Climate Weekly: NGO network fires chief for harassment

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Wael Hmaidan at the Cop23 UN climate conference in Bonn, Germany, 2017 (Photo: WRI)

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Wael Hmaidan was one of the most influential figures in international climate campaigning.

Now, he has been fired as executive director of Climate Action Network International after a six-week investigation found he bullied and harassed people he worked with. Women on his staff suffered discrimination, objectification and unwelcome advances, it found.

Hmaidan has yet to break his silence. The Can-I board apologised to staff and promised to address governance weaknesses. But it has not been specific about what institutional failings allowed one man to wield such power that his behaviour went effectively unchallenged for years. Could more have been done?

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