We are a fledgling organisation with the following plans in action:

Women and Climate Change – We are working with women from around Australia to prepare an Australian Women’s Declaration on Climate Change.

Women and Energy: WENA is looking at the implications of climate change policy for women and the role that women can play in the transition to a sustainable energy future. We are preparing a series of workshops on Energy Literacy designed specifically with women in mind.

In Canada it is banned, in the USA they have laws in the pipeline to do the same (and many manufacturers have responded to community concerns by removing it from their products), yet in Australia regulators fail to see the risks posed by BPA.

It is found in many hard plastics, such as baby bottles, reusable drinking bottles, cans of food and microwaveable containers.BPA has been found to transfer from the plastic to the food/drink and then into the human body.

Statement by the Women and Gender Constituency for the AWG - KP Closing Plenary, Copenhagen 15th December 2009

Or you can read the text:

Mr Chairman, my name is Jo Tenner, I come from Australia which is among the world’s highest per capita emitter of greenhouse gas. I speak today on behalf of GenderCC, the Gender and Women’s Constituency and the Women’s Caucus.

Gender is about all of us, men and women, it is critical to understanding the social and economic context in which policies, programs and legislation are constructed. This is no less true in the case of a global climate change agreement.

This years Walk against Warming is occuring in the middle of what has been touted as the most important international negotiations on climate change ever. While this remains to be seen, you can join the walk this year and send a message to all the decision makers in Copenhagen, that you want strong global deal to be a product of these talks.

Help make this the biggest walk ever and show our leaders just how much the Australian community wants them to act on climate change.

Walks are happening all over Australia, not just in the Capital cities,to find your nearest one visit this link

Finland has been hailed as the champion of women and gender rights in the climate change talks here at the Bella Centre. Finland, along with Liberia was among the first to articulate the need for greater women’s participation in the process. It
has also earmarked some 500,000 Euros to fund the participation of Southern women, particularly those from Africa.

“Finland has put their money where their mouth is, and contributed 500,000 Euros for the participation of women and building their capacity in this
process,” Minu Hemnati of Gender CC – Women for Climate Justice asserted.

For its part, the country’s Ministry of the Environment Director on

The UN Climate Change Conference has opened with an unprecedented sense of urgency to act on climate change. World leaders seeking a political framework agreement should use this momentum to find a way to balance diverse histories, perspectives and priorities in order to move forward. By anchoring the issues of adaptation and mitigation within the right to development, such an agreement could provide a framework for implementation, enhancing the capacity of countries to adapt to existing climate change challenges, and supplying the needed technology and resources to do so.

The Women's Environment Network Australia will be blogging from the UN Climate Negotiations in Copenhagen from 7-18th December 2009.

Stay tuned for the latest news on women and climate change as it happens!

University of Adelaide Research - Women returning to cycling
Many women express an interest in riding a bike and yet they still constitute only a small proportion of cyclists. University of Adelaide researcher Jennifer Bonham is currently investigating the decision women take to return to cycling and their experiences of getting back on a bike. The research will assist in developing strategies to support women who would like to cycle. If you have recently returned to bike riding and would like to be part of this study, please contact Jennifer Bonham at  jennifer.bonham@adelaide.edu.au  More information on Jennifer research below.

A representative of the Women's Environment Network Australia will be participating in the UNFCCC Climate Change gathering in Copenhagen this December.

Jo Tenner, the networks's convenor will be attedning as a member of the Gender and Climate Change delegation.

We will be publishing reports from Jo during the 2 week event.

Stay Tuned!

24 September 2009 – Women are especially vulnerable to the impact of climate change, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, urging that they be given a greater say in addressing the challenge.

Come along and hear WENA speak at the Green New Deal Conference in Melbourne this weekend

http://greeninstitute.org.au/gnd/

Gender, Climate and the Green New Deal Workshop

MEN have been outed as Australia's climate change laggards while women are taking the lead.

A survey conducted for the Australia Institute found women are doing more to tackle climate change, and plan to do more in the future, than men.

