The Road to COP28: Why Women’s Leadership Matters
As all eyes look towards COP28 in preparation for the first Global Stocktake, our core focus is to expand our message within the MENA region. Our campaign to get more women at COP28 later this year has gained the attention of various state and non-state actors heading to the UAE.
Egyptian Data and Investigative Journalist Eman Mounir interviewed our Co-Directors, Mamta Borgoyary and Elise Buckle, to learn more about the foundation of our work at SHE Changes Climate, and the reason our campaign envisages a future where women and men are working together, as equal participants, to address the climate crisis.
The interview was originally published on Al Ain News, a comprehensive digital newspaper based in Abu-Dhabi that shares news in Arabic, French and Turkish. While the initial article is available in Arabic and French, below is the interview in English.
Elise Buckle and Mamta Borgoyary
Al Ain News: Can you tell us about the mission and goals of SHE Changes Climate?
SHE Changes Climate: SHE Changes Climate is a global initiative focused on supporting women’s leadership in the field of climate diplomacy and climate action. Our goal is to empower women leaders, in all their diversity, to become key agents of change to address the planetary crisis. We advocate for a 50:50 vision, with at least 50% of women at all levels of decision-making, starting with the COP Presidency teams, but also in government delegations and Non-State-Actors taking part in the climate negotiations.
We also work with partners to grow the movement and raise public awareness through media and social media outreach. We are a conduit, enabling women who are at the frontline of climate impacts can have their voices, stories and sustainable innovations amplified. But we are also highlighting their roles as leaders to champion resilience in their countries and communities. Some of these women are within our network as SHE Changes Climate Ambassadors, and we currently have 15 ambassadors from 15 countries across the different continents.
As part of our mobilisation and empowerment strategy, we provide support to future leaders through mentoring and sponsorship. We strongly believe that women rise by lifting each other up.
Al Ain News: How does SHE Changes Climate address the unequal impact of climate change on women, particularly in the Arab region?
SHE Changes Climate: Today we are facing a planetary emergency, and it is a triple crisis for climate, people and nature. It is urgent to act. The impacts of climate change are already felt by millions of people around the world, from more frequent natural disasters to sea level rise, to food and water shortage. The Middle East is particularly affected by the more frequent and intense heat waves and droughts, and women are feeling the greatest impact as they are 14 times more vulnerable during extreme weather events: They often stay behind to look after the young or the elderly and don’t always have access to resources or information. For example 90% of the victims of the 1991 Bangladesh floods were reported to be women and children. A similar trend was observed in Pakistan during the floods. Today, women and girls are being taught to swim to reduce the risk.
But it is important to invest in women’s leadership, to make them agents of change rather than victims. Women are the primary care-givers for their families, communities, livelihoods. They are the solution multipliers. They hold it all together and are often the champions of resilience, the pioneers, if they are given the resources to scale up these solutions. Giving them access to Early Warning Systems is essential.
Al Ain News: What are your expectations regarding the participation of women in the upcoming COP conference (COP28)? Do you think that the percentage of women's participation in the conferences of the parties is fair?- What do you hope to achieve through women participation in the upcoming COP?
SHE Changes Climate: Women are still underrepresented in climate negotiations. Since COP1 in 1995, only 5 women have been appointed as COP Presidents (in 28 years!). Last year, less than 36% of COP27 delegates were women. Only 20% of Heads of Country Delegations were women. Yet there is plenty of research and data showing that we achieve better results when women are at the table. The lack of women is hindering progress towards a sustainable future. With women on board, we can deliver more effective solutions. This is why we advocate for at least 50% of women at all levels of decision-making, starting with the COP Presidency: a man and woman co-chairing every COP, and with this ask extending to all country delegations. We are calling on governments to appoint at least 50% of women on their country delegations attending COP28 this year in Dubai. And Non-State Actors are invited to walk the talk and do the same. Some countries are already achieving the target, but not making it explicit. We are asking the countries championing gender balance to make it visible to set a race to the top and encourage other countries to do the same.
