Women at COP27

It is well known that women are historically under represented when it comes to making key decisions in governments and global organisations. This year’s COP conference, COP27, was no exception; of 110 global leaders in attendance, only 7 were women (BBC, 2022).

COP27, the United Nations’ Conference of Parties, was held in Egypt from the 6th to the 19th of November. According to an article on the UNs’ Climate Change webpage, countries in attendance ‘reaffirmed’ their previous promise to keep climate change below 1.5oC and ‘strengthend actions’ to reduce greenhouse gas emmissions and ‘adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change’. There was also a commitment to a ‘loss and damage’ fund, which would help support vulnerable countries when they are hit by climate change disasters. The UN described this decision as ‘ground breaking’.

So, why is the lack of women at COP27 a problem?

Women are disproportionately affected by climate change. Women have a greater responsibility to get food, water and fuel for their families, a job which is made much harder by the impacts of climate change. They also put their needs of their families before their own, meaning they ‘often eat last, and worst’ (BBC, 2022).

Agriculture is the ‘most important employment sector for women in low and lower middle income countries’ (UN, 2022). This means that in times of drought and unpredictable rainfall, women are more likely to lose income, and have to work harder to secure resources for themselves and their families. This also has a knock on impact to girls, who often leave school to support their mothers. Furthermore, women are less likely to survive, and more likely to be injured, in all, but specifically climate change related, disasters (UN, 2022). This is due to disparities caused by gender inequality in information, decision making, access to resources and training, and access to relief and assistance in the aftermath of a disaster (UN, 2022). Moreover, women are more vulnerable during pregnancy. Extreme heat increases the number of still births, as well as increasing the spread of vector carried illness, for example malaria and zika, which can cause ‘worse maternal and neonatal outcomes’ (UN, 2022).

This shows how fundamental it is for women to be present in the discussions about, and decisions made on, climate change. Not having women involved neglects the needs of one of the largest, and most at danger, groups in society. As one of the most at risk groups, it is vital that women’s voices are not only heard, but also listened to and taken into account when making decisions.

Sources:

https://unfccc.int/news/cop27 reaches breakthrough agreement on new loss and damage fund for vulnerable countries https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science environment 63636435 https://www.unwomen.org/en/news stories/explainer/2022/02/explainer how gender inequality and climate change are interconnected