The Women’s Climate Congress is an Australian not-for-profit organisation working to promote nonpartisan women’s participation, leadership and priorities for action on climate change alongside deep listening and collaboration across different political, business and community perspectives.

Women’s participation and leadership in decision making for action on climate change is critical in the global bid to achieve climate security before it is too late. But our historically patriarchal systems of government still exclude women’s full, equal participation, while polarisation in public discourse precludes the collaboration needed for rapid action.

Since its formation in January 2020, WCC has engaged with 1000s of women from all parts of Australia and overseas, across political parties and from all walks of life. We are connected nationally and internationally to women at all levels of governance and decision making.

Through these networks and our many online and inperson events, we have co-created a WCC Charter for Change to give voice to the aspirations of women, in all our diversity, for immediate collaborative action to secure the climate, and for longer-term actions to build human and planetary wellbeing.

Read our full Vision, values and commitment statement.

Background

This initiative is based on a discussion paper, Independent mediation for united action on climate change, first circulated by Janet Salisbury in late 2019 during the Black Summer. The paper was inspired by the actions of women in 1915 in response to the unprecedented suffering and loss of young lives in WW1. It also grew out of many years of leading a culture of conversation in Canberra, as well as creatively giving voice to citizen concerns with A Chorus of Women. In the paper she wrote:

“Humanity stands at a crossroads. Climate scientists warn that we have less than a decade to get our house in order before we suffer catastrophic consequences. Our children are calling for action to secure their future and our country has been ravaged by fires and floods. But our political system has resulted in deadlock.”

The paper proposed that to break the then deadlock (‘climate wars’), we need thinking minds from all perspectives to come together to consider the issue of climate change. Such a national (and indeed world) ‘thinking organ’ could offer opposing political forces an opportunity to collaborate in finding a just and sustainable way to stabilise the climate and secure a safe future for our children without renouncing their overall convictions.

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WCC Constitution(last amended 27 Feb 2023)

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