We are pleased to see that there is some progress being made already. The UAE has appointed some very talented women to take some leadership roles for COP28, these include:
Hana Al Hashimi, COP Presidency Chief Negotiator. We are counting on her to lead with empathy, transparency and inclusivity, consulting all Members States, building trust in the UN process, safeguarding environmental integrity by ensuring there is a firewall between governments and fossil fuel industries, and unlock an ambitious collective outcome for people and the planet;
Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate High-Level Champion & President of IUCN;
Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate and Environment; and
Shamma Al Mazrui, UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Youth Climate Champion.
The other good news is the appointment of a woman and a man, Barbara Creecy, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries of South Africa, and Dan Jorgensen, Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy of Denmark, as co-chairs for the Global Stocktake consultation process. We have been advocating for balanced leadership for each of the negotiations tracks.
We also observe that Parties and Non-State Actors are responding very positively to our invitation to endorse the 50:50 pledge and are willing to commit to gender balance for their delegations. Finland and the International Federation of the Red Cross for instance, have formally endorsed the pledge, and we have received positive feedback from Germany, Mexico, Costa Rica, German, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, Mauritius, Maldives, Spain, Chile, as well as IUCN and CAN-International.
Al Ain News: How can women be better represented and included in climate change discussions and decision-making processes?
SHE Changes Climate: First, there needs to be a greater level of awareness about this issue among all decision-makers, to enable them to change the rules of the game and make gender balance a systemic requirement. We have been talking to the UNFCCC to see how they could encourage Parties to further implement the Enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender which was adopted in 2014. But it also depends on Parties themselves, on each country to take this issue seriously, and for male leaders to make space for their counterparts. It is very important to bring men on board, because everyone will win with greater gender balance. Mixed and diverse teams perform better, this has been proven by scientific evidence. And when women thrive, the whole society thrives.
The change must happen at the very top first, with the COP Presidency, setting the example for all Parties involved in the process. And then at level level, in government and NSA delegations, but also for the various Committees and co-chairs involved in the technical process.
Finally, we must really support, train and empower women to build the self-confidence and trust that they can do this, that they can not only participate but also lead as Heads of Delegations. They often have the technical knowledge but lack the inner confidence and the external support from peers (this is also a political game). This is why giving them access to mentoring and networking opportunities is important.
Our Kenyan Ambassador, Dianey Mugalizi (right) with Mrs Dorcas Bukuru in Muha River Farm, Burundi
Al Ain News: Why do we need women in leadership positions regarding climate change, especially in the Arab region?
SHE Changes Climate: Women give another perspective, and it is complementary to what men bring to the table. There is often a different leadership style, more attuned to people’s emotions and feelings inside the negotiations room. The World Economic Forum issued a report that showed that a truce is 63% more likely to last when women are involved in the peace talks. This is the same for climate negotiations. Women are often able to listen deeply with empathy and care, and focus on the collective good rather than on short-term vested interests.
We also know that climate and peace are deeply interlinked. Conflicts are often fueled by competition for natural resources, such as mining or fossil fuel extractions which only benefit a minority, or just the struggle for access to food and water for a larger majority of people who struggle to make ends meet. Women often care deeply about the future of their children and their ability to meet their basic needs.
The region is also going through a major transformation and in many countries, women have been able to advance their freedom and rights to take an active role in society (by having access to education, work and the right to vote or to be elected). When women are able to participate in decision making and shape the policies and laws of their countries, the whole society benefits from it, for example with better education for both girls and boys, access to public healthcare and childcare. Communities are then also more resilient to climate shocks.
Al Ain News: What are some of the biggest challenges facing women in the fight against climate change?
SHE Changes Climate: Women often lack the access to finance, resources, knowledge, information or basic skills (such as knowing how to swim) and are usually greatly impacted by climate disasters. The risks of being exposed to gender-based violence are much higher in the aftermath of climate disasters. Women are also under-represented in decision-making not just in the climate negotiations but also in governments and Parliaments in most countries. Women serve as Heads of States or Governments in only 28 countries. At parliamentary level, women hold just 26.5% of seats.
