The climate crisis is the set of climate changes caused mainly by human activities — emissions, deforestation, unsustainable use of resources — which are generating increasingly frequent consequences: droughts, floods, soil loss, declining biodiversity and reduced water availability. Today, these phenomena mainly affect the most vulnerable populations, exacerbating poverty, inequality and violations of fundamental rights.

For us, combating the climate crisis means building resilient communities, strengthening essential services, protecting natural resources and livelihoods, and ensuring that no one is left behind. We work through projects in environmental education, climate adaptation, sustainable water management, resilient agriculture, disaster risk reduction and advocacy, integrating social, territorial and gender dimensions.

There are several causes of the climate crisis: massive use of fossil fuels, unsustainable production models, deforestation and pressure on natural resources. The negative consequences of these activities are not distributed equally around the world.

In the countries with high levels of poverty where we operate, the climate crisis means compromised agricultural harvests, drying wells, chronic food insecurity, forced migration and loss of income for many families. Women and girls are often the most vulnerable to the impacts of these phenomena: when water is scarce, they are the ones who travel ever greater distances to collect it; during climate emergencies, they face greater difficulties in accessing essential services, an increase in unpaid care work and greater exposure to social and economic risks, such as disruption to schooling and a higher risk of sexual violence or gender discrimination.

Extreme weather events, such as those that hit Bologna and Emilia-Romagna in 2024, show how, even in Italy, communities are exposed to dramatic consequences: people displaced from their homes, families and businesses damaged, and loss of life.

In Italy, our work focuses on actions to adapt to the negative consequences of global warming, advocacy initiatives and support for youth activism to promote more sustainable production and consumption systems. We support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda goals and Article 9 of the Italian Constitution, which protects the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems in the interests of future generations.

We organise talks and awareness-raising initiatives, including as part of the WeWorld Festival, and promote climate education programmes in schools. We support teachers, educators, local authorities and associations in building local networks capable of responding to the climate crisis by developing critical thinking, active citizenship and sustainable behaviour.

Through the WeWorld Academy, we offer free training courses to young people under 35 on ecological transition, advocacy and climate justice.

In the countries where we operate, the climate crisis directly threatens the right to water, food, health and safety. Our interventions combine climate adaptation, strengthening essential services and protecting rights.

Water and sustainable resource management

We build and rehabilitate water systems, wells, school latrines and water collection systems. We train community committees to ensure sustainable management and reduce the risk of water scarcity, disease and water-related conflicts.

In Kenya, in the counties of Isiolo, Kwale and Nairobi, we promote youth participation in climate action and environmental protection, encouraging sustainable change led by the community. In the West Bank, we have implemented sustainable solutions such as the reuse of treated wastewater for agriculture and solar water pumping systems.

Resilient agriculture and food security

In contexts affected by drought and soil degradation, we promote agroecology techniques, crop diversification, efficient irrigation and the use of climate-resilient seeds. We strengthen agricultural cooperatives and support women's entrepreneurship to improve income, autonomy and food security. In Mozambique, where we have been operating for over 20 years, we help communities affected by cyclones and floods by restoring agricultural infrastructure and essential services and implementing programmes to ensure sustainable livelihoods.

Disaster risk reduction and reconstruction

We restore essential infrastructure — schools, water systems, health centres, rural roads — and support community risk management plans, early warning systems, training and risk mapping. During emergencies, such as those caused by Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Mozambique, we provided clean water, shelter and healthcare, and subsequently worked on prevention and resilience together with schools and local agents.

Protecting rights and supporting the most vulnerable

All our interventions take gender into account: women are often the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and the least involved in decision-making processes. We encourage their active participation in resource management, community committees and adaptation processes.

The climate crisis also directly affects sexual and reproductive health, menstrual hygiene, travel safety and access to fundamental rights.

To address these connections with a feminist and decolonial approach, we conducted the study ‘On Our Lands, On Our Bodies’, presented at COP30, which analyses the impacts of climate change on the sexual and reproductive health of women in indigenous and rural communities in Brazil, Kenya and Tanzania.

The research values local knowledge and resilience practices, showing that the climate crisis is also a matter of social justice, gender equality, and power redistribution.