December 2021 – Tendani Gadisi

While the science is clear on the devastating impacts of failing to keep warming below 1.5 degrees by 2030, countries current emissions reductions targets are inadequate to meet the promises of Paris Agreement nor are we close to the US$100 billion per year in climate finance promised from Copenhagen. At the same time, in 2020 and 2021 a record number of environmental human rights defenders working to protect the environment and marginalized people’s rights were murdered more especially women and children. The push for gender equality is bringing different perspectives, driving the integration of gender-related considerations into climate policy and ensuring broad representation. However, it isn’t just gender equality that is important, the participation of all types of individuals will bring diverse views on climate change into the discussion which can open debate and only help fix this crisis. The UN has revealed that around the world women are those most at risk to the impacts of climate change alongside children, they comprise of 80% of those displaced by climate-related disaster. This is considered to be the case due to women making up the majority of the world’s poor, as well as their reliance on small-scale farming for survival. We are living in a broken world which has systematically marginalized women and young girls. Alok Sharma emphasised that women and children mostly bare the brunt of climate crisis across the world . and to tackle climate change it is most effective when women and girls are at the heart of those efforts.

COP26 and Gender Diversity

Women and girls have certainly played a part in COP26 , especially in pushing delegates and leaders to go further in the fight against climate change. Greta Thunberg, a climate activist on the planet, was at the forefront of Friday’s Youth March, in which indigenous activists also played a leading role. Gender Day at COP26 saw gender-related commitments from many countries. The Conference President’s daily media statement boasted new measures from Sweden and Germany, a Canadian commitment of 80% of its $5.3 billion climate investments over the next five years to target gender equality outcomes, and more. Despite these positive proposals, some campaigners have been disappointed with the reality of exclusion at COP26. Some of the same old criticisms still seem to apply Gender is still not fully integrated into climate policy , Åsa Regnér, from UN mentioned that only 3% of climate overseas development aid specifically targets women’s rights and gender equality. About 45% of the Cop26 unit are now women, but almost all of the most senior public-facing roles are taken by men.

A statement calling for the role of women and girls to be advanced in addressing climate change was launched at COP26, jointly sponsored by the Scottish Government and UN Women. It recognises that women and girls are often disproportionately affected by climate change and face greater risks from its impacts, particularly in situations of poverty. It follows a Gender Action Plan agreed at COP25 to advance the rights and interests of women and girls in the UNFCCC process and in supporting gender-responsive climate policy and programming.

How can we fight climate change, when half of us are being excluded from the battle? That was the question put to delegates at COP26’s Gender Day.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Secretary of State for International Trade, said: “It is women, girls and those who are already most marginalised, that will be most severely impacted by climate change. But they also have a critical role to play to address the climate crisis. The UK is committed to addressing this dual challenge head on, committing new funding to empower communities and women’s groups to take locally-led adaptation action, to build local, national and global resilience. The UK announced £165 million to tackle gender equality and climate change at the same time, of the £165 million announced, £45 million will be used to empower women’s groups across Asia and the Pacific to have their say in the climate conversation, with the remaining £120 million going towards climate protection measures and further access to finance and education skills for women in Bangladesh.

Post COP26

The gendered impacts of climate change mean we must ensure an equal balance between men and women at all levels, especially within the COP senior management team. It is difficult to see how the current predominantly male-led COP26 team will ensure that women’s voices and needs are heard.” This are the words echoed by Farhana Yamin, Founder Track 0, Climate Lawyer

Diaka Salena Koroma, ActionAid climate activist also said “If women and young people who are most affected by climate impacts are not represented at platforms like COP26, leaders will not feel the pressure to commit to climate targets.”

Voice and representation at all levels of decision-making is the only way the situation will change, said Pankhurst. Acknowledging that there is a gender perspective to climate policies is a final first step to ensuring issues affecting women aren’t ignored. Scientific evidence has always underpinned the international climate negotiations and whether it’s new forms of sustainable energy, new methods of transport, or affordable zero-carbon packaging solutions, innovative thinking will be required to solve the climate crisis. But also inclusion of Gender should be at the centre of such research . Innovation doesn’t always have to involve big technological solutions and lessons need to be learned from the world’s response to COVID-19, that world leaders must heed the advice of their scientists and on a globally consistent standard. However, I believe that Gender diversity is key.

Like seeds brought by Amal the puppet on Gender day, the inspirational lesson from seeds teach us that the work must continue beyond COP, The Action Plan and negotiations made at COP26 should be attended to.