The annual “family photo”, as it has been dubbed at the COP28 World Climate Action Summit, once again contains one glaring omission: women.
Amongst the sea of men in suits, female faces are largely absent despite the well-known fact that women are more vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change. This gender disconnect begs the question of whether female voices will be adequately listened to in the global climate conversation.
With 140 world leaders scheduled to speak at this year’s COP28, only 15 of them are women. And this measly 10 per cent is actually an improvement from last year’s summit which saw only 7 women represented out of 111 speakers (roughly 6 per cent).
The gender balance of party delegations is also skewed as only 38 per cent of representatives are female, while 62 per cent are male.
Representing women at the summit are a small group of powerful voices, including President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottely; Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen; President of Honduras Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento and Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
Phasing out fossil fuels
As COP28 kicked off last week, the debate surrounding fossil fuels came to the forefront of the conversation, following comments from the summit’s President, Sultan Al Jaber that scientists have said echo the views of climate change deniers.
During a She Changes Climate online event, Al Jaber– the CEO of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil firm, Adnoc– said there’s “no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C.”
Al Jaber also said a phase-out of fossil fuels would not allow sustainable development “unless you want to take the world back into caves”.
Climate scientist Joelle Gergis called Al Jaber’s comments “disgraceful”, saying they dismiss “decades of work by IPCC scientists”.
Advocating for renewable energy, President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen took to the stage at COP28 to call for more support for the global clean energy transition. She said the EU will push for key global emissions milestones, including global emissions peaking by 2025, a phasing out of fossil fuels and reaching 2030 targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
“Climate change is the challenge of our century”,” says von der Leyen. “Our ambitions must match that challenge”.
Running out of time
The World Meteorological Organisation has confirmed that 2023 is assured to be Earth’s hottest year in history, with scientists everywhere warning that the world’s most important climate goal– constraining global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius– is becoming increasingly out of reach.
The climate crisis is reaching a breaking point, and those most affected are struggling to have their voices heard in the race towards solutions.
Women are at greater risk of poor physical and mental health when climate disasters disrupt health services. Evidence shows an increase in family and domestic violence following these disruptions, and an increase in economic disparity as women are forced to take on more unpaid work.
Extreme weather caused by climate change increases food insecurity which exacerbates the risk of stillbirth and severely impacts maternal and newborn health.
The research shows women are missing from most national climate plans, and yet gender equality is strongly linked to climate justice. For progress’ sake, it’s time women’s voices become central to the narrative, which includes an increased leadership presence on the world stage.