Why Women’s Participation is Essential to Achieve Global Climate Targets

Nov 17, 2021 | Joanna Collingwood, Georgia Kremmyda, and Modupe Olufunmilayo Jimoh
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We are engineers and scientists. We happen to be women, but first and foremost we are citizens of this planet who believe that immediate action is imperative to address the climate emergency.

The reality is that climate change affects women and men differently. Across the world, particularly in less economically developed countries, extreme weather events associated with climate change – such as droughts and floods – have harsher effects on more vulnerable people, many of whom are women. In fact, of the more than 125 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, over 75% are women and children.

Discussions at the UN climate summit, COP26, in Glasgow recognised this. COP26 Gender Day, on 9 November, aimed to highlight how women’s voices and participation are indispensable in the fight against climate change.