In a compelling call for action, Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, emphasised the critical need for gender equality and more support for female leadership in climate action as she inaugurated the Global Conference on Gender and Environmental Data today.
The two-day conference, held at Expo City in Dubai, is a key event within the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28).
‘It is a privilege to stand before such a distinguished gathering of leaders who, every day, prioritise women’s voices, rights, and perspectives,’ said Al Mubarak who is also President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and patron of the conference. ‘These efforts go beyond merely being heard; they strive to place gender equality and women’s rights at the heart of the movement for just climate action.
The conference is organised by the Offices of the President of COP 28 and the UN Climate Change High Level Champions, together with the UNFCCC, UN Women, IUCN, and the Women’s Envir
onment and Development Organisation (WEDO). Speakers and participants will include UN Agencies, government officials and policymakers, leaders and commitment makers of the Feminist Action for Climate Justice Action Coalition and the Gender Environment Data Alliance, private foundations, civil society organisations, indigenous leaders and local communities and academia.
‘As we get ready to kick-off COP28, I am emphasising the symbiotic relationship between climate and nature, the importance of inclusivity, and especially, the empowerment of women and girls in climate action,’ said Al Mubarak.
‘It is encouraging that 79% of Parties have now included references to gender in their Nationally Determined Contributions, or national climate action plans. But we know that there is a significant data gap on gender and the environment,’ said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell. ‘We must change that, to ensure effective planning and policymaking. As we transition towards a climate-friendly, sustainable a
nd just future we need to be guided not by assumptions but evidence.’
Experts warn that climate change disproportionately impacts women and men, exacerbating existing inequalities. According to evidence by UN Women, in many countries, women are more vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change compared to men. For example, women, especially poor women, are less likely to survive climate-related disasters. Women are also less represented in environmental decision-making.
At the same time, there is a scarcity of gender disaggregated data, which is necessary to gauge how policies are affecting women and girls. For example, very few of the environment-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) include gender indicators and among those that do, data is only available for two out of ten gender-environment related SDG indicators. Gender data is also scarce for other environment topics such as climate change, disasters and conservation.
According to Al Mubarak the scarcity of data makes it hard to fully u
nderstand the impacts of climate change on women and girls and to fully account for the contribution of women to climate action. The success of decision-making on finance and resource allocation also depends on the availability of reliable data, she said.
‘Without data – we can never have truly gender-responsive finance and therefore, we can never truly have a gender-just transition,’ said Al Mubarak.
The conference aims to culminate in a Global Call to Action, advocating for enhanced gender-environment data integration in global climate policies. The main objective will be to generate momentum for leaders to make sure gender-environment data is more systematically and intentionally included in climate action and in efforts to monitor progress on commitments on gender and the environment.
Al Mubarak also highlighted the UAE’s actions on gender equality. As part of the COP28 Gender Equality Day, the Presidency will announce a COP28 Gender-Responsive Just Transitions and Climate Action Partnership, a package
of commitments on better quality, gender-specific data, securing finance directed at women, and promoting equal opportunities.
Source: Emirates News Agency
