Global Climate Community response to US election: WE are still IN
November 6th was a day of climate grief and sadness. But today is a day of hope, after the launch of the Geneva Pledge for gender-responsible climate action.
We will continue to UNITE and ACT for the climate and for women leadership through the power of radical collaboration and collective action beyond boundaries, as One family for One Earth.
The US election result will have a huge impact on the climate diplomacy space just before COP29 but also well beyond that in the lead up to COP30 in Brazil and in the real economy in many countries around the world.
Climate change is still happening. The climate crisis will not stop for a climate denier. The climate crisis will continue to accelerate. Climate disasters don’t care who is in the White House.
We are still in. We are still in the Paris Agreement. We are united and continue to act. The energy transition is inevitable and accelerating in many countries, regardless of US political winds. We saw American businesses, states and local governments step up the last time and can expect them to again uphold America’s climate pledge. The show goes on, with or without the White House.
Climate multilateralism is in every nation’s self-interest and remains the most effective path to global climate action.
Other world powers will leave the US behind. Climate action has become the foundation of common sense policy across the world. The gap left by the US will be filled by other countries
Meanwhile, the vital work happening in communities everywhere to regenerate our planet and societies will continue, with a new, even more determined spirit.
Messages from the global climate community:
“The result from the US elections is a major blow to global climate action and climate negotiations, but it cannot and will not halt the changes underway to decarbonise the economy and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Standing with oil and gas is the same as falling behind in a fast moving world. Clean energy technologies will continue to outcompete fossil fuels, not just because they are healthier, faster, cleaner and more abundant, but because they undercut fossil fuels where they are at their weakest: their unsolvable volatility. Meanwhile, the vital work happening in communities everywhere to regenerate our planet and societies will continue, with a new, even more determined spirit today.”
Christiana Figueres - Global Climate Leader, Architect of the Paris Agreement as UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Global Optimism
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“Yesterday was a day of grief. Today is a day of hope. On November 7th, at the United Nations 🇺🇳Palais des Nations, the Geneva Pledge for gender-responsive climate action was formally endorsed by more than 20 Member States, backed up by 60+ leaders and International Gender Champions from UN Permanent Missions, international and civil society organizations. The room was packed and filled with collective energy, infused by the amazing spirit of multilateralism and collective action which plant the seeds of peace. As Co-Chairs of the International Gender Champions Climate Impact Group since its start, we came with a message hope, and message of urgency: the urgency to unite more than ever around our shared values.
WE are still IN. We will always be in. Even if some may want to leave the Paris Agreement. Because we are part of the Earth. We are One with the Earth.
Today we stand in solidarity with our US friends, in particular with women and girls who are facing the back lash right now. Now it is really time to unite, and work as One team for One Planet, to overcome North/South divides, generational divides, social divides and even gender divides. It is about SHE Builds Bridges, HE Builds Bridges and Together WE Build Bridges, with women and men working together, unlocking 100% of the potential of society to address the climate crisis, making diversity a strength.”
Elise Buckle, President/ CEO of Climate Bridges, Founder of SHE Builds Bridges, Co-Chair of the International Gender Champions Climate Impact Group
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“This election is the climax of a general dismissal of democracy and human rights. Even the largest democracy is vulnerable to misinformation, manipulation and short termism, obliterating the obvious impacts of the climate crisis. Yet the environmental, social and economic transition is underway. Women and men around the world will maintain the necessary pressure to oppose the redevelopment of fossil fuel investments and reactivate the promise of a more equitable, durable and inclusive economy. ”
Miren Bengoa, Climate and gender activist, Member of Climate Bridges
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“The most common mistake leaders make in the face of adaptive challenges, like the climate crisis, is treating them as if they were purely technical problems to solve. The winner of the recent US election is unfortunately a prime example of this misstep—denying the deeper, systemic changes needed and focusing only on short-term fixes. To truly address the climate crisis and make the right choices for the future, we need more than just technical solutions. We need inner development—strengthening our capacity to navigate uncertainty, make difficult decisions, and act with resilience and long-term vision. Only through this growth, both individually and collectively, will we find the wisdom and agency to face the challenges ahead.”
Jan Artem Henriksson - Executive Director of Inner Development Goals Foundation
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“While today may represent a discouraging step backward for climate action, together, we can build a movement that endures far beyond. We must stand united during these challenging times, supporting one another and facing the road ahead with resilience. Together, we can protect each other, defend our rights, and work to preserve our environment. This journey may not be easy, but with courage, solidarity, and a shared vision, we have the power to shape a better future for all—for you, for us, for our children, and for future generations.”
Victoria Lichet - Executive Director of the Green Rights Coalition
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“We needed a leader who believed in the climate crisis. We didn’t get that. We needed one who believed in systemic injustices born from social identities like race and gender. We didn’t get that. We needed a woman – a woman of color — who understood through direct experience the ostracizing, otherizing, and outcasting that holds too many down and out. We didn’t get that. But, climate justice advocates and activists are no strangers to anticipatory mourning as a motivator. We’ve been leveraging it for decades to guide invigorated action that’s pushed for progress despite political and corporate opposition. And we will today, and tomorrow, and the many to come.
What’s tougher to find in sorrowful moments like this one is hope. But friends, fear without hope is despair – and action is not born from that place.
And so today, as an American woman working and teaching in climate, as a mother of girls, an advocate and ally for intergenerational inclusive well-being, I’m committing myself to the relentless exploration for hope. To search for it no matter how dodgy or wee, how slippery or sly. To catch it and make it mine, even if only for a moment. Hope isn’t the antidote to fear; it’s the catalyst. One that can only be shared when it’s found.”
Becky Lakin - Owner and Director of the Giving Wall
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“We ebb and flow like the tide, we persist…moving as one. Together we can inspire others with our collective vision, as we continue to persist - to take action toward the change we wish to see.
As water flows around rocks towards its destination pulled by the force of gravity, we shall continue to flow past the obstacles pulled by the force of good and what is right. On behalf of all beings on this planet, with our hearts full of vision, we shall persist.
Amazing is the resilience of spirit. A stark reminder of our finite moments to solve what needs to be solved - and to show up.…we can and shall do what’s right on behalf of the voiceless, the vulnerable, for all the beings of this planet amid our precious web of life.”
Amy Seidman - Founder and CEO of Noble Profit and BFlo Technology
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“Our strength isn’t in one leader but in the millions who care deeply for this earth. We press on, hand in hand, for a sustainable future.
Even in moments of setback, we build bridges of unity and strength. We are the force that transcends borders for the climate.
Leaders may come and go, but the bridges we've built stay strong.”
Lilla Albert - Head of Advocacy of the World Disaster Center and Founder of Grant Compass
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“We must Stop Fear. Spread the wonderful contagious infection of collective positive action to help make the world a bit better, for our shared future in our beautiful blue home.”
Karlee Schnyder, Climate Bridges Board Member and climate/food systems/youth advocate
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-Now more than ever, bringing our hearts and creativity to the forefront is essential. Let’s unite a global ecosystem to equip change-makers with the skills and opportunities to take planetary action.
Daphne Laan, Co-Founder of Planetir and the Board Whisperers.