The most popular climate-friendly actions are installing energy-efficient light globes, spending less time in the shower and turning off appliances at the switch.

The online poll of 1000 people, who the left-leaning institute said were representative of the general population, found about 80 per cent believed climate change was occurring and Australia needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

But people weren't keen to pay the price themselves.

Most thought business and industry should carry most of the cost burden for action on climate change, while just six per cent thought individuals and households should bear the heaviest load.

Adopted at the 44th session of CEDAW 20 July to 7 August, New York 2009

"The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expresses its concern about the absence of a gender perspective in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other global and national policies and initiatives on climate change. From CEDAW’s examination of State Parties reports, it is apparent that climate change does not affect women and men in the same way and has a gender-differentiated impact..."

Women suffer the most from consequences of climate change. Gender issues must be considered as we react to climate changes. Today UNDP Administrator Helen Clark made a commitment to focus on gender and climate change as she received a MDG3 Torch from Danish Minister of Development Cooperation Ulla Toernaes.

Ruth Bond
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 23 August 2009

When it comes to climate change talks, women are an endangered species. But our input is crucial

I am always amazed when I walk into meetings with the prime minister and groups campaigning on climate change to find that I suddenly appear to be an endangered species. As a woman involved in climate change campaigning on a national and international level, I am often left stunned to think that over half the world's population is being represented in meetings across the world by a tiny number of female voices.

By CHARLOTTE SACHS
The Chronicle Herald, Wed. Aug 26 2009.

As Canadians, we like to think that we’re fairly environmentally conscious. In Halifax Regional Municipality, we have a great composting program. And there’s lots of green space.

However, I’m sure many of us living here are quite distressed to learn that, according to the World Wildlife Fund, Canada is the dirtiest of the G8 countries in terms of per capita emissions of carbon dioxide, the largest component in the mixture of greenhouse gases that cause climate change. And Nova Scotia is also one of the dirtiest provinces per capita, second only to Alberta.

This is shocking news in itself. Even more shocking are the effects that climate change is having on people, especially people who had nothing to do with creating the problem in the first place: women living in poverty.

Readings Carlton: 309 Lygon St, Carlton, Victoria, 3053

Eco-Sufficiency and Global Justice: Women Write Political Ecology (edited by Ariel Salleh) explores the issues of democracy and sustainability. This book brings academics and alternative globalisation activists into conversation. About issues such as global neoliberalism, ecological debt, climate change, and the ongoing devaluation of reproductive and subsistence labour.

Oxfam Australia is running a workshop on ways of planning and presenting a Sisters screening with your workmates, club members, local community group etc. The workshop is an opportunity to share the inspiring stories from women around the world making a difference with others in your community. As well as joining with others to learn more about climate change and global poverty

We only have a few places left. If you are unable to attend and know of someone who would like to attend please feel free to forward this invitation on to them.

The workshop:

 When: Saturday 2nd of May, 10.30am to 3.00pm
Where: Oxfam Training Room, 132 Leicester Street, Carlton

The Women's Environment Network Australia is conducting a survey of Australian Women about climate change. The survey will commence early 2009 and you will be able to complete it online or request a paper copy to be forwarded to your postal address.

The results of the survey will be compiled into an Australian Women's Declaration on Climate Change that will then be presented to the Australian Government. This declaration will detail Australian Women's priorities for action on Climate Change.

By Megan Rowling POZNAN, Poland, Dec 8 (Reuters) - United Nations climate change talks should do more to incorporate women's concerns into negotiations on a new global pact, environmental and women's groups said on Monday.

When governments and think tanks deliberate on strategies for combatting climate change, they'll very likely bypass one highly salient variable. This variable is that global warming's causes, effects, and solutions, are gendered. Do those who frame Australia's climate change policy take into account that women's ecological footprint is negligible in comparison with men's or that women and children will be the main victims of global warming? Will Australian climate change policy rectify women's under-representation at every level of climate change negotiations?