Trans leader Jean Golong demands climate justice at Pride 2025 in Filipiniana statement gown

The intersection of queerness and climate justice shines through Jean Golong’s advocacy [photo credit: Noel Celis / Greenpeace]

Trans community leader Arthur “Jean” Golong made a striking entrance at the 2025 LoveLaban Pride Festival on Saturday, June 28, walking through the UP Diliman campus in a traditional Filipiniana gown with a bold message. The long train of her dress bore the words “No Pride in Delay, No Justice until Polluters Pay,” uniting themes of queer rights and climate accountability in a visual protest that turned heads and sparked conversation.

A survivor of Super Typhoon Yolanda, Jean has long been a fierce advocate for the marginalized voices often left out of climate recovery narratives. As a veteran LGBTQIA+ activist, she has spoken out on how discrimination against queer individuals is exacerbated during climate disasters—especially when basic services and aid are denied on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Her story played a key role in the National Inquiry on Climate Change, which held the world’s top carbon-emitting corporations accountable for their role in the global crisis.

Greenpeace Partnership Elevates Global Advocacy Effort

Jean partnered with Greenpeace Philippines at this year’s Pride celebration to support the Polluters Pay Pact, a global signature campaign demanding accountability from corporate polluters. Together, they rallied LGBTQIA+ advocates and allies to call on governments to make fossil fuel giants pay for the disproportionate damage they have caused vulnerable communities.

The pact consolidates demands from citizens and climate-impacted sectors worldwide, asserting that those who suffer the worst effects of climate change must no longer bear the cost alone. Jean’s appearance, marked by the symbolism in her gown and her powerful voice, turned Southeast Asia’s largest Pride event into a platform for environmental and social justice.

Jean Golong wears Filipiniana gown with climate justice message at Pride 2025 [photo credit: Noel Celis / Greenpeace]

Queer Leadership at the Forefront of Climate Justice

Jean emphasized that queer individuals, especially those from marginalized regions like Tacloban, face unique challenges during disasters and recovery. Through her advocacy, she continues to push for systems that recognize and prioritize the needs of LGBTQIA+ people in climate policy and humanitarian aid.

Her presence at LoveLaban Pride 2025 served not only as a protest but as a call to action for those across the spectrum of gender, identity, and activism. Jean Golong’s statement was more than a moment—it was a movement aimed at ensuring justice, equality, and responsibility from the world’s biggest polluters.