COP27 calls for more women engagement in climate action

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt - 14 November 2022: Today, the main talk in the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh is about gender and how women’s role is important in preserving the environment. Several COP27 participants from different countries spoke to Egypt Today, calling for more women inclusion and gender justice when it comes to climate action.

Daniel Fisher from the UK told Egypt Today that it is so important to keep the indigenous leaders in general, and indigenous women in particular, involved not only in side events but also in decision making meetings. 

“Without women in our projects, they cannot succeed,” said Fisher, who represents Ecosphere, which helps companies adopt climate change solutions for reaching zero net emissions. He also called for making gender equality voices be heard.

Moreover, Dorceta Taylor, a professor in Environmental Justice and Food Security at Yale University, told Egypt Today that her students and she are in Egypt and “are very actively involved in a host of issues about the gender, food security, justice and equality.”

“I am particularly excited about all the young women I am seeing here from hundreds of different countries and that is exciting because that means we have the energy. […] Women are the force of environmental justice, climate justice, energy justice, transportation justice, and overall equality. What is stimulating and very very interesting here is seeing so much energy from women, who are grandmothers, mothers, and children. The future generation is very good and I hope this continues in their future," Taylor said in her statement.

Prince Israel Orekha from Nigeria, who also represents the Empowerment and Youth Development Initiative, told Egypt Today that women should be empowered as the people go with climate mitigation for local solutions. He added that women should be encouraged to participate in climate solutions as a sustainable part to mitigate climate crisis. 

“As today is a gender day, we are advocating that more women should be supported […] Remember the theme ‘Together For Implementation,’ so women are empowered together as they carry out the implementation in order to see there is a sustainable and inclusive intervention, so let’s give more women a chance and empower them as they can also do well,” the prince stated.

Also, Adelina and Serena from Malaysia's Global Environment Center spoke on the gender day.

"We have to say that there should be gender inclusion for all the actions that happen for climate mitigation. We need to recognize the efforts of the women in their communities as they have tremendous efforts to protect forests," said Serena while showing examples of hand-made products by indigenous women in Malaysia.