Why women are advocating for a Green New Deal for Europe

Women that are a part of the DiEM25 movement support the Green New Deal for Europe (GNDE) for a variety of reasons – from acknowledging the need for solidarity with the Global South, to illustrating how growing inequality affects women’s rights . Read their statements to find out how they propose to re-envision the European project in the midst of the current climate crisis!

Patricia Selva – Member of DiEM25 Spontaneous Collective New York

“Climate change magnifies existing social inequities, and various communities are disproportionately unprepared to respond to climate conditions. I support the Green New Deal for Europe because there are gender-based and/or racialized dimensions to this: Women, and women of color more so, are alarmingly implicated by climate change.”

Axelle Van Wynsberghe – Web Editor for DiEM25

“The climate crisis exacerbates the already-existing global inequalities that have been the result of colonialism and unfettered capitalism. Without restitutive policies, we risk an ecological colonialism that threatens the frontline communities that have contributed the least to climate change, but are suffering from climate catastrophes and displacements. The Green New Deal for Europe opens up the opportunity for true solidarity in the tackling of a global – and increasingly pressing – issue.”

Sona Prakash – Policy Adviser for Green New Deal for Europe, Member of DiEM25 Spontaneous Collective Amsterdam and Thematic DSCollective “Peace and International Policy”

“Staggering inequality and planetary devastation are but two symptoms of the strongly intertwined socioeconomic and environmental crises we currently face. The Green New Deal for Europe enables the systemic change needed to reverse the damage caused by an extractive economy focused on growth, unbridled profit accumulation by corporations, the profligate lifestyles of the wealthy and the dismantlement of public services, for which the poor bear the brunt of the burden. The Green New Deal for Europe shifts the focus from economic growth and fossil fuel dependence to inclusive wellbeing, reduced consumption and renewable energy while benefiting the working class, the poor and the marginalised, as well as the planet.”

Stefania Romano – Coordinator for Italy for Green New Deal for Europe Campaign and Member of the Italian National Collective

“These days we are gravely witnessing that health issues do not stop at borders, as much as the intertwined environmental breakdowns. The Green New Deal for Europe aims at restoring healthy patterns, protecting citizens and communities, preventing rather than fixing, for keeping us safe from emergency situations, with a shared vision of inclusive justice and sustainability. It is time for a Green New Deal for Europe Campaign, as there is no more time.”

Myriam Zekagh – Member of the French National Collective of DiEM25

“Shifting power relations is the key to gender equality. The Green New Deal for Europe gives us that: solutions for a fairer, more sustainable economy, that are applicable at all levels – and globally. The Green New Deal for Europe is a solid and comprehensive platform, carried by engaged and committed citizens, in Europe, the US, and beyond, who use their agency to bring it to the fore of our national and international agenda (organizing local actions, calling out decision makers and proposing concrete measures for change in the public debate – or any other way). Joining this movement gives me – gives us – a real chance to grow as a network, and use our collective power for the defense of women’s rights, and the rights of all.”

Mame Coumba Faye-Rexhepi – Member of the Coordinating Collective of DiEM25

“The Green New Deal for Europe lays out a comprehensive plan for a sustainable future; one in which no one is left out or behind. Unlike other ‘Green Deals’, ours responds to all aspects of our current crisis: climate change, mass displacement of people and growing inequality. It does so by placing us, human beings and the natural environment that we depend on at its core, and the economy at our service, instead of the other way around.”

Read more about the gendered dimensions of the climate crisis, and how the Green New Deal for Europe proposes to address it.

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