From the perspective of Catriona Spaven- Donn, a member of the UNHS Climate & Gender team:
If we are to achieve Human Rights and reach targets on the SDGs, women’s empowerment must be at the centre of the agenda.
If a girl completes education, she is more able to make choices about her body and her reproductive health. If a girl studies science, she is more educated in subjects related to the environment and can work to protect life in water and life on land. If a girl finishes school, she is more likely to become involved in democratic processes; to tackle injustices and to contribute to a rise in peace and tolerance.
Female empowerment defends and protects our bodily autonomy as well as the land on which we live, play, work and love.
Climate breakdown is not inevitable. By foregrounding global justice and acknowledging that the most vulnerable communities are the worst hit by climate catastrophe, we can work together to build solutions and strengthen resilience.
Women and girls are key to the solution.
At COP24, women represented less than a quarter of delegation heads. However, 80% of people displaced by climate change are women.
We need women’s representation at climate action events and in leading regenerative, transformative learning and policy change.
When we educate girls to become decision-makers and change-agents, we empower the next generation of women to save our planet.
In doing so, we can create a world in which gender equality is a reality rather than a goal; a world where human and non-human populations live in harmony; a world nourished and sustained by us all.