Bay Area, California — On January 20, the new Administration announced a barrage of Executive Orders aimed at dismantling environmental and climate policies of the United States. The Administration announced that it will– once more– withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, and will “immediately cease or revoke” any financial commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In response, Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network released a full statement, stating: “The Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement is a devastating setback to advancing just climate action at a critical time when the impacts of the climate crisis are escalating worldwide. This move not only ignores the urgency of the moment but also undermines the well-being of countless communities, particularly those on the frontlines of the crisis. It is a retreat from the world we promised future generations and a betrayal of those who have been sounding the alarm for decades...Despite the best efforts of those in power to erode environmental protections and prioritize corporate profits over people, WECAN and the broader climate justice movement will not falter. We understand that climate justice is about more than policy—it is about caring deeply for the people and the planet. We will not let down the communities we work with nationally and globally. With resilience and unity, we will continue to defend vital ecosystems, support frontline leaders, and advocate for a just transition that prioritizes life over exploitation and destruction. We are defining our world with our communities. Each day, we are planting seeds of resistance, tending the soil of justice, and protecting the web of life that connects us all.”

In addition to the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, there were additional orders to expand oil and gas production and extraction, impacting frontline communities nationally and globally.

Sharon C. Lavigne, Founder & Director of RISE St. James Louisiana responded to the executive orders saying, "It's two steps forward and two steps backward, and unfortunately, we’re preparing for even more challenges over the next four years. As a frontline community in the fight against climate change, we in St. James, Louisiana, Cancer Alley, understand the severe consequences of prioritizing fossil fuels over the health of people and the environment. Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is not just a policy change; it’s a step away from justice, environmental protection, and global unity. Our communities need bold leadership and meaningful action, not policies that deepen harm and perpetuate exploitation."

Furthermore, the Trump Administration also released an executive order “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” that cuts environmental protections throughout Alaska, including the Tongass National Forest, opening up key ecosystems to oil and mining industries. Included in the order is a demand for the Department of Agriculture to revoke the Roadless Rule in the Tongass, which protects national forests from road building and further development.

The Tongass is part of the traditional territories of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, and serves as a buffer against climate change and as a refuge for salmon, birds and other wildlife. As one of the largest intact temperate rainforests in the world, the forest houses vital ecosystems necessary for mitigating the climate crisis.

Wanda “Kashudoha” Culp, a Tlingit Activist fighting logging in the Tongass, and the WECAN Tongass Coordinator stated the following in response, “The Roadless Rule was a two-decade battle against industrial clear cutting in the Tongass Rainforest, the home to the ancient Tlingit and Haida Indigenous Nations. It is where my  ancestry originates, my bloodline is Indigenous to this land, its DNA is my DNA. The administration's plan to open the Tongass up to further industrial-scale logging and mining is an act of cultural genocide on our peoples. The air we breathe, the water we depend on, the land we live upon, must remain to ensure a liveable future for our children and the entire planet. As I've done in decades-past, I will continue to act to protect our sacred forest, our Tlingit culture and lifeways, and our global climate --- we will not allow further destruction to come to our lands.”

The climate and environmental attacks are a part of a larger set of Executive Orders targeting policies and protections for human rights, racial justice, gender equity, and social justice. WECAN recognizes the important alignment between these vital issues and climate justice, and will remain vigilant in ensuring justice remains at the forefront of our collective advocacy.