On June 24th, for the International Day of Women in Diplomacy, Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, explained why the future we want requires more women in diplomacy: “Without the input of half of the world’s population, we cannot develop policies that work for everyone”.
Al Ain News: How can we ensure that climate policies and solutions are equitable and inclusive for all communities, including women?
SHE Changes Climate: It is essential to listen to a broad range of views right from the start, and this is why we strongly believe in the power of multi stakeholder dialogues as an inclusive process to emerge with truly inclusive and systemic solutions.
An example of this was the Talanoa Dialogue which was championed by Ambassador Khan, when she was the COP23 Fijian Presidency Chief Negotiator. It was quite a pioneering approach at the time, as the UNFCCC process is often quite rigid with a lot of strict rules and protocols on how Parties and Non-State-Actors can engage.
Just having everyone sitting in a circle, and giving everyone an equal voice (may this be the governments of the USA or China, a farmers’ representative, an indigenous woman, a business CEO or a youth leader), can produce some amazing results. When very different stakeholders start listening to each other, systemic change starts to happen on all sides.
Al Ain News: Can you discuss any specific initiatives or projects that SHE Changes Climate is currently working on?
SHE Changes Climate: These last few months, we have been focusing on organizational development: we want to make SHE Changes Climate a truly global initiative by developing partnerships around the world, harnessing the power of collective action and unlocking systemic change. And there are two specific initiatives we would like to mention here, to encourage all of you to engage and participate.
One is the 50:50 pledge: everyone can contribute by writing to their government as well as to companies and civil society leaders inviting them to make COP28 the most inclusive and gender-balanced COP ever. You will find more information on this here: https://www.shechangesclimate.org/take-action.
The second one is an open invitation to join the mentoring platform which we have just launched and is already becoming very popular with more than 100 people who have joined in less than a month.. We are encouraging mentors in particular to apply: https://www.shechangesclimate.org/mentoring.
We really would like to encourage all of you to become an agent of change for the greater good. Everyone can be a climate leader, at any level, by championing climate action in their communities. Start small but real. Take the conversation to your school, work place, family dinners or parties with friends and start walking the talk by reducing your carbon footprint, valuing diversity and inclusion and nurturing the regeneration of life and nature everywhere you go.
SHE Changes Climate is also a partner of a larger initiative called “Dandelion”, a women-led campaign for climate justice, and we work with thousands of other women leaders who champion climate action across the 7 continents. We can only win if we work all of us together as One Team for One Planet.
Source: Free to Run
Al Ain News: How can we encourage more women to pursue careers in climate science and related fields?
SHE Changes Climate: Climate science… indeed, so important ! And this is also a space that has been dominated by men for many years. The new IPCC Chair has recently been elected; his name is Jim Skea, and he is probably very qualified for the position, but there were also two very strong female candidates, Thelma Krug (Brazil) and Debra Roberts (South Africa). The good news is that Jim has already said that inclusion and diversity would be his priority.
Things are going in the right direction. For example the IPCC authors used to count only 10% women climate scientists. For the last report, this came up to 30%. Dr. Julia Steinberger, who is a famous climate scientist and an active member of the SHE Changes Climate network in Switzerland was one of them.
So we would really encourage more women to go into climate science, because we believe that doors are going to open up to them more and more, even if this takes courage, determination and perseverance.
Al Ain News: What advice would you give to young women who are passionate about climate change and want to make a difference?
SHE Changes Climate: Never give up on your dreams. Dreams are the positive energy that can propel the world towards a brighter future for all. And surround yourself with a strong community and network of friends and allies. Our hope is that the SHE Changes Climate “big family” can be one of them for you. Remember that you are not alone on this path. And do it with care and love.
After a climate education session with Shristi Chettri, our Ambassador in Nepal
