Global Women Leaders Convene to Call for an Immediate and Equitable Phaseout of Fossil Fuels

Ahead of the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, women leaders will assemble to uplift strategies and solutions for a Just Transition

VIRTUAL, CA, UNITED STATES, March 18, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As geopolitical tensions, energy price volatility, and escalating environmental disasters expose the risks of fossil fuel dependence, global women climate leaders are mobilizing to accelerate a Just Transition away from fossil fuels. On March 31, the final day of Women’s History Month, the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) will host policymakers, grassroots leaders, global advocates, and parliamentarians at the Women’s Momentum Assembly for a Just Fossil Fuel Phaseout to strategize and generate momentum for action on a fossil fuel phaseout and a Just Transition.

While the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that renewable energy is growing faster than any other major energy source, complicit governments continue to expand the production of coal, oil, and gas. Fossil fuels are a leading driver of the climate crisis, contributing record-setting CO2 emissions over the past two years. The Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed that 2023 - 2025 marked the first time the planet has exceeded the 1.5 °C guardrail for planetary warming, but importantly also noted that it is possible to recover from this guardrail breach. To fulfil the Paris Agreement and keep long-term 1.5 °C within reach, governments and businesses must implement a fossil fuel phaseout.

The Women’s Momentum Assembly for a Just Fossil Fuel Phaseout is a pre-conference event leading up to the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels. Announced during COP30, the historic conference in April, hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, will convene aligned governments to institutionalize global cooperation for a managed and equitable fossil fuel phaseout.

Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director and Assembly Convenor, stated: “As governments prepare to gather in Colombia to push forward on a fossil fuel phaseout agenda, women leaders from around the world are organizing to ensure that justice, equity, and human rights are at the center of this historic moment. The Women’s Momentum Assembly for A Just Fossil Fuel Phaseout is a space to align strategy, elevate frontline solutions, and strengthen global cooperation. Women have always been at the forefront of defending land, water, climate, and communities from the harms of fossil fuels. We are urgently building the political will and collective power necessary to move from promises to implementation—and to secure a healthy, thriving future for all.”

The virtual Women’s Momentum Assembly for a Just Fossil Fuel Phaseout will be held on March 31, 2026, from 1:00 PM EDT to 5:00 PM EDT and live-streamed globally. Women leaders from regions around the world will present across three panels featuring advocacy and action from the frontlines of the climate crisis, policy spheres advancing fossil fuel phaseout, and leadership designing a just and equitable global energy and economic transition. A successful outcome for the Colombia conference will require the leadership and experiences of women leaders, and the WECAN Assembly is convening to ensure that this leadership is central to the global discourse.

Speakers of the Women’s Momentum Assembly represent a diverse array of perspectives from global leaders. Prominent speakers include: Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland; Alysia Reiner, Actor and Fossil Fuel Treaty Champion; Daniela Durán González, Head of International Affairs for the Colombian Ministry of Environmental and Sustainable Development; Mela Chiponda, Director of the SHINE Collab; Célia Xakriabá (Xakriabá), Federal Deputy in the Brazilian Congress; Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Senior Advisory for the Fossil Fuel Treaty; and many more. Visit the Assembly webpage to learn about all 20+ speakers.

Assembly presenters will share their transformative work on phasing out fossil fuels, protecting biodiverse ecosystems from extraction, advancing a Just Transition, and demonstrating the role of women climate leaders in decision-making. Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English will be available.

Katherine Quaid
Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)
katherine@wecaninternational.org
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