The Purple Coalition on Climate Change (PCCC)

The Purple Coalition on Climate Change (PCCC) is a Pan-African, feminist, member-led alliance, that brings together women leaders, Indigenous advocates, youth organizers, and grassroots practitioners working at the intersection of climate change, gender, care, and human mobility. It is uniquely positioned to push for more inclusive and equity-centered policy approaches.

The PCCC held its inaugural in-person meeting in Addis Ababa, bringing together women climate leaders from across Africa to examine the links between climate change, mobility, and gender, with a strong focus on policy engagement and influence.  This meeting marked the formal launch of the PCCC as a member-led, feminist, pan-African platform with a clear role in shaping policy conversations on climate mobility and gender. 

The two-day meeting, facilitated by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung African Migration Policy Center in partnership with the Think Tank Samuel Hall, created space for participants to draw on their work across different regions and sectors. The first day of the meeting focused on internal discussions among members, while the second day was dedicated to exchanges with key stakeholders, including IGAD, UNDP, Independent Diplomat, the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS), and other like-minded organizations, to foster dialogue and partnerships on climate mobility.

Exchanges pointed to a shared understanding that climate impacts are shaped as much by governance systems, inequality, and conflict as by environmental factors themselves. Across discussions, PCCC members emphasized that women are already responding to climate pressures in concrete ways, from maintaining livelihoods to supporting community resilience. However, these contributions remain insufficiently reflected in formal policy processes, with limited access to decision-making spaces and resources. Participants also noted that both movement and immobility are shaped by structural and social factors, especially gender norms, which influence who is able to relocate, who remains, and how risks and responsibilities are distributed. 

A recurring issue in the discussions was the need to better connect evidence, practice, and policy. While locally driven responses are ongoing, they are not systematically informing policy frameworks or decisions. Coalition members stressed that strengthening this link will be critical to ensure that climate mobility policies are grounded in lived realities. 

Initial priorities identified by the Purple Coalition members include coordinated advocacy, targeted knowledge production, and engagement with regional and global policy processes to advance more gender-responsive approaches. 

Stakeholders further highlighted the importance of defining the Coalition’s positioning and identifying sustainable pathways for influencing policy through partnerships and strategic engagement. The discussions will inform the Purple Coalition’s next steps as it works to translate these perspectives into more coordinated policy action.