Activists and politicians at the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow joined calls for a feminist green new deal. It is a warning that women are being affected out of proportion by the climate emergency.
- Women are considered more vulnerable to the crisis. It is because they form a large majority of the world’s poor and often depend on small-scale farming. UN statistics have indicated that they form 80 percent of people are displaced by climate change.
- Dunja Krause of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development said that talk of a just transition to a greener planet is usually thought of in terms of the workforce. It must be expanded to those most affected by climate policy and include more women’s voices.
- She also warned that issues such as access to healthcare, dangers in the workplace, and other risks that affect women. It most have been exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Gambian climate activist Fatou Jeng explained how her country is being affected by climate change despite contributing “very little” to the release of greenhouse gases.
- She said that she had seen girls forced into child marriage due to family poverty. It is also caused by climate change, and others are forced to stay at home due to flooding.
- Violence against women and girls involved in climate activism is also on the rise, according to Swedish MEP Alice Bah Kuhnke.
- National leaders in Britain also underlined the importance of ensuring that climate change is a feminist issue. However, The British government announced that £165 million would go towards boosting equality for women and climate action.
Its announcement came as an annual report from the Climate Action Tracker initiative warned of a “massive credibility gap” between countries’ promise at the UN talks and the action they are actually taking.