COP27 officially started this week. With only seven of the 110 world leaders at COP27 identifying as women, according to the UN, let’s take a look at why women are crucial and should be at the forefront when it comes to discussing climate change.
But first off, what even is COP27?
COP refers to the “Conference of the Parties,” the governing body of an international convention. It is the formal conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The 197 parties, which include global leaders and heads of state, meet yearly under the context of the UNFCCC, or COP, to review progress in dealing with climate change. This year, the conference will be held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt’s Red Sea resort town, from November 6 to 18, 2022.
The importance of this conference has always been significant since its inception. However, particularly in 2015, during COP21 in Paris, the landmark Paris Agreement was secured. It was a historic agreement by the world’s governments to limit carbon emissions and combat climate change.The Paris Agreement went into force in November 2016, with member nations committing to low-carbon programmes. This marked the start of the process of decreasing global emissions.
This involves altering the way we do business—everything from agriculture to manufacturing to the way we consume—in order to achieve progress and keep global emissions below the two-degree limit.
Is change necessary?
At this year’s COP27, according to the UN, 110 leaders of state and government will address the conference, which is a higher number than at past climate conferences. However, only an alarming seven out of the 110 are women.
To put this in a different perspective, only 6.36% of the world leaders attending are women. This is beyond concerning as it has been constantly reported that along with marginalised communities, women and girls are the most affected by climate change.
According to 2019 research by Astghik Mavisakalyan and Yashar Tarverdi, increasing women’s participation in national legislatures led to the adoption of more rigorous climate change laws, which resulted in reduced emissions. Furthermore, the participation of women in natural resource management is connected with improved resource governance and conservation results at the local level.
Increasing women’s access to productive opportunities can boost agricultural productivity and food security while also lowering carbon dioxide emissions. This includes representation when it comes to conferences, events, or even simple conversations.
Yes, these world leaders are, in fact, elected. The objective here, however, is to provide opportunities, options, and spaces for women to not just enter but also succeed in, without bias or allowing representation for the sake of representation. Gender equality at the heart of climate change solutions entails incorporating varied gender views into comprehensive and long-term climate, environmental, and disaster risk reduction strategies and regulations which is why women ought to comprise more than 6% of not only climate related talks but also leadership positions in general.
Although in fairness, these seven women world leaders at COP27 are leading the climate revolution.
Spice up your life with some girl power
Samia Suluhu Hassan, the president of Tanzania, has cautioned that if wealthier nations do not act, countries with little adaptation ability, such as Tanzania, may be forced to brace for more negative consequences of climate change. She has also spoken out about developing countries not receiving the supposed $100 billion a year to help transition away from fossil fuels. This economic obligation for developed countries was first made in 2009 and was supposed to roll out in 2020. The obligation has yet to be fulfilled.
Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, has famously said “Our world knows not what it is gambling with, and if we don’t control this fire, it will burn us all down,” during last year’s United Nations General Assembly. It’s a timely reminder, as a recent United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) assessment predicts the planet is on track for a 2.7°C temperature rise, which may cause irreparable damage to the earth’s ecosystems.
She has also been a prominent champion for vulnerable developing nations, particularly small-island nations that are likely to be flooded by rising seas. During a visit to Barbados last year by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, she emphasised the significance of making financing accessible for impoverished countries to adapt to climate change.
In 2020, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared climate change “one of the greatest challenges of our time,” promising a carbon-neutral government by 2025 and simultaneously declaring a climate emergency in parliament.
“This declaration is an acknowledgment of the next generation,” she said during the speech in parliament. “An acknowledgment of the burden that they will carry if we do not get this right and do not take action now.”
Sanna Marin, Finland’s prime minister, has not only brought forward Finland’s 35-year plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 years; she has also proposed that women and children be at the forefront of the climate fight due to their increased vulnerability to the climate crisis.
She believes that “The best [climate change] solutions will be the ones that can be scaled-up in industrialised and developing countries alike.”
The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was the keynote speaker for COP26 last year and has the complex job of pressuring EU member states to adhere to their climate change commitments. She also oversaw the task group that planned to generate $100 billion to aid developing countries in their transition away from fossil fuels, which however, is a controversial goal that has yet to be realised.
When she assumed office in 2019, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made a commitment to combat climate change and strive toward a 70% reduction in Denmark’s carbon emissions by 2030. The environmental priorities of her new administration, according to her, “will be one of the most ambitious parliaments in the world.”
The first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, is not new to renewable energy. Her government was able to establish the world’s first floating wind farm in 2017 using cutting-edge tidal technology due to the abundance of natural resources in Scotland, notably wind. Furthermore, renewable energy sources satisfied 97% of Scotland’s electricity demands in 2020, with land-based wind generation accounting for 60% of that total. The remaining energy was produced from offshore wind and hydro.
These examples prove that women at a place of power are able to bring about change, let alone fight against the climate crisis.
Women have a place in the fight against climate change
We must support women’s involvement in the development and use of technologies, strategies, regulations, and even conferences that improve clean energy systems in order to create a future that is more viable and sustainable. Furthermore, according to research, women are possibly more inclined to adjust strategy in reaction to new knowledge and choose actions that reduce risk. Which means that in terms of crises, women in general, let alone women in positions of power, will choose or create solutions that benefit the overall outcome rather than wait for the issue to worsen.
When addressing climate change, women are crucial. The bulk of the world’s impoverished are women, and they rely more on natural resources for their income and survival than men do. Compared to males, women are more likely to be financially reliant and have lower average salaries. Water, food, and energy security for households, which are activities that are often the responsibility of women, are significantly affected and influenced by climate change. In contrast to males, women lack the financial freedom and opportunities to invest in alternative income sources or make other adaptations during periods of climate change induced natural disasters.
However, do not mistake this for a victim mindset. If the statistics are harsh, the reality is much more likely to be harsher. The idea here is to lay bare the importance of including women in conversations or strategies because—as it cannot be reiterated enough—they are more vulnerable to climate change.
Women can lead their communities and the entire world toward a more sustainable future, and it’s high time policymakers, corporations, and donors recognise this.
FEATURED IMAGE: collage via author | IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A collage of the seven women world leaders at COP27. Top row from left to right: Sanna Marin – Prime Minister of Finland, Jacinda Ardern – Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mia Mottley – Prime Minister of Barbados. Bottom row from left to right: Ursula von der Leyen – President of the EU Commission, Samia Suluhu Hassan – President of Tanzania, Mette Frederiksen – Prime Minister of Denmark, Nicola Sturgeon – First Minister of Scotland