In October 2024, the coastal town of Saly, Senegal became the meeting point for two pivotal African climate justice gatherings—the 2024 Women’s Climate Assembly (WCA) and the African People’s Counter COP (APCC).
These parallel events united a diverse group of activists, NGOs, leaders, and community women to tackle the pressing need for climate action across the continent. Under the theme “African Women Rise to Defend their Lands, Oceans, and Forests”, 120 women from twelve countries in Central and West Africa came together to strategize resistance against the intersecting crises threatening their homes and livelihoods.
Their discussions focused on climate justice, food sovereignty, the right to reject destructive development projects, and demands for reparations and an end to climate debt.
The assembly, which ran from 7 to 11 October 2024, was led by a coalition of NGOs and grassroots organizations such as Lumière Synergie pour le Développement, Green Development Advocates, WoME Sierra Leone, Kebetkache Women and Development Resource Centre, and WoMin African Alliance. Following previous assemblies in Port Harcourt and Lagos, Nigeria, this third gathering offered a crucial platform for amplifying the voices of African women, who are too often marginalized in global climate conversations. This year, they took center stage, demanding justice and action for their communities.
The WCA highlighted the critical role of women in addressing climate change. African women, disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, are the frontline defenders of their lands and resources. Through discussions and workshops, participants examined the protection of indigenous lands, the necessity of gender equality in climate solutions, and the leadership women can offer in climate action.
This Pan-African movement is building a collective response to the worsening climate crisis, which disproportionately impacts African communities. As the continent faces increasingly frequent climate disasters, women are standing as custodians of the environment. The WCA fostered solidarity through a week of teach-ins, marches, field trips, and shared learning sessions. Women deepened their understanding of climate issues and shared experiences of resistance, building a radical space for supporting grassroots organizers and activists in their local mobilizations.
A key message throughout the assembly was the rejection of the capitalist economic model, which fuels the Global North’s voracious demand for Africa’s natural resources. From the exploitation of cobalt and lithium in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to oil pollution in the Niger Delta, to land grabs in Cameroon, African women are resisting the forces displacing their communities and degrading their environments.
“As Africans, I want us to think about the world in which we are living. All the wealth is coming from Africa—gold, phosphate, oil, cobalt. When foreigners come to our countries, they bribe our leaders and chiefs. If we look at the wealth in Europe, everything they use in factories and plants is coming from Africa,” said Ndieme Ndong of Senegal, summing up the urgency of their resistance.
The assembly also underscored the need for gender-responsive policies, recognizing the vital role of African women in the fight for climate justice. With COP29 fast approaching in Azerbaijan this November, the WCA called for greater recognition of Africa and its women, who experience the daily realities of climate devastation.
Josiane Boyo, from Côte d’Ivoire, spoke of the repression women face under multinational corporations. “In my village, if we want to leave our community, we need a gate pass to explain why. We can’t move goods freely because of the guards working for the palm oil company. Many women have been imprisoned for picking palm fruit from our own land. So, as women, we organized and fought for their liberation.”
As the world grapples with the escalating impacts of climate change, the voices of African women are more critical than ever. The 2024 Women’s Climate Assembly has demonstrated that when women come together, they are a formidable force for change. African women are determined to ensure that their organizing efforts in the fight against climate injustice are both heard and acted upon. The joint gathering of the WCA and APCC is a powerful step toward an inclusive and effective climate movement for Africa—and the world.
Together, these women are charting a new course toward a more just and sustainable future for all.