Sisters on the Planet

So last week I attended the Governors’ Global Climate Summit. The point of the conference, in its second year, is to create collaborations among state and provincial governments around the world on climate issues. It was also meant to push the likelihood of an international agreement at Copenhagen in December by creating preliminary international agreements between sub-national governments.

It is heartening to know that so much is happening on emissions reductions, deforestation prevention and renewable energy standards at the local and regional level despite the failure of certain national governments, like ours, to pass national climate policy. And there is much to be excited about in terms of the agreements made at the conference between mayors, governors and premiers from China, the U.S., Indonesia, India, Brazil, Canada and elsewhere.

What was frustrating, though, was the lack of representation of women on many of the panels. Yes, there were women, but they were vastly out numbered by men. Is this a function of who ends up in elected position? Certainly. And yet the women who were there are leaders and warriors on climate and environment. One governor from Brazil, who has done incredible things in her state to stop deforestation, said that she didn’t want her future grandchildren to ask her why, when she had the pen in her hand, she didn’t do everything in her power to stop climate change.

In that spirit, Oxfam America's Sisters on the Planet initiative honored outstanding women for their work to affect climate change policy last Friday at the close of the conference. The honorees included California Senator Barbara Boxer, a true warrior on climate issues and the co-author of a senate bill to tackle climate and energy policy. Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, Linda Adams, was also honored. She is one of the many women responsible for Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s surprisingly progressive stance on environment and climate change. When they write the story of how a person as unlikely as Arnold Schwarzenegger became a leader on climate issue, that script will have plenty of roles for women!

The woman who was really amazing, though, was Sharon Hanshaw, Executive Director of Coastal Women for Change, in Biloxi, Mississippi. Sharon lost her house, her car and her business – a hair salon – during the devastation of hurricane Katrina. Living in a FEMA trailer, she helped organize local women and gave voice to their concerns over the lack of government support for rebuilding low income communities. Coastal Women for Change trained women, low income residents and people of color to speak out about the recovery process. They also came up with solutions for their communities, like training child care providers and developing disaster preparation. They also became advocates for climate change prevention, recognizing that coastal areas like Biloxi are on the front lines. Sharon may not hold elected office, but what she is doing on climate and environmental justice matters. It matters a lot. And despite her own personal tragedies, she made working on behalf of an entire community her priority.

“Women are the leaders, whether they’re at the head or not,” Sharon has said. And so whether we have the kind of representation in government or on panels that we should, we still have an important, no a critical, role to play in solving the climate crisis. We are often the ones that decide what our families buy, what they eat, and where they live. All of that matters. And so often, women are the conscience of our community, whether it’s a governor recognizing that the decisions she makes today effect future generations or a parent teaching her little one not to waste. And that matters, too.

So here’s to all the sisters on the planet and the sisters on PNN.com. Keep making your voices heard. We are the leaders, whatever our jobs, whatever our titles. And we can lead the world out of this mess!