India’s Women Climate Collective announces new cohort

New Delhi:To amplify women’s voices in climate action India’s Women Climate Collective has announced a new cohort of 20 women leaders to drive impactful climate solutions.

The cohort will amplify women-led initiatives to find the impactful climate solutions and augment their voices in India’s climate ecosystem.

The group also highlights the “unique challenges” faced by women like existing inequalities, disrupting education, health services, mobility and curtailing employment opportunities. 

In 2023, the WCC programme built the capacities of 16 women climate leaders, some of whom represented India on key global platforms including COP28, and were recognised through prestigious awards including Nidhi Pant who won the Earthshot Prize, Elsie Gabriel who received the face of India Achievers Award.

Leaders of the WCC 2024 cohort: Anu Khandelwal – Astha Khubele – Divya Gaur – Gayathri Kupendra Reddy – Hemavathi S. Shekhar – Megha Raha – Meghna Chakkraborty – Monika Shukla – Namrata Tiwari – Natasha Zarine – Neha Gupta – Nivedita Bansal – Preeti Chauhan – Preeti Singh – Renjini Thampi – Rishika Madan – Rosie Paul – Sayesha Dogra – Sonal Shukla – Ujjvala Krishna.

K.G. Sreeja, who was part of the 2023 cohort, said, “Being part of the WCC cohort has helped in gaining a more granular gendered perspective of our work on co-creating community resilience to tidal flooding”

“It has helped in thinking and acting in gender specific ways over and beyond gender inclusive strategy and planning. Gender specific action has helped us identify the singular strength of women in the climate action space. It has become the natural progression from gender inclusive work and I strongly believe it is due to the work and networking I have been doing with WCC” she added.

These 20 leaders will be provided tailored leadership training, communication, and access to international and national events, enabling them to participate in global climate discussions and showcase their work on an international platform.

By elevating their groundbreaking work, the WCC platform aims to foster collaboration, networking, and knowledge sharing among the leaders, ultimately promoting gender-inclusive climate solutions in India.

Reflecting on the impact of the program, Mamta Borgoyary, Executive Director, SHE Changes Climate said, “The WCC programme’s unwavering commitment to fostering women’s leadership in climate action is truly inspiring. The new cohort is composed of exceptional women dedicated to addressing critical climate issues, and I am thrilled to support them. I have witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of WCC’s programs, and I am confident that these emerging women leaders will drive meaningful change and amplify their voices within India’s climate ecosystem.”

As the 2024 cohort begins their journey, they embody the immense promise of empowering women to take the lead in combating climate change. Their efforts not only aim to address today’s challenges but also pave the way for a more sustainable and fair future for everyone.

The 2023 report ‘Feminist climate justice: A framework for action,’ by the UN Women points out that by 2050, climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty and see 236 million more face food insecurity.