On May 9, 2025, the Romanian Women’s Lobby (RoWL) organised a public debate in Iași under the title “No Solution Without Women: Romania’s Voices in the Climate Crisis”. The event brought together young activists, academics, local councillors, and members of parliament and NGO representatives from across Romania, highlighting the gendered impact of the climate crisis and the urgent need for inclusive, gender-sensitive policies.
The event was part of the project “Women in Climate”, co-funded by the European Union through the CERV programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values). Czech Women’s Lobby participates in this international project, which focuses on the impact and solutions of the climate crisis on women and will organise a conference on this topic in September in Czechia.
Opening remarks were delivered by Laura Albu (President of RoWL) and Iliana Ballanova (President of the European Women’s Lobby – EWL).
Key speakers and topics:
● Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lucian Sfîcă – Climate change: the major challenge of the 21st
century
● Dina Loghin – Integrating gender in climate adaptation policies
● Irina Sile – The impact of climate change on women in Romania: the NGO perspective
● Lect. Dr. Roxana Vasiliu – The future of environmental policies: young and gender-
aware voices
● Andreea Fedor – Women’s absence in politics = gender-blind climate policies
A key message expressed by the Romanian Women’s Lobby summarised the event’s core philosophy:
“It’s not about adding women into the equation — it’s about rewriting the equation
around their realities.”
Thematic working groups:
Participants joined group discussions on the following topics:
1. The impact of climate change on rural women
2. Vulnerabilities in old age and examples of resilience
3. Women’s voices in climate: challenges, opportunities and lessons
4. Women and natural disasters: empathy, action and decision-making
5. Gender-responsive climate adaptation: assets and barriers
Several critical issues emerged:
● the lack of gender-disaggregated data in environmental policy;
● the absence of gender impact assessments in national and local climate strategies;
● the lack of targeted awareness campaigns on climate change, especially for
vulnerable groups;
● the insufficient protection of elderly women in the face of extreme weather events
and systemic neglect;
● and the chronic underfunding of organisations working at the intersection of women’s
rights and climate justice.
Final remarks
The event highlighted the essential role of feminist and environmental civil society organisations in documenting inequalities, amplifying the voices of affected women, and proposing scalable models for climate resilience. Local good practices do exist — but require visibility, political will and long-term support.
The contributions and recommendations collected during this event will be forwarded to
the European Women’s Lobby (EWL), to inform EU-level advocacy efforts and
shape policy proposals that genuinely reflect the experiences and needs of women across
Europe.
This event was made possible with the financial support of the European Union through the
CERV programme. The views expressed are the sole responsibility of the organisers and
participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
