossil fuels are in our world, politics, and the global climate talks. Through our participation in the #FastFairForever campaign, we will continue to demand an equitable phase-out of fossil fuels everywhere, including through our priority advocacy areas around a gender just transition and feminist climate finance. We see fossil fuel resistance as a critical part of the fabric of our collective work and analysis – from militarism and the unaccounted emissions from wars and weaponry, to heeding the leadership of frontline communities and women’s human rights defenders who are resisting fossil fuel infrastructure, to investing in locally led, gender-just climate solutions that are building alternatives and showing us that solutions exist and they are thriving.
This COP must deliver a strong outcome on the phase out of fossil fuels; our communities can have nothing less.
Feminists demand a fossil-free future — fast, fair, forever!
2023 March to End Fossil Fuels. Photo by Neha Gautam
2023 March to End Fossil Fuels. Photo by Neha Gautam
2023 March to End Fossil Fuels. Photo by Neha Gautam
Resources
Support Our Work
Your donation provides us with the stable foundation we need to build the feminist future we’re working to realize.
Donate Today
