8 Inspiring Women Leading the Environmental Movement

Women are disproportionately affected by climate change, but they are also leading the way on environmental reform. In honor of International Women’s Day, Keep Knoxville Beautiful would like to honor eight women from around the world who, from environmental justice to youth activism to water, clean air, and renewable energy equity, are making impactful changes in the environmental movement.

Lilian Gregorio
Lilian Gregorio is the founder of Fundación Plurales, an organization that supports remote Indigenous women in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Gregorio created Defensoras Ambientales, a network of over 1,200 Indigenous women that works to defend the environment through education, advocacy, and connection with other women. Gregorio wants to empower these women to recognize their right to land, water, and a good life. During the pandemic, it was difficult for the network to stay in contact, so Gregorio helped launch an app to connect them. The app also enables the group to make complaints about any deforestation, water contamination, and any other threats to the natural environment. At the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Gregorio was recognized at the Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards for her hard work uniting groups of women to work against the climate crisis.
Deb Haaland
Secretary Debra Haaland made history in 2021 when she became the first Indigenous woman to become Secretary of the Interior. The Department of the Interior oversees the care of public lands and endangered species in the United States. Climate change is a major challenge that she faces, and she believes drawing on Indigenous knowledge on how to care for the land is the way forward. "Indian tribes have been on this continent for millennia, for tens of thousands of years," Haaland said in an interview with ABC News. “They know how to take care of the land." Another challenge that Haaland faces is the review of the federal oil and gas leasing program. In an attempt to curb carbon emissions, Haaland has put a halt on new oil and gas leases on public lands. As well, at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Haaland led a virtual Q&A with Indigenous youth about the impact of climate change, giving a voice to many other Indigenous youth to speak about their experiences and make sure that they are heard.
Sunita Narain
The Director General of the Centre of Science and the Environment in India, Sunita Narain is working hard to make sure that India doesn't make the same mistakes that the United States and China have in terms of rapid industrial and population growth. She advocates adapting western strategies to suit India's changing climate. Narain's work focuses on air pollution and water, addressing India's persistent air pollution problem and also water disparity throughout the country. Narain also is vocal about the disparity of climate change's effects, saying in an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, "The poorest people are in the worst position to address emissions that contribute to climate change, as they are the most vulnerable to its effects.” In 2020, Narain was awarded the Edinburgh Medal, which is given to individuals whose work contributes to the better understanding and well-being of humanity.
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
A marine biologist, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is focused on sea-centric solutions to climate change. As a part of Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign, Johnson launched the Blue New Deal, which focuses on the people living along the coastlines and supporting the "blue economy": fishing, ocean farming, shipping, tourism and recreation. Johnson advocates for the ocean to be a solution to climate change, through actions such as ending offshore drilling and streamlining the use of wind energy to benefit coastal communities. Johnson is also a strong advocate for women leading the fight against climate change. In 2020, Johnson co-edited an essay collection along with climate change activist Katharine Wilkinson. The collection is called All We Can Save, and it consists of over fifty women sharing their experiences within the environmental movement and their hopes for the future.
Ellen MacArthur
In 2005, English-born Ellen MacArthur broke the sailing world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe, having completed the feat in 79 days. She returned to England and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, one of the youngest ever recipients of the honor. She retired from sailing in 2010, and she began the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which works with businesses and policymakers to create a circular economy. The foundation rethinks how products are made, so that they don't go straight to the landfill, but in which their materials can either be recycled or biodegrade. In 2017, the foundation launched the Make Fashion Circular initiative, in which fast fashion brands like H&M and Primark rethink their linear model to create clothing meant to last. With 85% of textile waste going to the landfill or being incinerated, creating a circular fashion economy is no small feat, but if anyone is undaunted by the task, it's Ellen MacArthur.
Vernice Miller-Travis
Environmental justice is a topic that has taken center stage in the environmental movement in the past two years, but Vernice Miller-Travis has been fighting for environmental justice since the 1980s. She was living in Harlem at the time, and the North River Sewage Treatment Plant was her next door neighbor. The plant was designed to process 180 million gallons of raw sewage every day, and the lack of sanitation rules around the plant meant that the citizens of Harlem were paying the price. The citizens of West Harlem had the highest premature death rate of asthma, and Miller-Travis noticed the correlation between treatment plants across the country being situated next to communities of color. At the time, she was a research assistant at the United Church of Christ, an organization that compiled the Toxic Waste and Race in the United States report. It was the first report that looked at the connection between the placement of waste treatment plants and communities of color. Miller-Travis is still fighting for environmental justice today, but she is happy that the younger generations are also taking up the fight. "You've got to be thankful that young people, even though they are oftentimes not exposed to [environmental justice in academic settings], they are still finding their way to it," Miller-Travis said in an interview with Unladylike podcast. "That gives me so much hope and so much appreciation."
Damilola Ogunbiyi
Born in Nigeria, Damilola Ogunbiyi is the United Nations' Special Representative for Sustainable Energy. She is an advocate for the use of renewable energy, and also creating more energy access to developing nations. She spoke to the importance of equitable energy access in a 2021 interview with Bloomberg, "You cannot achieve our 2050 net zero targets if you don't make sure that everyone in the world has universal access to energy, electrification, and clean cooking." At the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Ogunbiyi led the Energy Transition Council which supports emerging and developing nations as they make the transition to renewable energy. The council will help these nations make financial plans so that they can afford the transition to electrification. "It's really important to put [energy transition] in a local context, [otherwise] it won't be sustainable."
Greta Thunberg
“How dare you?" was the question heard around the world when Greta Thunberg spoke at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit The then-sixteen year old activist did not mince her words when calling out the hypocrisy of nations and politicians at their weak attempts at curbing the effects of climate change. She began the Fridays for Future movement when she began striking from school in 2018 in protest of the Swedish government's inaction towards climate change measures. Now nineteen years old, Greta Thunberg is still one of the leading voices in the fight against climate change, and she still is vocal in her criticism of world leaders' slow response. At the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, she said that the leaders' promises to change were just "blah, blah, blah." Greta has had the incredible effect of mobilizing other youth activists across the world to speak out against their own countries’ inaction.