March 21, 2023— Civil society organizations Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) and BankTrack will host a series of workshops this March for the Equator Principles Association (EPA), which is a consortium of 138 financial institutions in 38 countries that have adopted the Equator Principles (EP), a risk management framework used for “determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risk in projects and is primarily intended to provide a minimum standard for due diligence and monitoring to support responsible risk decision-making.”

These workshops are taking place following the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 report, which delivers a final action call for keeping global warming below 1.5°C. Among many important findings, the summary of the report highlights the need for substantial reduction in fossil fuels and calls for further investment in climate financing, noting that “public and private finance flows for fossil fuels are still greater than those for climate adaptation and mitigation”.

The workshops will examine two primary topics. The first set of workshops will focus on how financial institutions can better engage with impacted communities as part of their due diligence processes. The second set of workshops will focus on the key challenges associated with market-based solutions and opportunities for other pathways forward, including frameworks for a Just Transition and community-led solutions. All workshops will highlight the importance of human and Indigenous rights protections, including the implementation of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and addressing the need for transformative approaches to financing given the escalating climate and biodiversity crises, and health impacts from extractive industries to communities.

The workshops will also uplift the voices and experiences of frontline community leaders who will provide perspectives concerning on-the-ground impacts of financing projects in their communities and territories. Workshop presenters include frontline women leaders, policy researchers, and global advocates.

These workshops are a continuation of ongoing workshops and dialogue with the EPA facilitated by WECAN and BankTrack since 2021.