The All-Male COP29 Committee is a Big Step Backwards for Climate

Jan 19, 2024 | Nella Canales, Isabelle Mallon, Laura Del Duca and Trevor Grizzell
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The recent appointment of an all-men committee, with members linked to the country’s oil and gas industry, to organize this year’s Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan is a major step backward for climate action.

We see this selection as yet another example of a gender gap in climate leadership with alarming implications for climate justice, effective climate action, and the Cop29 proceedings.

Gender justice is not just a progressive add-on we can include for tackling climate change.

The causes, consequences and solutions of climate change are highly gendered. Research also demonstrates that decisions designed and implemented to address existing inequities – including gender, ethnicity, disability, age, location and income – are not only ethically desirable but result in more effective and sustainable climate change actions.