NRDC Joins Women’s March on Washington as Presenting Environmental Partner
NEW YORK, NY – Today, the Women’s March on Washington announced the Natural Resources Defense Council as a presenting partner focusing on climate action and the protection of our rights to clean air, safe water and healthy communities. Women, low-income communities and people of color frequently bear the heaviest burdens from climate change and industrial pollution. These communities face a greater risk of getting sick, losing their livelihoods, living in poverty, and being displaced when weather disasters strike.
“A healthy environment is a basic right for all of us—regardless of where we live, how we vote, or what we look like,” said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Today, this right is threatened by an incoming administration that is putting corporate polluters before people. Together, we will fight these attacks and continue to build a just and livable future for ourselves, our children, and our planet. Women are not only on the frontlines of the climate crisis, we are essential to the solutions.”
As workers, community organizers, leaders, mothers, sisters and daughters, women play key roles in standing up for climate justice, protecting their families’ future, and demanding change from their elected representatives. From the mothers of Flint, Michigan, to the women leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux, women’s continued leadership on climate, environmental and health issues is critical to a healthy, safe future.
“We are thrilled to have NRDC as a partner of the Women’s March, and welcome their leadership in protecting our air, water and climate. NRDC stands with communities around the country who are deeply affected by pollution, environmental degradation and climate change – issues that disproportionately affect women, low-income communities and communities of color. We must urgently address these problems with policy changes that ensure the fair treatment of all people, no matter their race, gender or income level. NRDC will expand the conversation about how climate change impacts everyone here and now, and we are proud to stand together in solidarity,” said Linda Sarsour, National Co-Chair of the Women’s March on Washington.
Hundreds of thousands of women are expected to join the Women’s March on Washington, taking place on January 21, the first day of the new presidential administration. The March aims to make clear to the new administration and Congress that we stand together in solidarity and expect elected leaders to act to protect the rights of women, their families and their communities.
The Women’s March on Washington is a women-led grassroots movement that will bring people of all genders and backgrounds together to take a stand on social justice and human rights issues ranging from race, ethnicity, gender, religion, immigration and health care. Over 150 sister marches are also being planned across the country. The March is a statement of solidarity affirming our shared humanity and fundamental human rights. Visit www.womensmarch.com for additional information.
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About the Women’s March on Washington: The Women’s March on Washington, held on January 21st in Washington, D.C., intends to send a bold message to the incoming Presidential administration on their first day in office, to leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and to the world, that we stand together in solidarity and expect elected leaders to act to protect the rights of women, their families and their communities. The March is led by a national coordinating committee, volunteer organizers representing all 50 states, and numerous partner organizations. Partners include Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International, United We Dream, Muslim Women’s Alliance and more.
About NRDC: The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.