2022 Women’s Day Recognizes Role Of Women in Climate Change

Celebrated annually on March 8, International Women’s Day 2022, takes a new shift focusing on ways in which women and girls are taking climate action at all levels, and how to help elevate their voices and support their work.

With the theme dubbed “Gender Equality Today for a sustainable tomorrow, there is a call for climate action for women, by women, and action for accelerating gender parity.

According to the UN Women, women and girls experience the greatest impacts of the climate crisis as it amplifies existing gender inequalities and puts women’s lives and livelihoods at risk.

Across the world, women depend more on, yet have less access to, natural resources, and often bear a disproportionate responsibility for securing food, water, and fuel.

Because women and girls bear the burden of climate impacts to a large extent, they are also essential to leading and driving change in climate adaption, mitigation, and solutions. Without the inclusion of half of the world’s population(women), likely, solutions for a sustainable planet and a gender-equal world tomorrow will never be realized.

ALSO READ: Women Challenged To Take Advantage Of AfCTA Opportunities

The launch of the Action Coalition for Feminist Action for Climate Justice last year, at the Generation Equality Forum is an example of one bold move to ensure a speedy process of eliminating equality. The forum brought together governments, private sector companies, the UN system, and civil society to make concrete commitments toward climate justice.

This International Women’s Day, the Action Coalition is helping drive global action and investment with a focus on financing for gender-just climate solutions, increasing women’s leadership in the green economy, building women’s and girls’ resilience to climate impacts and disasters, and increasing the use of data on gender equality and climate.

Women possess unique knowledge and experience, particularly at the local level, including them in decision-making processes is therefore critical to effective climate action.

According to a 2019 study, for instance, increasing women’s representation in national parliaments leads to the adoption of more climate change policies, resulting in lower emissions.

At the local level, the participation of women in natural resource management is associated with better resource governance and conservation outcomes.

A UN Women study shows that if all women smallholders received equal access to productive resources, their farm yields would rise by 20 to 30 percent, and 100 to 150 million people would no longer go hungry. Increasing farm yields can reduce the pressure to deforest more land, reducing additional emissions.

According to the same study, sexual and reproductive health and rights are essential for gender equality in climate action. By strengthening health systems to meet the current demand for sexual and reproductive health services, nations could safeguard recent gains made in environmental and biodiversity conservation, adaptation for change, and climate improvements in health, education, and gender equality.

What it means for women and girls and the marginalized communities to be inclusive in the climate change course is the fact that they are the most affected by climate change today– and therefore must be involved in the design and implementation of climate response actions to ensure the equal sharing of benefits.

This year’s International Women Days is set to address several issues not only associated with climate change but also barriers that continue to limit women’s power, issues that directly and indirectly affect the woman’s physical, emotional and psychological health around the world.

Women continue to face harsh conditions across the globe. From the dreariest effects of Covid-19 to the endless sexual harassment and molestation cases, gender-based violence leading to their deaths, and now the scariest European war between Russia and Ukraine.

The latest case in Kenya is the sexual assault of a female motorist along Nairobi’s Wangari Maathai road on Friday 4^th March 2022 by the bodaboda riders.

The case which has caught international eyes has been highly condemned as disgusting, unlawful, and inhuman. We sure hope that justice will be served accordingly.

The occasion will be marked by a high-level virtual (TBC) event today 10–11.30 a.m. EST. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly, the Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Executive Director of UN Women as well as gender equality and climate change activists are all in participation.