Climate change is the most widespread & complex problem humanity has ever faced! There is no time to waste and we need to turn green talk into profound green action. This is the intention of the GREEN TIMES.

These are the conclusions of more than fifty women, grassroots activists and leaders who gathered through a Southern African exchange Women stand their ground against Big Coal in Johannesburg between 19 and 24 January 2015.

Single largest contributor to climate change

Coal is the fastest growing fossil fuel and the single largest contributor (40 percent) to carbon emissions which cause climate change. Globally, South Africa is the 7th largest coal producer and the biggest producer in Africa with the Richards Bay Coal Terminal being the largest coal terminal in the world.

Throughout the worldCoal mines and industries to poor women and their families.

Representatives to the women and coal exchange included women from Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Some of the almost two dozen organisations attending the week long exchange were ActionAid South Africa, Centre for Natural Resource Governance (Zimbabwe), Centre for Trade Policy and Development (Zambia), Forum Mulher (Mozambique), National Climate Change Coalition (Botswana) and Women from Mining Affected Communities United in Action (WAMUA), amongst a host of other local and regional civil society organisations.

Women told their stories and offered hope

The week-long exchange saw participants visit various communities in KwaZulu-Natal (Somkhele and Fuleni communities), Mpumalanga (various communities in Witbank and Carolina) and the Vaal Triangle in Gauteng. The field trips represented an important opportunity for women to tell their stories, interchange