\u201cClimate justice only exists when gender equality does too,\u201d says Ana Carolina Querino, Acting Representative of UN Women<\/a> in Brazil, echoing a sentiment heard across the halls and venues since the summit opened last Monday, 10 November.<\/p>\n If adopted, the plan would run from 2026 to 2034, embedding gender-responsive approaches into just transitions, adaptation and mitigation strategies, and mechanisms for loss and damage.<\/p>\n UN News\/Felipe de Carvalho<\/p>\n Nanci Darcolete is an autonomous waste picker from S\u00e3o Paulo and advocacy advisor for Movimento de Pimpadores.<\/p>\n Waste pickers on the frontline of emissions cuts<\/p>\n On the streets of S\u00e3o Paulo, Nanci Darcolete has been a waste picker since 1999. \u00a0<\/p>\n Today, she leads Pimp My Carro\u00e7a, an organisation fighting for the rights of workers who turn discarded materials into resources \u2013 preventing mountains of waste from being dumped or burned.<\/p>\n Waste pickers, she says, played a historic role at COP30 by showing how their work slashes emissions and eases pressure on natural resources. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe now see how important it is for waste pickers to also work on composting organic waste,\u201d she explains. \u201cThat\u2019s going to save municipalities money, provide income for waste pickers, and capture tons and tons of gases [and] delivering major mitigation by removing heavy pollutants from the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Women leading the recycling chain<\/p>\n In Brazil, women make up most waste pickers and head most cooperatives. Yet they still face racism and gender-based violence on the streets, often while juggling care for homes and families.<\/p>\n For Nanci, climate change is making their work harder. Rising heat and flooding hit low-income neighbourhoods hardest, adding strain to already tough conditions. She wants COP30\u2019s adaptation agenda to recognise waste pickers as \u201cagents of transformation,\u201d with better urban logistics, hydration points, and paid contracts.<\/p>\n Litigation as a weapon for climate justice<\/p>\n Across the Atlantic, 24-year-old Portuguese lawyer Mariana Gomes is using the law as what she calls \u201cthe most important tool\u201d to fight the climate crisis. She founded \u00daltimo Recurso, the group behind Portugal\u2019s first climate litigation case \u2013 now leading more than 170 lawsuits.<\/p>\n Mariana believes litigation can turn promises into binding action, especially after the International Court of Justice<\/a>\u2019s (ICJ<\/a>) recent opinion<\/a> requiring states to act to keep global warming under 1.5\u00b0C. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that in the future we\u2019ll see many lawsuits against States, especially those who must raise ambition, adopt climate laws, and align their targets with the Paris Agreement<\/a>. Because now, more than ever, we are carrying on our backs the weight of the International Court of Justice,\u201d she tells us.<\/p>\n UN News\/Felipe de Carvalho<\/p>\n Portuguese lawyer Mariana Gomes is a social entrepreneur and climate activist.<\/p>\n The right to a clean, healthy environment<\/p>\n Mariana argues citizens can demand their governments guarantee the right to a clean, healthy environment and a stable climate. In Portugal, she is pushing for Municipal Climate Action Plans to help local authorities prepare for droughts, wildfires, floods, and other disasters.<\/p>\n For her, adaptation and mitigation must recognise that climate disasters hit women hardest, increasing risks of gender-based violence, displacement, and care burdens. Litigation, she says, can do more than cut emissions or stop extractive projects, it can unlock funding and compensation for affected communities, protecting women\u2019s rights along the way.<\/p>\n![\"Nanci](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763848388_468_image1170x530cropped.jpg\" "\\"Nanci")
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